NBA

NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/21/16

Patty Mills should see all the minutes he can handle with Tony Parker sidelined tonight.

If you've never played daily fantasy basketball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.

Today's lineups can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Oh, and if you're interested, check out our daily fantasy basketball heat chart for today's slate. It's full of information like tonight's Vegas lines, team offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, pace, fantasy points against and so much more.

As for today's picks -- let's get to it.

The Best of the Best

DeMarcus Cousins (FD: $10,700, DK: $10,600) - Nobody in the NBA is hotter than Cousins right now. The Kings' star has poured in 31.7 points with 13.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game with a ridiculous 36.7% Usage Rate over his last nine games, recording a double-double in every single one. Expect Boogie to stay hot tonight in a plus matchup against a Hawks defense that has allowed the ninth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the year.

Chris Paul (FD: $9,800, DK: $9,800) - Blake Griffin will not return tonight, which means Paul will have to continue to carry the load for the Clippers on the offensive end. Over his last 11 games with Griffin sidelined, the Clippers' floor general has averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals with a 29.3% Usage Rate. With a matchup against Kyrie Irving and his career 109 Defensive Rating on the docket, Paul should be in store for another huge outing tonight.

Paul Millsap (FD: $8,700, DK: $8,200) - Millsap has quietly been one of the best players in the league this season, filling up the stat sheet with 18.5 points, 8.7 boards, 3.5 dimes, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game and now sits seventh in our player power rankings with an impressive 12.1 nERD. Tonight, he draws a dream matchup against a terrible Kings defense that has given up the second most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards this season in what Vegas expects to be the highest scoring game on tonight's slate by a wide margin.

Top Mid-Range Values

Marc Gasol (FD: $8,000, DK: $7,600) - The Nuggets have struggled to defend opposing big men all season long, ranking 26th in the league in Defensive Efficiency according to our metrics while giving up the ninth most fantasy points per game to opposing centers on the year. Gasol comes into tonight red hot, averaging 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 assists per game over his last four outings and should have his way with the porous Nuggets frontcourt. 

Tyreke Evans (FD: $7,100, DK: $7,700) - While he hasn't seen his full complement over the past few games as he attempts to rest his ailing knee, Evans will need to play his full workload tonight with Eric Gordon out for the next month. The versatile guard is averaging 17.7 points, 7.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds on a per-36 minute basis this season and could see close to that total for the shorthanded Pelicans.

Jrue Holiday (FD: $6,600, DK: $6,500) - With Gordon sidelined, Holiday has been penciled into tonight's starting lineup and could see a massive workload. The Pelicans' point guard has averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per-36 minutes on the year and should have an opportunity to see consistent minutes in the mid-30s for the first time all season. 

Basement Ballers

Kent Bazemore (FD: $5,000, DK: $5,600) - Bazemore has been very impressive when given the opportunity this season, posting 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per-36 minutes this season. He's coming off of a 23-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist performance in 32 minutes against the Blazers and will likely see similar playing time tonight in a dream matchup against the defensively-challenged Kings in a game that features a massive 214 over/under.

Jeff Green (FD: $4,700, DK: $4,900) - Green has been one of the few consistent sources of production for a Grizzlies squad that has dealt with a number of injuries as of late. He's averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2 assists in 29.3 minutes over his last nine games and should have little trouble taking advantage of a plus matchup against the Nuggets. Green provides a high-floor and costs less than $5,000 on both FanDuel and DraftKings on a night where value is not easy to find.

Patrick Mills (FD: $3,500, DK: $3,500) - With Tony Parker already ruled out, Mills will slide into the Spurs' starting lineup for tonight's matchup with the ailing Suns. Phoenix currently ranks 27th in the league in Defensive Efficiency and has allowed the second most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the year. Mills is dollar for dollar my favorite play on the board tonight, despite a potential blowout.