DraftKings Daily Fantasy Basketball Picks (1/16/21): NBA DFS Lineups

The top daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on January 9th, 2021. Kyle Ringstad provides NBA DFS analysis and sleeper picks for building optimal DFS rosters.

Just a cute little four-game slate for pro hoops on DraftKings tonight. LaMelo and the Hornets are 7.5-point underdogs to Toronto; The Sixers are two-point road favorites against Memphis; the Heat are favored by two at home against Detroit, and the Blazers are projected to win by 4.5 points over Atlanta.

This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/16/21. You can also check out today's FanDuel lineup picks. With COVID-19 a significant factor globally, remember to monitor injury news as the slate can completely change before line-up lock.

Good luck RotoBallers. Let's get to it!

DraftKings DFS Guards

Kyle Lowry - PG, TOR vs. CHA ($7,700)

The Raptors have the third-highest projected total on the slate, trailing behind the POR/ATL barnburner. They can be a tough team to project as Siakam, VanVleet, Boucher, Lowry, and Powell all have usage rates in the 20-25% range, but this profiles as a nice spot for the lead ballhandler in particular. His form is great as he just put up a big game of 47 DK points against these same Hornets two days ago. He needs 38.5 DK points to reach 5x value, and he's averaging 39.8 DK points for the season. This game is projected to be the slowest paced, but that doesn't mean Lowry can't get his against LaMelo, Rozier, Graham and company.

Cam Reddish - SG, ATL vs. POR ($4,600)

If you're going with Dame, C.J., and/or Kanter as your core pieces today (which I'd recommend), you're going to want to run it back with a Hawk or two in hopes that the game is a back-and-forth battle that stays competitive throughout. Reddish is a player to seriously consider. He has put up games of 37.25 and 28.75 DK points in two of his last three, and he's picking up the pace in the peripheral stats with a whopping seven steals in his last four games played. The Blazers allow the eighth-most DK points per game to shooting guards and with the slate's highest total (236 points), I'm all over Reddish at his low price.

Damian Lillard - PG, POR vs. ATL ($9,200)

Lillard is the premier pay-up option on this slate. McCollum actually leads the Blazers in usage with Nurkic off the floor this season, but Dame is right behind him at 30.3% and holds a 1.33 DK points per minute rate in such situations. The Hawks rank 29th in DvP and allow the most DK points per game to opposing teams overall. A little seemingly-obvious piece of DFS advice that shouldn't be glossed over: pick the best player in the game with the highest total, especially on short slates. He hasn't had the most consistently productive season we've seen, but he's averaging 45.9 DK points per game and just spiked for a 71.25-point ceiling game on 1/13.

Bonus G: C.J. McCollum ($8,300), Shake Milton ($5,200)

DraftKings DFS Forwards

Gary Trent Jr. - SG/SF, POR vs. ATL ($3,500)

Value is a bit scarce on short slates like this, but Nurkic's injury opens up quite a bit on the Blazers side. Trent has been #notgood this year, averaging a putrid 16.5 DK points per game over an average of 24.1 minutes. He may see a slight minutes increase and while his usage doesn't increase without Nurk, we have to take note of anyone playing 25+ minutes at his bargain-bin pricing. He had a tidy 16/4/1/2 line (29.25 DK points) just two games ago and he's worth a few shots here.

Tobias Harris - SF/PF, PHI vs. MEM ($7,500)

I'm all over Harris in this spot. He's leading the team with a 28.7% usage rate and 1.52 DK points per minute rate with Embiid off the floor this season (52.6-minute sample size). Tobias plays a hybrid position but his playstyle aligns with a small forward, and the Grizzlies rank a paltry 28th in defensive efficiency against small forwards. Harris is averaging 37.1 DK points per game this season but has spiked for a few games with at least 53 DK points already - look for another one tonight.

Jerami Grant - SF/PF, DET vs. MIA ($7,400)

Grant has been en fuego from a DFS perspective and I don't think enough people have taken notice. The salary-makers over at DraftKings sure haven't. He's averaging 44.5 DK points per game over his last four and 40.4 DK points per game on the year, both of which will get the job done at his price tag. He leads the Pistons by a wide margin in both usage rate (28.2%) and DK points per minute (1.17) with Killian Hayes and Derrick Rose off the floor this season (157.4 minutes). The Heat rank 27th in defensive efficiency against small forwards this season. Smash play here.

Bonus F: John Collins ($7,100), Chris Boucher ($6,900), Robert Covington ($4,800)

DraftKings DFS Centers

Enes Kanter - C, POR vs. ATL ($5,600)

This will likely be the "chalk pick" as Kanter becomes a superb value play with Nurkic out. With Nurk off the court this season, Kanter sees a 3.7% usage bump and averages 1.28 DK points per minute. He should see minutes in the mid-20's and the Hawks are an exploitable matchup, ranking as the best matchup for opposing centers (by a mile) with their 47.93 DK points per game allowed to the position. Portland also has the highest total on the slate. Eat that delicious chalk.

Bonus C: Clint Capela ($6,700), Dwight Howard ($4,300)

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