DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 1/4/21

With nine games to choose from on Monday's slate -- which locks at 6:30 pm Eastern, let's look at the top options across all five positions for daily fantasy NBA.

Be sure to check out our projections, which are updated throughout the day as news breaks, and our other DFS tools such as advanced stats and a matchup heat map.

Here are some of the top plays on DraftKings for today's slate. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Trae Young ($9,800) -- Young is a no-brainer at this point and each game he has delivered. At 47.0 fantasy points per game and 1.45 fantasy points per minute, Young is an elite DFS option because of his scoring and passing ability. Young's averaging 28.2 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds on the season, with two double-doubles coming in his past three games. Young is starting to heat up, and Clint Capela's addition is no surprise as to why. On most nights, Young will be the play and tonight versus the New York Knicks is one of those nights. Our model predicts Young to total 28.1 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds for 45.2 fantasy points, his fourth-highest total of the season.

Collin Sexton ($7,200) -- Sexton has been reliable this season for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and in DFS standards. He's averaging 37.3 fantasy points per game and posted 30 or more in all six games. He's scoring an impressive 26.0 points per game on the season and recorded 39.25 and 41.0 fantasy points in his last two games. Versus the Orlando Magic last season, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in three meetings. Orlando's allowing the top-five most rebounds (9.42) and assists (9.74) per game to point guards, and if Sexton can up his 3.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds in this matchup, he's worth a roster spot tonight.

Shooting Guard

Seth Curry ($5,600) -- Both Curry's have been hot lately, but this one is a much bigger sleeper than his older brother right now. Seth Curry has scored 17, 21, and 21 points in his last three games. He's steadily increased his field goal percentage in the previous three games and attempted double-digit shots in all three. Curry, of course, is dangerous from beyond the arc, making at least three triples in four of his last five games on top of a perfect 16 for 16 from the charity stripe for the season.

Derrick Rose ($5,800) -- The Detroit Pistons' injury woes have Rose stepping up to the plate resuming his role as Detroit's closer. Rose finished his last game with 13 points and 8 assists versus the Boston Celtics. In his first meeting with Milwaukee, Rose will look to score more as Blake Griffin is sitting out tonight. Rose has recorded 31 fantasy points in three of his five contests this season and only played 24 minutes in each of his last two games. He should be fresh and able to play 25-plus minutes in this divisional game to stay from falling behind too much. Look at other Pistons like Delon Wright ($4,000) and Killian Hayes ($3,500) to get extended playing time if there is a blowout.

Small Forward

Terrence Ross ($5,900) -- Ross returned to the Orlando Magic with 26 points in 31 minutes, going 9 for 21 (42.9%) from the field and 4 for 9 from deep (44.4%). He's not much else besides a scorer in DFS, but he's a sneaky option to repeat that scoring performance and at home versus the Cavs' guard duo. Ross is averaging 29.9 fantasy points per game on the season and his 40.5 in his return was the highest of the season. It's safe to say Ross looks healthy, and the Magic will likely increase his minutes from 31 in his second game back. Ross is averaging 1.01 fantasy points per minute over his last five games.

OG Anunoby ($6,200) -- We most likely won't re-live his game-winner versus Boston as we saw in the postseason series, but he's a solid sleeper tonight. Anunoby is averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds to start the season, but in his last game, he impressed with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists for 30.25 fantasy points. He's at 29.5 fantasy points per game for the season, and he's recorded at least 6 boards in every game this year plus double-digit scoring in three of five. Boston ranks among the top-10 for the most in points per game allowed to small and power forwards, so Anunoby should reach double-digits scoring once again.

Power Forward

Jayson Tatum ($8,600) -- Tatum is averaging 1.23 fantasy points per minute for a total of\ 45.5 fantasy points per game to start the season. Tatum's averaging 24.9 points, 4.3 assists, and has carried over his impressive rebounding from last postseason into this one with 7.9 per game. Tatum nearly triple-doubled in his previous performance, going for 24 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds in a comeback win over Detroit led by his game-winner with 2.9 seconds remaining. He's always a solid DFS option, and I'll be riding this all-around stellar play until Kemba Walker returns from injury. Our model projects Tatum to record 44.4 fantasy points on 25.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.

Jerami Grant ($6,900) -- Grant's role may be increased with Griffin's absence, making him that much better of a play tonight. Grant is suitable to matchup against the Bucks and guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, ($10,800) in particular. Grant has played 34 or more minutes in his last five games and 37 or more in four of his last five. I like Grant to play a ton of minutes no matter the score, and his 37.3 fantasy points per game average are certainly being overlooked on most nights. Grant totaled 34.5 fantasy points in his last game on 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in 34 minutes.

Center

Joel Embiid ($9,900) -- Embiid and the Charlotte Hornets met over the weekend, and the Philadelphia 76ers' pulled in 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists in 37 minutes. He totaled his fifth-straight game to open the season with 39.75 fantasy points or more, recording 46 versus Charlotte. His last game was a light performance for what he can do versus them and their 11th ranked DFS defense towards centers. Charlotte allows 54.07 fantasy points per game to centers, and Embiid is averaging 49.6 per game himself. He's the top play of the night at the center position, and I'm still awaiting that breakout scoring performance this season.

Steven Adams ($6,200) -- Adams has double-doubled in back-to-back games for the New Orleans Pelicans, and now he faces a familiar opponent he's found plenty of success against. Adams has scored double-digit versus Indiana in seven of the last eight games last season, all as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He's also averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds for a career versus them but meets the Indiana Pacers for the first time on a new team. The Pacers allow opposing centers to score the 11th-most rebounds per game (15.99) and are in the middle of the pact ranked 14th in total fantasy points per game given up to centers (52.23).

Vaughn Dalzell is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Vaughn also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his 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.com