NBA DFS Picks For Fanduel 1/14/21

It feels amazing coming off of a night where your lineup was nearly a GPP takedown. My lineup yesterday scored 408 points, and finished in the top 30 of 20,000 team tournaments for a huge profit. It will be extremely difficult to replicate that degree of success today, but hopefully that will serve as a turning point for my NBA DFS momentum this season. The main slate today only has five games, so it is about as small of a player pool that you will see. However, with many of the Heat and Rockets players inactive, there are tons of solid plays as options. Late news on who is starting will likely change the top plays, but I will try to account for all scenarios here. Let's jump into the top plays and player picks for the NBA main slate today on Fanduel!

Top Play:

Christian Wood - $8,100:

With James Harden being shipped away in a blockbuster deal and both John Wall and Eric Gordon ruled out tonight, Christian Wood will be the focal point of the Houston offense. On the season, he is averaging 41 FD point per game with those players playing, so his ceiling is significantly higher when he should get every shot that he wants in this game therefore seeing much higher usage. Wood will be extremely chalky, but make sure that you eat the chalk and roster him.

Best Value:

Precious Achiuwa - $4,100 (and all the other MIA/HOU value):

As mentioned in the introduction, there are plenty of value plays on this small slate with both the Houston and Miami rosters being plagued with inactives. Due to that, basically all active players on both teams are playable in DFS today. Of the bunch, Precious Achiuwa is my favorite play. He scored 37 FD points across 35 minutes in Miami's last game, and I expect his value to be around the same today. At $4,100, there is virtually no way that he doesn't hit value. It is almost as likely that Achiuwa hits 10x value than it is him not hitting 5x.

Fade:

CJ McCollum - $9,500:

The Trail Blazers are playing in the second half of a back-to-back today coming off of a high-scoring affair last night. McCollum shouldn't see any reduced minutes today, but fatigue could slightly factor in. However, that is not the reason for me fading him. The Pacers are one of the top teams in the league in regard to fantasy points allowed to opposing guards, and McCollum's price range is getting up there at $9,500. He certainly has the capability of hitting value, but I think 47 FD points is a little above his median tonight.

Main Player Pool:

Point Guard:

Malcolm Brogdon - $8,600

Gabe Vincent - $4,500

Patty Mills - $4.300

Other great plays: Stephen Curry - $9,600, LaMelo Ball - $7,800, Dejounte Murray - $7,500, Kyle Lowry - $7,200, Jamal Murray - $7,000, Edmond Sumner - $3,500 (punt)

Shooting Guard:

DeMar DeRozan - $8,100

Tyler Herro - $6,500

David Nwaba - $4,800/Sterling Brown - $3,800/Ben McLemore - $3,700/Mason Jones - $3,500 (whoever starts)

Other great plays: Andrew Wiggins - $6,800, Devonte' Graham - $6,000, Lonnie Walker - $5,200, Gary Trent Jr. - $3,500 (punt)

Small Forward:

Miles Bridges - $4,300

Precious Achiuwa - $4,100

Jae'Sean Tate - $4,000

Other great plays: Gordon Hayward - $7,800 (if no restrictions), OG Anunoby - $5,500, Duncan Robinson - $4,900, Danny Green - $4,900, Justin Holiday - $4,500, Rudy Gay - $4,500

Power Forward:

Damontas Sabonis - $9,200

Christian Wood - $8,100

Kelly Olynyk - $5,300

Other great plays: Chris Boucher - $7,800, PJ Washington - $6,500, Draymond Green - $5,700, Robert Covington - $4,800, P.J. Tucker - $3,900, Doug McDermott - $3,700

Center:

Nikola Jokic - $11,200

Joel Embiid - $10,200

DeMarcus Cousins - $4,600

Other great plays: Myles Turner - $7,800, Bismack Biyombo - $4,200, James Wiseman - $4,100

Core/Lineup:

My core 3 are Precious Achiuwa, Kelly Olynyk, and Christian Wood. If you don't want to lock both PF spots, Olynyk would be the one I'd change.

If you would like the lineup that I will be using, RT the article post on twitter for at @SportsVerseHQ, DM @Excyphir, and follow them both. Since my lineups usually change with injury news, be sure to check DMs before lock in case of a change. Likewise, if you enjoy these articles, please follow @SportsVerseHQ and @Excyphir on twitter! Stay up to date there in case of potential news or changes.