DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 1/13/21

With eight games to choose from (Utah at Washington was postponed) on Wednesday'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

Damian Lillard ($9,500) -- The leading theme for the slate figures to start with the Portland Trail Blazers facing off against the Sacramento Kings. Early on the game carries a 235.5 over/under at Online Sportsbook, which is eight points beyond every other matchup on the slate. It will boost both the value and high-end players, starting with Lillard. Though he has come up short of 40 DraftKings points in two straight games, he shot an abysmal 5 of 16 against these Kings. His 33.5 DK points were about as low as it gets for Dame, but he also has met or exceeded his salary-implied total of 47.5 in three games. The high pace of the game bodes well for a 50-point game from either one of Dame or C.J. McCollum.

De'Aaron Fox ($7,400) -- Point guards have done well to combat Lillard and his own scoring prowess. According to FantasyPros, opposing floor generals have averaged 32.1 points, 3.8 threes, and a total of 54.4 DK points per contest -- third-most in the NBA. Last time out Fox was capped at 25 minutes in his second straight game back from injury, not to mention a 26-point loss to the Blazers. Recent game logs tell the public to avoid him, but in the games the Sacramento point guard has played 30-plus minutes he's averaged 43.1 DK points, or enough for 5.8-times value at his lower salary.

Shooting Guard

C.J. McCollum ($8,600) -- Recently, McCollum has been the hotter of the Blazers' sharpshooting backcourt duo. Over the last two games he's shot 56.1% from the floor and 50% from three as he has averaged 51.4 in the team's two consecutive wins. He's totaled 11 threes, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds to boot. And one of those games saw him play a mere 29 minutes. The only thing preventing him from destroying the Kings again is a blowout. But, this time, Fox shouldn't be limited. A tight 4.5-point spread should force McCollum to play 35 minutes, and if he does his floor is 40 DK points with the upside of 50 or more.

Trey Burke ($4,900) -- The Dallas Mavericks are of a handful of teams currently dealing with COVID and contact-tracing situations. They are set to be without five players (all of whom are in the regular rotation), including Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Jalen Brunson in the backcourt. Burke already played 21 minutes in the team's last game, but that was with other rotational players in the lineup. We should see a sliding effect, pushing wings to play small fours in the stead of Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell. Burke should fill that trickle-down effect and play roughly 30 minutes. With a 20.5% usage rate that ranks fourth among Dallas' available players, he is worth a shot under $5,000.

Small Forward

Caris LeVert ($8,000) -- Brooklyn just played on Tuesday, which should lead us to speculate about Kevin Durant's availability for Wednesday night. Due to his recent injury, he has yet to play in a back-to-back set, so that could again mean more play-making duties for LeVert. The 26-year-old has been picking up a lot of the slack of late, as a result of Kyrie Irving's odd absence from the team. He has played 32-plus minutes in each of the last three games, leading to 21.7 shots per game thanks to a 31.9% usage rate. In the two games without KD (also a back-to-back situation) that ballooned to 36.4%. Getting a lead guy against the New York Knicks is never a bad idea.

Gary Trent Jr. ($3,600) -- How many Blazers are too many Blazers? There might not be such a thing tonight. Trent is a boom-or-bust play, but on a medium-sized slate, he is a really good option to fit into your tournament and GPP lineups. He relies mostly on scoring, and while his shot hasn't been as on as it was in the bubble, he is hitting nearly 43% of threes for 10.8 points and 15.9 DK points per game. He hasn't met expectations in his last two games, both of which he played 30 or more minutes, yet he has shown the ability to go for 20-plus DK points twice this season. The high-temp game environment should do wonders for his ability to get numbers on the board tonight.

Power Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,600) -- In the likelihood that Durant does sit, Giannis becomes the unquestioned top power forward play. He is $1,500 more than the next-closest power forward option, but his 51.3 DK points per game are 3.4 above average, and that doesn't come close to his typical ceiling. So far this season he's hit 60 DK points three times with another three games of 53 or more. In other words, 60% of his games have resulted in him hitting value at this exact salary. Throw in a matchup with Detroit, against whom he tallied 61.75 fantasy points in the two's first meeting, and Giannis is the first lock in a stars-and-scrubs lineup.

Jerami Grant ($7,900) -- Even with Giannis on the other side, Grant finds himself in a nice spot. In the teams' two previous matchups he averaged 45 DK points with 27.5 points per game alongside 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks-plus-steals a contest. In one of those Grant went without a single free throw attempt, of which he's had at least eight in each of his last three. He's used 26.1% of the Pistons' offensive possessions to date, but with an increase of 5% against the Bucks. As long as this isn't a complete blowout he's a reliable guy in the middle tier.

Center

Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,800) -- Towns' return to the floor was anything but boring. Despite an expectation that he could be limited, the big man played 37 minutes against the Spurs, going for 25 points and 13 rebounds in the overtime loss. He added three blocks on the defensive end, which has been an area of improvement (at least stat-wise) in a limited time this season. A date with the Memphis Grizzlies shouldn't slow him down, either, as they rank eighth-worst against centers.

Willie Cauley-Stein ($4,100) -- Dallas is even thinner in the frontcourt than they are in the backcourt. Even with Kristaps Porzingis returning for his debut, Cauley-Stein is in line for big minutes given the COVID-related absences of Kleber and Powell. He's already started the last three games, and his minutes have risen with that change in role, but he is going to be asked to do even more Wednesday against the Hornets. A 0.98 DK-point-minute rate would only require him to play 21 minutes to meet and exceed his salary-implied total, so don't be afraid to lock in the big man for both formats.

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.