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: $11,200, DK: $11,100) - Boogie comes into tonight's matchup with the Hornets scorching hot, averaging a ridiculous 32.5 points, 13.7 boards and 2.9 assists with a monstrous 37.2% Usage Rate over his last 11 games. The Kings' star is coming off of an absurd 48-point, 13-rebound destruction of the Pacers and should be in store for another huge outing against a short-handed Hornets squad that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards on the year and will be without both of their starting big men tonight.
Anthony Davis (FD: $10,300, DK: $10,000) - Despite some injury concerns throughout the year, Davis has put together another masterful season, filling up the stat sheet with 23.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. With a dream matchup against a Rockets defense that ranks just 23rd in Defensive Efficiency according to our metrics and has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards on the year, the Brow makes a strong play in all formats tonight.
Kemba Walker (FD: $9,000, DK: $8,600) - Walker might be the only player in the league hotter than the aforementioned Cousins right now, posting an unbelievable 34.8 points, 6 boards, 6 dimes and 1.8 steals in a whopping 41.3 minutes per game over his last four games. He has seen a massive Usage Rate while Charlotte continues to deal with a number of injuries and should see another enormous workload tonight against a Kings team that has allowed the most points per game in the NBA (107.2) and plays at the fastest pace in the league.
Top Mid-Range Values
Jrue Holiday (FD: $6,500, DK: $6,400) - Although he continues to come off the bench despite the injury to Eric Gordon, Holiday has looked spectacular as of late, scoring 15.4 points to go along with 6.7 assists and 4 rebounds per game over his last 11 outings. The Pelicans' point guard has seen a very high 27.1% Usage Rate with the second unit and should have little trouble taking advantage of a plus matchup against Ty Lawson and his abysmal 112 Defensive Rating.
Avery Bradley (FD: $5,600, DK: $5,600) - Bradley has seen an outrageous amount of playing time since his return from injury nine games ago, playing an average of 37.2 minutes over that span. The Celtics' shooting guard is really starting to round back into form following his injury, averaging 19.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in his last four outings and gets the pleasure of facing off against a Washington backcourt that has allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards on the year tonight.
Emmanuel Mudiay (FD: $5,200, DK: $5,800) - Mudiay has seen a significant increase in playing time while Jameer Nelson has been sidelined, playing an average of 32.8 minutes in the five games Nelson has missed as of late. He should continue to see all the minutes he can handle and should reach value easily in what is expected to be a very competitive, high-scoring affair in Denver.
Basement Ballers
Willie Cauley-Stein (FD: $4,300, DK: $4,500) - Now that he is finally healthy again, Cauley-Stein has stepped into a significant role for Sacramento over the past few games. The Kings' rookie is averaging 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and an assist in 31 minutes per game in his last three appearances. He gets a great matchup against the banged-up Hornets in what Vegas expects to be the highest scoring game on tonight's slate.
Spencer Hawes (FD: $3,800, DK: $4,100) - As I alluded to earlier, the Hornets will be without both Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller tonight, which means Hawes will continue to start. In his last two games while in the starting lineup, the Hornets' veteran big man has averaged 9 points, 10 boards and 3 dimes in 33.4 minutes per game and should have little trouble posting similar numbers tonight against one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.
Beno Udrih (FD: $3,800, DK: $4,000) - Goran Dragic remains out of the Heat lineup, which means Udrih will get another chance to start tonight. In his previous three starts of the season, the journeyman point guard has posted 11 points, 6.7 assists and 2 rebounds in 33.1 minutes per game. He should once again see minutes in the mid-30s and should reach value easily against a Bulls squad that has given up the fourth most fantasy points per game to opposing point guards on the year.