DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 1/27/21

With 12 games to choose from on Monday's slate -- which locks at 7:00 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

Lonzo Ball ($5,600) -- Ball has been the subject of recent trade rumors, and his play hasn't been all that stellar of late. He had missed three games in the middle of the month and has since looked a bit out of place beside Eric Bledsoe. Still, the versatile floor general shouldn't be at this low of a salary. Ball had been averaging 27.7 DraftKings points before his injury, and he is fresh off a game in which he tallied 33.5 DK points over 30 minutes of work. He now gets a Washington Wizards squad that has allowed the third-most DK points to opposing point guards, according to FantasyPros. For me, he's a lock to go for 30-plus fantasy points in a high-tempo game.

Darius Garland ($4,600) -- Garland isn't at the salary you would have expected him to be at just over three weeks ago when he was averaging 17-plus points and getting into the 30s in fantasy points. The reason for that is obviously his long layoff and gradual introduction back into the lineup for Cleveland. Since returning, he hasn't played more than 26 minutes off the bench. However, his minutes have been increasing game by game, and he posted 20 DK points against a tough Los Angeles Lakers defense. A date with the Detroit Pistons should see him fare better, and if he gets the start, you have to get him locked in across all formats.

Shooting Guard

Collin Sexton ($6,600) -- This goes beyond just tonight, but if you're interested in playing Garland, you should probably be interested in stacking Sexton right along with him. He has shown a higher ceiling (36.8 DK points per game), which is a byproduct of his 27.7% usage rate compared to Garland's 21.9% (via NBA.com). He hasn't shot well in his last two to three games, yet he's tallied 32 and 41 DK points in two of the three. The other, a large blowout to the Boston Celtics, resulted in him playing just 16 minutes and going for 15.5 DK points. You can feel a lot better about him in this matchup. Detroit is 22nd in both defensive rating and opponent points per game, surrendering 113 points on average.

Anthony Edwards ($4,500) -- Edwards should be the beneficiary of injuries and players in the league's health and safety protocols. Although he's disappointed in games past, where the Minnesota Timberwolves were without the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell, this time Minnesota is missing Jarrett Culver, as well. That, combined with a stinker from Josh Okogie last game should push the rookie into more minutes. And for him, more minutes has meant more scoring and fantasy points. Edwards is averaging 17.0 points and 25.8 DK points on the three occasions he has logged at least 30 minutes.

Small Forward

Jayson Tatum ($8,700) -- Tatum puts this slate in a slightly weird spot this evening. While we know of his 50-plus-point fantasy upside, he's also playing in his just second game following a five-game layoff due to COVID-19. Yet again, he played 31 minutes in his last game, totaling 24 points and 39 DK points. He came back to use 34.8% of his team's offensive possessions, or 5% above his season average, albeit with Kemba Walker mostly sidelined. A slight decrease in salary is what makes Tatum a super intriguing start in a game with a 225 over/under -- per Online Sportsbook -- versus the San Antonio Spurs.

Jae Crowder ($4,900) -- If you're hesitant to roll with Tatum in his second game back, there are a ton of players you can flex into the small forward spot at lower salaries. And none is likely to be more highly-rostered than Crowder in cash. Devin Booker has been ruled out for Wednesday after suffering a hamstring injury on Friday, vacating 17 shots and a 29.1% usage rate. Last game, Crowder took advantage to the tune of 21, 7 rebounds, and 38.25 DK points over 45 minutes. He should continue to capitalize on open shots opposite an Oklahoma City team that ranks 24th in defensive rating to this point.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,700) -- Giannis is a strong play on just about every night, but he's been a key guy to target when playing in a competitive game. Most of those call for him to log 30 or more minutes, and when he's done so this year, he's put up, on average, 30.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over 35.0 minutes. That's yielded 57.1 DK points. The Toronto Raptors are now in the bottom half of the league in defensive efficiency and could be shorthanded again with Pascal Siakam deemed questionable. If the six-point spread holds up, look out for a monster Giannis performance.

Kelly Oubre ($5,900) -- If you're looking for a middle of the road option at either forward slot, Oubre is someone you can roll the dice on and hope for a high-end game versus the Wolves. He has suffered from inconsistent shooting and play throughout his first year with the Warriors, but he's had his games while playing big minutes. Exhibit A was Monday's 14-point, 36-DK-point showing over 28 minutes. Usually, his minutes are in the low 30s, so if he's getting that type of workload, he could easily reproduce his last game and give you a well-rounded stat line.

Center

Nikola Vucevic ($9,200) -- Vooch is flying under the radar as a walking double-double threat. He is tops on the Magic with 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds a game, and only five of his games have resulted in single-digit boards. With that stable production, you can feel confident about getting 45 to 55 DK points from your center spot, especially in this spot against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings allowed 121 points per game on the floor and 56.5 fantasy points to opposing centers.

Robin Lopez ($4,600) - This comes with a disclaimer: you need to keep your eye out for the potential return of Moritz Wagner and any type of minutes limit for Lopez. The Wizards are on the second night of a back-to-back in which Wagner failed to play due to health and safety protocols. RoLo logged nearly 30 minutes, leading to 10 points and 20.25 DK points versus the Rockets. Prior to that, he had 29.25 and 25.25 DK points in consecutive games, including a double-double. The Pelicans are unkind to centers because of their rebounding strength, but if you're in need of a center below $5,000, Lopez is a starter getting minutes, so you can't shrug him off entirely.

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.