DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 1/5/21

With five games to choose from on Tuesday's slate -- which locks at 6:30 p.m. EST -- 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

Dejounte Murray ($6,800) -- With Derrick White's toe injury, Murray's usage and production should see an increase. Murray has averaged 35.0 fantasy points per game to start the season and is coming off his worst shooting performance, something he will likely improve on versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Murray went 1-for-13 (0.77%) from the field last time out, adding five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. He also played 26 minutes, his first game with fewer than 30 minutes played, so expect a surplus of playing time versus Los Angeles with White out. Murray has exceeded 31 minutes only once this season, and he totaled 29 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for a season-best 49.25 fantasy points.

Donovan Mitchell ($7,400) -- Mitchell has had a few big DFS nights, but his last performance was his best of the season, registering 41.0 fantasy points on 22 points, nine assists, and four rebounds in only 29 minutes. His lowest minute total of the season was his highest DFS outing, a positive sign for tonight's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. The matchup with Kyrie Irving ($9,300) will likely bring the best out of Mitchell, and I wouldn't be surprised if he drops a huge line tonight. Our model projects Mitchell to total 21.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists for 34.9 fantasy points.

Shooting Guard

Dennis Schroder ($6,500) -- Schroder is in a favorable position, coming off his worst DFS performance and facing a Memphis Grizzlies backcourt without Ja Morant. Schroder posted 11 points and five assists for 19.75 fantasy points in his previous game after recording 28.5 or more DK points in three consecutive performances. He's averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game for the season and 0.99 fantasy points per minute. He's played 32 for more minutes in each of his last four games and may go a little overlooked tonight after his dud.

Coby White ($6,700) -- White had a decent performance in his last game, though he was outshined by Zach LaVine's ($8,000) 39 points. White totaled a season-high 23 points and seven rebounds, adding four assists for 37.75 fantasy points. White now faces the best possible matchup for point guards as the Portland Trail Blazers allow the most fantasy points per game (59.31), most points per game (37.21), and most three-pointers per game (5.02) to point guards. Some of that is due to Stephen Curry's 62-point outburst, but Portland was still struggling against floor generals prior to that. White should be in for a productive night in a favorable matchup.

Small Forward

Kawhi Leonard ($9,100) -- Leonard is a good play most nights, and with Paul George ($8,800) leading the charge in the Clips' previous game, I like Leonard to have his night tonight. To make it even better, this matchup is at home versus his former team, the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard is averaging 45.5 fantasy points per game to start the season, and at home, he's doing a little of everything with 20.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.5 assists for 43.9 fantasy points per game. Our model predicts him to go for 45.3 fantasy points tonight. He's taking on a Spurs defense that allows the most fantasy points per game to small forwards (58.77) and fifth-most to power forwards (53.28), so the ceiling is there for more.

Kyle Anderson ($6,300) -- Anderson is one of the underrated players on Memphis, and with Morant out, he's required to step up. He's at a 26.59% usage rate over the past five games, higher than his season average of 23.87%. That could keep rising as time passes, and his back-to-back games of 18 points on 29 and 32 minutes is impressive. Versus the Charlotte Hornets, Anderson recorded his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds for a season-high 47.75 fantasy points. He likely won't double-double versus the Los Angeles Lakers, but his ability to combine for 10-plus rebounds and assists makes him a valuable play.

Power Forward

DeMar DeRozan ($7,900) -- DeRozan is the engine to this Spurs team, and versus the Clippers, they'll need a ton of him. DeRozan's usage rate is 23.67% on the season. That's not an ideal number, but he's posted four games of 40 or more fantasy points across his six contests. He's scored 19 or more real-world points in three straight games, and while he had his second-lowest DFS output of the season last time out (34.25 fantasy points), that was mostly thanks to him logging only 27 minutes in a blowout loss. DeRozan should likely play 30-plus minutes tonight, and when he plays at least 30 minutes, his averages are 21.8 points, 8.0 assists, and 6.2 rebounds in five games.

Robert Covington ($5,100) -- Covington is a bit of a sleeper tonight versus the Chicago Bulls. For Chicago, Otto Porter ($6,400) has played well and should be considered, but Covington is pretty much a similar play and is a little more capable of rebounding and hitting threes than Porter is in this matchup. I think Covington could limit Porter tonight, and against a Bulls D allowing 53.67 fantasy points per game to power forwards (fourth-most), Covington should be able to get going offensively. Covington has yet to find his stroke this season, but this might be the spot for him to do so.

Center

Serge Ibaka ($5,600) -- Ibaka has been a welcoming signing for the Clippers despite not recording a double-double this season. Ibaka is averaging 26.2 fantasy points on 13.0 points and 6.3 rebounds to start the year and has at least 10 real-world points in six of seven games. The Spurs allow the fifth-most rebounds to centers (17.36), so Ibaka's first double-double could be coming tonight. It's worth noting and paying attention to LaMarcus Aldridge's ($6,200) status, but either way, Ibaka is a nice play. Ibaka has had two 30-point DFS nights this season, and our model projects a third today with Ibaka forecasted for 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds for 30.1 fantasy points.

Jusuf Nurkic ($6,400) -- Nurkic has a favorable matchup tonight as he can take advantage of a young Bulls frontcourt. Chicago allows the eighth-most points per game to centers (23.37). While Nurkic hasn't played more than 23 minutes in his last three games, our model projects him to play 26.6 minutes and to amass 34.0 fantasy points. Nurkic is averaging 1.20 fantasy points per minute on the season, so if he plays 25-plus minutes, he should offer a good floor/ceiling combination in this matchup.

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