NBA

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 1/28/20

Ben Simmons has a mouth-watering home matchup with the Warriors. Who else should you use today?

With eight 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

Ben Simmons ($10,000) -- Simmons has recorded three straight double-doubles and is averaging 26.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 9.3 assists over those three. He's been as efficient as ever, shooting at least 71% from the field in each of his last three games while posting 62.1 fantasy points per game. Philadelphia hosts Golden State in a matchup of two teams that are both missing two starters. The Warriors currently rank 20th in points allowed in the paint per game (49), 23rd in defensive rating (112.1), 24th in opponent field goal percentage (47.2%). Simmons has scored 20 or more points in six of his last seven games, averaging 23.4 during this stretch. numberFire projects Simmons to continue his strong run without Joel Embiid and now Josh Richardson, projecting him for 15.3 points, 8.4 assists, and 7.2 rebounds. If the game is competitive (Philly is a 12.5-point favorite), Simmons could blow up.

Elfrid Payton ($6,000) -- Payton has been dodging double-doubles lately as he's averaged 9.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.2 rebounds in his last five games. He double-doubled versus the Toronto Raptors for his first one since December 15. The New York Knicks are in Charlotte to take on the Hornets' 27th-rated defense. Payton has seen an uptick in his fantasy average as he's producing 34 fantasy points per game over his last five and is now up to 26.4 per game on the season. The Hornets allow the most assists per game (27) and rank 26th in opponent steals per game (8.2). Payton has led the Knicks in assists and recorded at least one steal in eight of the last nine. Expect Payton to have another strong all-around game in this one.

Shooting Guard

Jrue Holiday ($7,900) -- Holiday's stellar all-around play has continued into the new year as he's averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in January (six games). He missed seven games in January (from the 6th to the 18th) and bounce backed with a few impressive performances. In the last three games, excluding the San Antonio Spurs contest, which was Zion Williamson's ($7,200) highly anticipated debut, Holiday has averaged 44.1 fantasy points on 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the opponent tonight, and they've had trouble stopping opposing offenses. They're allowing opponents to make 48.8% of their shot attempts (third-worst), 37.1% of their three-pointers (fifth-worst), and allowing the second-most assists per game (25.7). Holiday averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in two games versus the Cavs last season, which is right around his current averages.

Fred VanVleet ($8,200) -- VanVleet was on a four-game scoring streak of at least 20 points before scoring a combined 29 points in his last two games. Good news for him -- the Atlanta Hawks come to town. In two games versus the Hawks this season, VanVleet has averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while the Toronto Raptors scored 119 and 122 points. VanVleet also scored 30 points and added 6 assists and 5 rebounds in his final meeting versus Atlanta last season. We project VanVleet to record 17.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds. The Hawks are 28th in opponent field goals made per game (42.7) and dead-last in opponent free-throws made per game (21.2).

Small Forward

Jimmy Butler ($8,100) -- Believe or not, Butler is playing some of his best basketball with no rest. He's averaging 24.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in six games with no days off. At home, his scoring dips to 19.2 points per game, but his assists (7.3) and rebounding (7.2) are higher than on the road. He's been dominant this month, with four double-doubles and five games of 20 or more points. The Miami Heat are on the second night of the back-to-back today after throttling the Orlando Magic last night. Butler played the Boston Celtics -- tonight's foe -- on the second night of a back-to-back earlier in the season, and he scored a season-high 37 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists in that one. The Celtics do everything pretty well, but Butler has shown he can crush in this matchup.

Norman Powell ($5,300) -- Last time out, Powell had his first disappointing game in his eight contests since returning from injury. He posted seven points, three rebounds, and two assists on 3-for-11 shooting from the field versus the Spurs. Powell has averaged 21.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.1 made three-pointers per game since coming back (seven games), and he's hitting 47.7% from deep in that span. The Raptors host the Hawks tonight, and Powell should find his rhythm again versus a young Hawks squad. Atlanta ranks 28th in defensive rating (113.3), 29th in turnover percentage (16.1%), and 16th in opponent three-point percentage (35.5%). You can see why we have him forecasted for 2.9 made threes. He's averaged three made triples per game in Toronto since January 12th and has hit 42.8% of his three-pointers at home.

Power Forward

Zion Williamson ($7,200) -- Zion has erupted on the scene, and if you've played him through three games, you've been rewarded. He's slowly taken Brandon Ingram's ($7,600) touches away, and Zion been just as efficient. Williamson has averaged 19.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 66.6% shooting from the field in his first three games. His minutes have increased each game, and in 27 minutes in his previous outing, he recorded the first double-double of his career with 21 points and 11 rebounds versus Boston. Williamson gets the Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back. Williamson could have a career-night scoring against a Cavs team that surrenders 121.3 points over their last three second legs in a back-to-back. New Orleans is averaging 115.3 points per game in their first three outings with Williamson.

Julius Randle ($8,600) -- Randle has posted back-to-back double-doubles for the Knicks. He's averaged 19.9 points and 10.2 rebounds in his last 10 games, scoring 20 or more five times and grabbing 10-plus rebounds five times in those 10 games. The Hornets rank 28th in rebounding per game (42.5) and 28th in opponent field goal percentage (48%), giving Randle a very favorable matchup. Charlotte has lost eight straight and surrendered 109.1 points per game over the losing streak. Randle has led the Knicks in scoring twice over the last four games and paced them in rebounding three times in that stretch. numberFire pegs Randle to record 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. Randle recorded 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in his first game versus the Hornets.

Center

Serge Ibaka ($5,400) -- Ibaka has reverted back to his role off the bench, and he's been solid in his last three games as he's recorded averages of 14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. He's made six shots in each of his last three games and shot 50% or better in all three. Ibaka failed to register any points or rebounds versus the Knicks, scoring 14 points. However, in his other two games in the last three, he's averaged 14.0 points, 8.5 boards, and 3.0 assists. Oddsmakers are expecting a high-scoring game between the two teams (233), and if that unfolds, Ibaka should be very involved on the boards and scoring. He's scored double-digit points in nine of his past 10 games and grabbed at least seven rebounds in seven of those 10. Ibaka has averaged eight points and seven rebounds in two games versus the Hawks this season, and numberFire projects him to surpass those numbers with 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds tonight.

Daniel Theis ($5,700) -- Theis has scored in double-figures for five of his last six games and topped 30 fantasy points per game over his last three. Theis has averaged 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 65.5% shooting in that three-game stretch. Miami is on the tail end of a back-to-back, and Theis has played 31 or more minutes in his past two games. numberFire's model projects Theis to record 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, but in the past 10 games, he's averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.


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.