DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 4/12/21

With nine games to choose from on Monday'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

Stephen Curry ($10,300) - There aren't many situations you can feel more comfortable in than Curry playing at home. On the season, he's averaged 30.5 points a game on 50% shooting from the floor and 45% from three-point land, all while adding the peripherals to get to 50.8 DraftKings points per game. In his most recent run of three straight home games, the Chef has shot over 60% in two of them, turning in an average of 37 points and 55.5 DK points. Facing a Denver Nuggets team that he torched for 35 points and a double-double makes him even more appealing than the four players with higher salaries on this slate.

Ja Morant ($6,800) - If you have to choose, you might want to opt for Morant at the far lower salary tonight. In addition to coming off two straight games with at least 36.75 DK points, his salary point is too rich to pass up. Morant requires a mere 34 DK points to return five-times value, and he shouldn't have a problem versus the Chicago Bulls. According to FantasyPros, they are in the middle of the pack as far as defending point guards, but they rate 20th in defensive efficiency and 23rd when narrowed down to the last 10 games, according to NBA.com. Lock in Morant.

Shooting Guard

Donovan Mitchell ($9,200) - The Washington Wizards have been a goldmine for opposing fantasy players all season, so why stop now? After all, Mitchell comes into tonight scorching hot, having scored 41, 37, and 42 points in his last three showings, all breaking the 50-point threshold in DK scoring. While he's been up-and-down from the field, the sheer volume of shots is too much to ignore, as he's averaged 30.3 shots per game compared to his 20.6 a game on the year. Jordan Clarkson is doubtful and Mike Conley has been ruled out, meaning more opportunities for Mitchell to excel as the de facto point man for Utah.

Joe Ingles ($5,700) - Again, no Conley and likely no Clarkson will lead to a trickle-down effect in the Utah pecking order -- as it did on Thursday and Saturday, when Ingles picked up the slack with 13 and 20 points on 13 and 11 shots, respectively. His usage climbed to a more respectable 17.1% as his assist rate hit 27.9% in that two-game span. But this isn't just about Ingles himself. Washington is tops in the league in pace at 104.5 possessions a game, compared to Utah down at 99.5. They're also in the bottom-five in defense, which should allow Ingles to do more to contribute overall for fantasy purposes.

Small Forward

Talen Horton-Tucker ($5,300) - For the Los Angeles Lakers, the good news is that Anthony Davis is due to be re-evaluated in the near future, and that could mean he's closer to a return. However, the bad news is that Kyle Kuzma has now missed two games and has the potential to miss a third on Monday against the New York Knicks. If he's ultimately held out again, it will mean big things for the rookie, who has averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 assists and 36.6 DK points a game in the last two. Without the team's top players to get shots, he's poised to have another productive game at a nice fit-him-into-your-lineup salary.

Kent Bazemore ($4,300) - Tonight, small forward is about savings and taking advantage of injury situations. The Warriors are going to be without Kelly Oubre on the wing, and in his place, Bazemore should see his second straight start. Back on Saturday, he was able to convert on four of nine field goal attempts for nine points but to go alongside a packed stat-sheet consisting of seven boards, four assists, two steals, and a block. Those 29.75 DK points would be welcome value, particularly in a Warriors stack revolving around Curry at the top.

Power Forward

Zion Williamson ($9,700) - What more can be said about Zion? Now that he's taken on more of a point guard role from his four spot, the young and dynamic phenom has taken off as a top DFS option on a nightly basis. Following up his 37-point double-double on Friday, on Sunday Zion proceeded to score 25 points in the first and finish with 38 points on 16 of 22 shooting with nine rebounds, four assists and north of 57 DK points. He's on some kind of roll, and Sacramento's last-ranked defense isn't going to be the one to slow him down.

Michael Porter Jr. ($7,000) - The Nuggets have been doing well in the absence of Jamal Murray, having won three of the four the point guard has been sidelined for. One of the key reasons, though, is Porter. As he has before, the young forward has stepped up to score 22 or more points in three games, averaging a near double-double and 39.3 DK points. Porter and company have faced some lackluster defenses, but the Warriors -- though strong in defensive efficiency -- give up 114 points a game due to their high tempo.

Center

Deandre Ayton ($6,900) - Ayton is simply not getting enough credit. While praises have been sung of both Chris Paul and Devin Booker, the big man has gone on his way, averaging a steady 14.9 point, 10.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his age 22 season. His minutes have been down from a year ago, but his shooting percentage is nearly 7% higher and he's doing more with the minutes handed to him. Because of that, he makes for a good option compared to someone like Andre Drummond, who has been under 30 minutes for L.A. and checks in at $100 less on DraftKings.

Kevon Looney ($3,400) - The shorthanded Warriors are going to be down a second starter in rookie James Wiseman. Wiseman is expected to be out the rest of the season, which pushes Looney back into the fold to not only start but play decent minutes. Both Eric Paschall and Oubre are out, which for now will also somewhat limit the Dubs' ability to play Draymond Green at the five. At this low of a salary it's hard to argue a tournament lineup including Looney.

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 authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.