DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 1/17/20

With seven 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

Malcolm Brogdon ($7,000) -- Brogdon's last two games have been instrumental to the Pacers' wins over the 76ers and Timberwolves. He scored 21 points and registered at least six rebounds and six assists in both games. Good news for Brogdon, he played over 30 minutes in his last two games after only playing eight minutes shooting 0-for-5 as he was dealing with strep throat. He appears to be healthy, he's averaged 41.5 fantasy points over his last two games, so for $7,000 he's a steal playing the second game of a home and home series in Indiana.

Chris Paul ($6,900) -- Paul is coming off his first double-double of 2020 recording 16 points and 11 assists versus the Raptors. He's been playing very well, shooting 50% or higher in four of his last five games, and 16 points or more in four of five. The Heat allow the third-most three-point attempts per game (36.9), and Paul has made nine of his last 27 (33.3%) three-pointers. Paul has surpassed his 36 fantasy points per game average in four of his last five games, and he's averaging more points (17), assists (6.8), and fantasy points (36.5) at home than on the road this season.

Shooting Guard

C.J. McCollum ($6,800) -- McCollum has recorded three-straight games scoring 20 or more and he's hit three triples or more in three of his last four games. McCollum is heating up offensively, he's shot 50% or better in six of his last nine games and three of his past four for the Trail Blazers. He's had three-straight performances of 36 fantasy points or more, and he's averaged 23.6 points, 5 assists and 2.6 rebounds in those games. The Dallas Mavericks allow 90.9 field goal attempts, which ranks 24th per game, while the Blazers rank sixth in field goal attempts per game with 91.1. Expect the Blazers trio of Damian Lillard ($8,500), Carmelo Anthony ($6,200), and McCollum to get their shots up and often. Our model projects McCollum to record his fourth-straight 20-point game with 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.

Josh Richardson ($6,600) -- One of the unsung heroes of the 76ers since Joel Embiid has gone down -- Richardson -- has been playing some of his best ball of the season. He's averaging 21.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over his last five games, scoring 23 or more in three of five games. He's connected on 25 of his last 27 free throws (92.5%) and shot 40% or higher in five-straight games. Chicago has allowed 111.2 points over their last five road games and Richardson is averaging 19.5 points in his last two road games. He's projected to record 17.7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists tonight versus Chicago.

Small Forward

Ben Simmons ($9,300) -- Simmons comes into his fifth-straight game without Joel Embiid, and he's been impressive without the star big man, recording three-straight double-doubles. Simmons is averaging 43.6 fantasy points in four games since Embiid went out. Simmons has scored 20 points in his last two games and shot 45% or higher in all four. I like Simmons to double-double again tonight, and he's on triple-double watch at home the Chicago Bulls team that lacks rebounding. Chicago has dropped to 23rd in rebounding (43.1) following the Wendell Carter Jr. injury, while the 76ers remain ranked eighth (46.2) without Embiid. Our model projects Simmons to record 16.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 9.0 rebounds at home tonight.

Jimmy Butler ($7,800) -- Butler has posted three double-doubles and three 20-point efforts in his first six games to start 2020. The new face of the Miami Heat has recorded three games of 48.75 fantasy points or more in his last five, and 35 or more in five of six games. On the road, Butler is averaging 22 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists on 49.8% from the field. His averages on the road are much higher than at home, so I recommend throwing Butler in at your small forward position and pairing him with Ben Simmons or a sleeper like T.J. Warren ($5,300) versus Minnesota tonight. The Thunder could be without Nerlens Noel ($5,000) for the seventh-straight game, and if that's the case Butler and Bam Adebayo ($8,200) are worth a pairing as well.

Power Forward

Pascal Siakam ($7,900) -- The Raptors are glad to have back Siakam and Marc Gasol ($4,800) as they bolster that core defensive unit for Toronto. Siakam has averaged 18 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4 assists in his first two games back, playing 30 minutes in each game. The Raptors still rank 10th in rebounding surprisingly enough, and third in the league in three-point percentage (37.1%). Siakam has hit at least a three-pointer in his last seven games but grabbed at least four rebounds in 17-straight games. The Washington Wizards are second-worst in rebounding (42.4) and 23rd in opponent's three-point percentage (36.5). Siakam is projected to record 23.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his third game back from injury.

Kevin Love ($7,200) -- Love has averaged 41.5 fantasy points over his last four games nearly missing out on four-straight double-doubles by one rebound in two separate games. Even with all the trade rumors surrounding him, he's averaging 17 points and 10.4 rebounds (11th) on the season. Over his last four, he's done serious damage scoring with 21.7 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 50% shooting from the field. The Memphis Grizzlies allow the fourth-most points per game (115.9) and 15th in rebounding (45.6). Our model projects Love to earn his third-straight double-double with 18.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Center

John Collins ($7,700) -- Collins had a monster performance posting 23 points and 10 rebounds on 10-for-16 shooting versus the Phoenix Suns. Collins has posted a double-double in three of his past four games and averaged 15.5 points and 11 rebounds over that stretch. He's surpassed his 38.2 fantasy points per game average in three of his last four games and should again on the road tonight. Collins has been much more aggressive offensively on the road this season, averaging 19.8 points in eight games compared to 14.6 in seven home games. Collins has also attempted 119 shots on the road compared to 89 at home and averaging more fantasy points (40.1) away than in Atlanta (35.9).

Al Horford ($7,500) -- Horford along with Simmons, has played well in relief of Embiid over the past four games. Horford has averaged 38 fantasy points on 14.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and has hit multiple three-pointers in three of four games. The Bulls are 25th in rebounding per game (43.1) and allow the 16th-most points in the paint (48.1) per game. Horford and the 76ers can take advantage of the Bulls' weaknesses especially in the rebounding department. The 76ers hold the third-best defensive rebounding percentage (75.7%) in the league and he's averaged six rebounds or more in five of his last six games.

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.