Bryan Armetta makes his DraftKings NBA Pick6 selections before Thursday night’s NBA action.
Just three games tip off on Thursday night, but there are still some big names in action. Jayson Tatum, Cade Cunningham, and De’Aaron Fox are just a few of the stars fans can expect to see take the floor. Even with a small group of teams, there’s still plenty of ways to get in on the action with DraftKings Sportsbook, including DraftKings NBA Pick6 selections ahead of tonight’s exciting matchups.
After suffering a right ankle sprain on Monday, Scottie Barnes is set to miss the next several weeks. That forces the Raptors to once again turn to RJ Barrett as their primary scoring option. The former Knicks guard has shown major improvement this season, averaging 23.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists through 22 games.
The Heat are still one of the association’s better defenses, giving up the fourth-fewest points in the NBA (108.1 PPG). However, they’ve also allowed the tenth-most assists to opponents (26.7 APG). In 11 games played without Barnes this season, Barrett is dishing out 6.8 dimes. RJ’s progression, combined with a lack of healthy ball handlers on Toronto, makes this a pick you can’t pass up on.
Having played in the NBA for over a decade, Tim Hardaway Jr. has lasted this long primarily due to his ability from beyond the arc. The 32-year-old is a career 36.0% three-point shooter, taking 6.3 attempts per game. This season, the veteran’s first in Detroit, has been more of the same: 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 40.7% shooting (35.1% 3PT) from the field.
While THJ has started in all 22 games played, head coach JB Bickerstaff is only leaving him on the court for just under 28 minutes. That makes consistent production hard to come by, even for someone that’s used to waiting for their shot. Thursday’s opponent, the Celtics, excel at limiting three-pointers, giving up the fourth-fewest attempts in the association (35.2 3PA). In a game that could get ugly, Hardaway might have trouble knocking down treys against one of the game’s elite perimeter defenses.
Trade rumors are swirling around Jimmy Butler and the Heat. However, as of this afternoon, the six-time All-Star is still on track to suit up tonight against the Raptors. The two-way wing has been good, not great, so far, putting up 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in just 17 games played. In the month of December, he’s shooting an efficient 64.4% from the field.
Toronto’s defense has shown improvement lately, but that might not be the case without forward Scottie Barnes. In the 11 games the Raptors have played without the All-Star, they’ve tallied a miserable 119.1 defensive rating. With nobody on the other side equipped to stop him, Jimmy Buckets should go off in (perhaps) his final game with the Heat.
As previously mentioned, the Raptors’ offense is up in the air without Scottie Barnes. RJ Barrett is sure to get an uptick in usage, but he’s not the only Toronto player in line for more work. Former Kansas Jayhawk Ochai Agbaji is enjoying a mini-breakout, with career-best marks in points (11.2 PPG), rebounds (4.2 RPG), assists (2.1 APG), field goal percentage (51.9% FG) and minutes played (30.8 MPG).
The third-year pro’s production is directly linked to Barnes’ health. In 11 games played without the forward, Agbaji has posted 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists, going over this point total eight times. The Heat are a tough opponent to score against, but there aren’t many other role players capable of stepping up for Toronto in this one.
Not much has gone right for the 5-20 Pelicans, a group mired in a dangerous mix of injuries and underperformance. On the bright side, New Orleans has welcomed back some of its best players recently, including Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum and Herb Jones. While the end result should be a more competitive roster going forward, it also makes things much more crowded for some of the team’s healthier players. That includes wing Trey Murphy III, who has enjoyed a solid season so far (18.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.5 APG).
The talented three-point specialist is a sneaky-good rebounder at 6’8″. However, with the return of so many Pels, it’s hard to picture him being a consistent contributor on the glass. Over Murphy III’s previous five outings, he’s nabbed six boards just once. Tonight’s opponent, the Kings, are allowing the fifth-fewest rebounds to opponents this season (50.1 RPG). Fading New Orleans in general is usually a good idea, and this total is no different.
The Kings have been reshuffling their rotation as of late, with head coach Mike Brown opting to start guard Malik Monk. On paper, that should be bad news for Kevin Huerter. However, the sharpshooter has been terrific off the bench, scoring 15.3 points on 57.5% shooting over his last four games. During that time, he’s knocked down 13 three-pointers (3.3 per game).
A date with the woeful Pelicans is perfect on a number of levels. New Orleans is giving up the sixth-most three-point attempts (38.7 3PA) on the seventh-highest percentage in the NBA (37.0%). Even if this game gets out of hand, that should only mean more work for Huerter, who played more than 22 minutes in Sacramento’s previous two blowout wins over the Spurs and the Jazz. The man known as Red Velvet should keep his hot streak going on Thursday against one of the worst teams in the association.
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether or not you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
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