NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 1/25/19

If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes hugely on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each price point.

Let's take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.

Best of the Best

James Harden ($14,000): Not much needs to be said about Harden's absurd run at this point -- just know he's averaging 68.6 fantasy points and 43.1 real-world points per game over his last 21. That has also come despite a pretty tough string of matchups, with 11 of the 21 games coming against teams that are top 10 in defensive rating. He scored 43.4 per game in that sample, with 44.0 per game in the seven matchups against teams that rank above his opponent today in the Toronto Raptors, who sit in eighth. With matchups essentially not mattering to Harden at this point, he remains a top play in all formats tonight.