NBA

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 1/15/21

With eight games to choose from on Wednesday's slate -- which locks at 7:30 p.m. EST -- let's look at the top options across all five positions for NBA DFS.

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 today's DraftKings slate. As always, good luck.

Point Guard

Luka Doncic ($11,000) -- For having very little help, and a lot of uncertainty around the lineup of late, Doncic is having an unbelievable first month. According to NBA.com, his 37.2% usage rate is first among qualified players, which has led him to flirt with a triple-double on any given night. On Wednesday, in his first game with Kristaps Porzingis back in the lineup, he took 25 shots, finished with 34 points, and totaled 77.75 DraftKings points. Jrue Holiday will surely be a tough matchup, but have we seen anyone lockdown Luka so far? He makes for a great tournament play against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($7,700) -- If you're hesitant about paying up at point guard, with Luka in what could be a tough head-to-head, SGA is the guy for you. The young Oklahoma City Thunder star was riding a very hot hand before back-to-back meh games against the Spurs and Lakers. Prior to those he had posted 50-plus DK points in three straight, which shows the potential to blow past his salary-implied total of 38.5 here. After all, he draws a Chicago Bulls team that ranks 29th in defensive rating and allows the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing point men, according to FantasyPros' positional data.

Shooting Guard

Paul George ($9,400) -- It would be enough to say that George is facing off against the Sacramento Kings, their last-ranked defense and top-eight pace, but we don't have to stop there. A 230.5 over/under confirms an up-and-down game in which a guy like PG could score in bunches. And yes, for my money he gets the nod over Kawhi Leonard. He produces roughly the same fantasy points on a per-game basis, and he's been a lights-out shooter on the road, where he's averaging 47.9 DK points with 27.7 points on 52.8% shooting. He's a top-five play on the night.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($4,400) -- The Rockets are not what they were just over 24 hours ago. Not only is Harden gone, but they are dealing with a number of absences from injuries. Danuel House Jr. and John Wall are out, while Eric Gordon is questionable. Whether or not Gordon plays, someone's going to soak up all the usage left behind from Wall and Harden. McLemore's 21.6% usage rate is fifth among Houston's rotation players, and he's surprised with 1.1 DK points per minute. Likely to see close to 30 minutes, McLemore needs just 17 points to return the five-times value we are usually after.

Small Forward

Jaylen Brown ($8,900) -- Brown may come in under $9,000 but he might as well have a salary $800 to $900 higher. With Jayson Tatum testing positive for COVID-19, he is going to be running the offensive show for the Boston Celtics. His already high usage rate increases nearly 5% with Tatum off the floor, leading him to average 1.26 DK points per minute, according to NBA Wowy's on/off splits. A home clash with an Orlando Magic squad that has been hit up by shooting guards all season is just the icing on top.

Grant Williams ($3,500) -- Like Brown, though on a different scale, Williams is going to benefit from the absence of Tatum in addition to Robert Williams and potentially Daniel Theis. With Boston shorthanded of late, the second-year forward has logged 24 and 28 minutes in consecutive games. On the year he's at a mere 0.73 DK points per minute, but he would require only 24 minutes to get to five-times value.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,800) -- As with his counterpart, Luka Doncic, Giannis is such a physically-gifted and talented player that you can't think there's someone to keep him from a big night. He just does it so consistently, averaging 52.3 DK points with fewer than 40 in only two games and at least 60 in 4 of the 11 games to date. Since the new year, he's averaging 54.0 DK points on a usage rate that's improved by 7.3% and an assist rate 2.8% higher compared to the two-time MVP's slow December. If you're prioritizing one of Giannis or Luka, I give the nod to Giannis.

James Johnson ($4,600) -- If anyone is going to try their hand at stopping Giannis, Johnson is the most likely candidate. If that's the case that would result in him playing significant minutes either beside or in place of Porzingis. After all, Dallas is going to be without a few key frontcourt players for this one. We should see Johnson around the 26 minutes he's played in back-to-back games, during which he has averaged 26.9 DK points per game and 1.03 points per minute. He's worth adding to an all-out game stack for what should be an offensively-charged game.

Center

Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,900) -- Towns is picking up right where he left off last season, when he put up an average of 50.9 DK points per game. This year, he's bested himself at 51.5 a night, but quietly he's been doing more on the defensive end to add to his output. He's had no fewer than two blocks in every game this season, and his block attempts have climbed from 2.2 to 4.3. The two-time All-Star seems more motivated than ever, and it's helping his standing as a top DFS play every night.

Willie Cauley-Stein ($4,500) -- As with Johnson, Cauley-Stein is again in line for a larger role without the likes of Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell. Without the two he played 30 minutes in the Mavs' last outing, as he grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds and tallied 31.5 DK points despite Porzingis' return to the floor. The pace-up game and a healthy 227 total, puts WCS in a spot to notch a double-double if he's finishing on his pick-and-roll opportunities.


Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.