NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/17/19

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

Russell Westbrook ($12,500): He's being overshadowed by the absurd numbers from Anthony Davis and James Harden, but Russ has not-so-quietly averaged 57.5 FanDuel points per game over the past month. His last 10 games have been especially good, averaging 58.9 per while topping 60 in four of those contests. Thanks to their high pace, the defensively-sound Los Angeles Lakers still sit in the middle of the pack in points per game allowed to opponents, while also giving up the fifth-most rebounds and sixth-most steals per game. It's nothing new for Russ to fill it up with points, assists and boards, but this season he also leads the league in steals, giving him one more area to boost his upside against the Lakers tonight.