Happy New Year! I hope everyone is taking it easy today, and we have a nice four-game slate to start the year off. Smaller slates mean there are fewer options when it comes to value, and we should see ownership percentage focused in on a few of the top stars. As always, there are plenty of injuries going around, so be sure to check your sources on Twitter for news before tipoff.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool 
Guards
DeMar DeRozan (TOR): $7,700 vs. MIL
DeRozan is always a great player to roster simply from the fact he can put up 30 real points in a hurry. That potential gives him a nice ceiling if he is able to fill up the rest of the stat sheet. He has scored 21 or more real points in seven of his last 10 games, and he is sporting a 31% usage rate which is highest on the Raptors. He does face a bit of a tougher match against the Bucks tonight, but this game has an over-under set at 215 points which means Vegas is projecting plenty of scoring. DeRozan is averaging 1.14 fantasy points per minute so any extra work he does in the peripheral stats will give him a major boost.
Shabazz Napier (POR): $5,500 @ CHI
With Damian Lillard being listed as questionable for this game, Napier is set to get the start for the fifth straight game. He has played over 34 minutes in each of his last four games, and as well all know, in NBA DFS minutes equal money. He has exceeded 5x salary in each of his last five games, so he’s been as consistent as they come recently. He isn’t very expensive, and if he gets the start he will certainly be one of the more popular options as he is up against the Bulls who are 20th in the league when it comes to guarding point guards. Napier should be good for cash or GPPs tonight since he has the minutes locked in if he gets the start and can easily fit into any roster.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone is taking it easy today, and we have a nice four-game slate to start the year off. Smaller slates mean there are fewer options when it comes to value, and we should see ownership percentage focused in on a few of the top stars. As always, there are plenty of injuries going around, so be sure to check your sources on Twitter for news before tipoff.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Guards
DeMar DeRozan (TOR): $7,700 vs. MIL
DeRozan is always a great player to roster simply from the fact he can put up 30 real points in a hurry. That potential gives him a nice ceiling if he is able to fill up the rest of the stat sheet. He has scored 21 or more real points in seven of his last 10 games, and he is sporting a 31% usage rate which is highest on the Raptors. He does face a bit of a tougher match against the Bucks tonight, but this game has an over-under set at 215 points which means Vegas is projecting plenty of scoring. DeRozan is averaging 1.14 fantasy points per minute so any extra work he does in the peripheral stats will give him a major boost.
Shabazz Napier (POR): $5,500 @ CHI
With Damian Lillard being listed as questionable for this game, Napier is set to get the start for the fifth straight game. He has played over 34 minutes in each of his last four games, and as well all know, in NBA DFS minutes equal money. He has exceeded 5x salary in each of his last five games, so he’s been as consistent as they come recently. He isn’t very expensive, and if he gets the start he will certainly be one of the more popular options as he is up against the Bulls who are 20th in the league when it comes to guarding point guards. Napier should be good for cash or GPPs tonight since he has the minutes locked in if he gets the start and can easily fit into any roster.
Forwards
Aaron Gordon (ORL): $7,900 @ BKN
Gordon is back from his injury, and he is looking good. It doesn’t seem that he has any minutes limit as he has played over 30 minutes in each of his first two games back. He has a 26.5% usage rate along and is averaging 1.11 fantasy points per minute. Now that Nikola Vucevic is out with an injury, Gordon has seen a 3% increase in his usage rate. He is also up against the Nets tonight who play at one of the fastest paces in the league and are 26th in the league when it comes to guarding power forwards. This puts him in a great spot to see plenty of extra touches in a game that has a total set at 217 points.
Taj Gibson (MIN): $5,700 vs. LAL
Gibson is up against the Lakers who are on the second night of a back to back and are giving up 41 fantasy points per game to power forwards. Gibson has scored 30 or more DraftKings points in two of his last three games and has taken 32 shots over his last three games. He makes a good cash game option tonight since he doesn’t have a ton of pure scoring upside. He certainly isn’t the flashiest option when it comes to NBA DFS, but he offers solid consistency and has the upside because of his matchup.
Centers
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): $9,700 vs. LAL
Towns is a double-double machine. He has scored 41 or more DraftKings points in eight of his last 10 games and is in a great spot tonight. He is up against the Lakers who are giving up 54 DraftKings points per game to the position which is seventh-worst in the league. The Lakers are also on the second night of a back to back, and tired legs mean plenty of upside. Towns is the second highest priced player on the entire slate, so he will certainly carry plenty of ownership tonight, but he is worth spending up on. He is averaging 1.19 fantasy points per minute and has a 27% usage rate.
Bismack Biyombo (ORL): $5,600 @ BKN
Biyombo is now the starting center for the Magic since Vucevic is out with an injury. He has played over 30 minutes in three straight games and offers plenty of salary relief. He has a fantastic matchup tonight, as he is up against the Nets who are giving up 55 DraftKings points per games to centers which is third-worst in the league. He isn’t expensive and can be one of the cheap building pieces of your lineup.
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Thomas Vecchio is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Thomas, check out his archive and follow him @DFS_Tom.
