DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Thursday 1/30/20

With six games to choose from on tonight's NBA slate, let's take a look at how to utilize the DFS possibilities.

Here are some of the top plays and sleepers on DraftKings. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Trae Young ($9,900) -- Young tops our guard projections tonight for a reason. He's had two 40-point outings -- real-life points -- in his last four, and he's averaging 61.3 fantasy points per game in that span. He's averaging the second-most fantasy points per minute (1.68) in the league across the last five games, and he's at 56.5 DK points per game in that span, the highest in the league among guards playing tonight. Young has tallied 13 or more assists in four straight games, and he's attempted 12 or more free-throws in three of his last four. He's doing a little bit of everything and should be busy in the game with the night's highest total (228.0).

Donovan Mitchell ($7,200) -- Mitchell has eight straight games of 22 or more actual points, and he's upped it to a scorching level of late with performances of 31 and 36 points in his past two. He faces a stingy Denver Nuggets defense that's fourth-best in points allowed per game (104.0). Despite that, he's still projected to be the sixth highest-scoring fantasy guard tonight by our models. Mitchell has the fifth-best point-per-dollar value (5.41) of guards tonight, and he is at 1.32 DK points per minute over his last five games. Mitchell averages 25.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in the second game of back-to-back, and numberFire's models project just about that -- having Mitchell at 39.0 fantasy points tonight in Denver.

Shooting Guard

Cam Reddish ($4,500) -- Reddish has been hot for the Hawks, averaging a 37.98% increase in fantasy points per game over his last five. He's reached 26.6 DK points per game in that span, and for $4,500, he's worth another stab. The 76ers may be without two starters, and Cam will likely draw the defense rookie Matisse Thybulle ($4,400) at times. It's a tough matchup, but with a sky-high total in this one, we can stomach it. Reddish is averaging 14.8 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last five games while seeing 28.6 minutes per game in that time. We project Reddish to record 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 21.4 fantasy points versus the 76ers.

Bradley Beal ($9,400) -- Beal is a must-play tonight as he takes on the Charlotte Hornets. Beal has averaged 23.0 points, 10.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in two games versus the Hornets this season. He is averaging 1.48 fantasy points per minute over his last five games, the fourth-best total during that stretch. The Hornets allow 21.65 real-life points (11th most), and 41.57 fantasy points per game (16th most) to shooting guards, so this isn't a bad spot. This game has an appealing 227.5-point toal, and numberFire projects Beal for 44.9 DK points, tops at shooting guard.

Small Forward

Draymond Green ($5,900) -- Green narrowly missed a triple-double last time out at Philly, posting 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in 33 minutes. He amassed 46.25 fantasy points in that one, his highest total in all of January. Green is registering 0.96 fantasy points per minute, but just starting his hot streak. He's cracked numberFIre's Hottest Players list playing +0.68% higher over his last five games, but that number would be much higher in his past two games. The Boston Celtics will be without Enes Kanter and Robert Williams tonight, and they currently allow 8.27 rebounds per game (20th) to small forwards, and 11.54 (19th) to opposing power forwards. I like Green's chances to have another all-around night and notch double-digit rebounds for the first time in 11 games.

Paul George ($8,200) -- PG13 is looking likely to return to the court tonight after being tagged as probable for the Los Angeles Clippers. The last time we saw George play was January 5th versus the Knicks, and he scored 32 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Clippers host the Sacramento Kings today, and the Kings surrender 2.74 three-pointers made per game to small forwards. George has connected on at least two three-pointers in eight of his last 10 games, and he's hit three or more in six of those 10. The Kings give up 41.16 fantasy points per game to small forwards, and 42.53 to power forwards. If George doesn't suit up, Kawhi Leonard becomes a must-start in all formats -- and vice-versa.

Power Forward

Mike Scott ($3,900) -- Al Horford has been ruled out with a knee injury, so Scott should see an expanded role. Scott logged just 11 minutes versus the Warriors in Philly's last game, but he has dealt with an knee injury lately and Joel Embiid made a surprise return for that one. The Hawks have allowed 118.1 points per game (29th) and struggle versus opposing big men. They are giving up 23.35 points (23rd), 11.67 rebounds (21st), and 51.11 fantasy points per game (27th) to opposing power forwards this season.

Gordon Hayward ($7,500) -- Hayward has averaged 33.1 fantasy points for the campaign, but he's at 42.9 DK points per game over the last three. The Warriors allow the fifth-most fantasy points to three-and-D wings at 23.97 per game, and if Jayson Tatum can't go tonight, Hayward's usage rating will likely continue to increase. He's reached 23.81% over his last five games, ranking eighth among all forwards, all while recording better than one fantasy point per minute in 34.6 minutes per game in that span. numberFire projects Hayward to go for 17 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.4 three-pointers, and 32.8 fantasy points in 32.1 minutes.

Center

Thomas Bryant ($5,200) -- Bryant put up 44 fantasy points with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists versus the Milwaukee Bucks. His opponent goes from the NBA's best record and best defense to a home game with the Hornets, who are very much not the best team nor do they have the best D. The Hornets give up 21.89 points (20th) and 17.29 rebounds (29th) per game to opposing centers, which has led to them allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to centers (58.33). Bryant is at 1.11 DK points per minute over his last five, and the salary is pretty nice. We project him for 27.7 DraftKings points -- 5.52 per $1,000.

Serge Ibaka ($7,100) -- Ibaka erupted for 24 points and 10 rebounds last game for his second-straight double-double. Marc Gasol suffered a hamstring injury in that one and has been ruled out, so Ibaka could see more run. Ibaka is averaging 16.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 32.5 fantasy points over his last four games. The Cleveland Cavaliers allow their opponents to shoot 48.9% from the field (third-highest rate), and we peg Ibaka for a line of 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in 26.1 minutes tonight. He could be in store for more if the Cavs can keep it competitive.

Vaughn Dalzell is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Vaughn also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username vdalzell. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.