Happy New Year, Rotoballers! We made it to 2018. Yay for us. The NBA is giving us just a four game slate to work with tonight, but that's okay as we're likely to be a little distracted today by incredible college football games and good food. I do appreciate the NBA knocking tip off back to 7:30 tonight, giving us an extra half-hour to prepare. Another benefit to this small slate is that the latest game start is at 8:00, and as such, we should know all of the start/sit and scratch/health status news before we lock our lineups. (Fingers crossed.)

From a Vegas perspective, this slate is small but not without juiciness - three of the four games are over my personal benchmark over/under of 215, which makes those very attractive and the lone game beneath it a possible sleeper game (which has an over of 207). The Magic at Nets lead the way with a line of 219, followed by Lakers at Timberwolves (218) and the Bucks at Raptors (215).

Below you will find our daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for FanDuel on 1/1/18. These DFS lineup picks can vary from higher-priced players and elite options, to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. Let's get it.

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FanDuel DFS Guards

Tyus Jones - PG, vs LAL ($6,400)

So far in this full-time point guard role, Jones is one-for-two in hitting value. He crushed value (+16) in his first game and came up short last night (-4). The biggest difference in those games were the minutes, and although he's on a back-to-back right now, he didn't play many minutes last night due to his team having a commanding lead throughout. He's probably the most rested Minnesota starter, and I think he can take advantage of a Lakers team who is on the road and coming off a double overtime game. So far this season, Jones has a pretty strong 0.85 FanDuel point per minute mark, and should say in the range of 33-36 minutes tonight.

Khris Middleton - SG, at TOR ($7,100)

Depending on your roster construction, this could come down to a call between Justin Holiday and Khris Middleton, who both find themselves in good situations today. Middleton has a bit higher point-per-minute mark and minute projection (for tonight), but doesn't consistently hit value as often as Holiday. Justin also has an opportune matchup, and a better price tag. My preference is to go with Middleton in cash due to the fact the Raptors rank 30th in defensive efficiency against shooting guards, Middleton has a Usage rate nearly eight percentage points higher at 23, and this game is projected for a higher score. Both are certainly in play, and can be paired together. The "contrarian" play may be to be up for DeMar DeRozan in tournaments, as he is the most expensive of the three.

Evan Fournier - SF, at BKN ($6,100)

I don't think Fournier will go "overlooked" so to speak, being that his opponent is the Nets and it's such a small slate. That said, there are some interesting decisions to make at shooting guard and no matter which way your roster construction takes you, you're going to be leaving a few shooting guards off your team that have 40+ FanDuel point upside tonight. Fournier has been playing well of late, and has smashed value in three of his last four games. Tonight, in a game projected as a high scoring affair, he gets the Nets on the second leg of a back-to-back that ranks 27th in defensive efficiency against shooting guards. It's a potential smash spot for him if his shot is falling.

Other FanDuel DFS Guards to Consider: Tyler Ennis - PG, at MIN ($3,500); Kyle Lowry - PG, vs MIL ($7,700); Justin Holiday - SG, vs POR ($5,300); C.J. McCollum - SG, at CHI ($7,300)

 

FanDuel DFS Forwards

Jimmy Butler - SF, vs LAL ($9,300)

Jimmy was able to crush value last night (+9 over his price implied total) and the amazing thing is that he was able to do so in just 25 minutes on the court. As amazing as that is, the most attractive stat there is the 25 minutes. Sure, he's on a back-to-back, but many teams are in the same situation tonight and Butler only seeing 25 minutes in the early leg is as good as it gets for a Tom Thibodeau coached team. I think he, like Tyus Jones, can take advantage of a Lakers squad who had three main contributors play over 40 minutes last night. Tonight, Butler could see 38+ minutes if this game stays tight. At a Usage rate of 25, I think he can provide plus value here.

Nikola Mirotic - PF, vs POR ($6,700)

This slate is a doozy, and the forward positions are particularly a mess. The players in the most opportune matchups - those facing teams awful in DVP and defensive efficiency - are often on back-to-backs and played absurd minutes last night. Other, rested power forwards have difficult matchups, as is the case with Mirotic here. This slate is going to force you to make some difficult decisions and a few risks, one of which I'm taking here with Mirotic. I think the rested Bulls' minutes should be a safe avenue to points here, and Mirotic posts a really high Usage rate of 25 off the bench. I think he can pay off value here and if the shot is falling, he could deliver GPP upside.

Other FanDuel DFS Forwards to Consider: Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF, at TOR ($10,900); DeMarre Carroll - SF, vs ORL ($5,200) - GPP only; David Nwaba - SF, vs POR ($4,000); Kyle Kuzma - PF, at MIN ($6,700)

 

FanDuel DFS Centers

Jusuf Nurkic - C, at CHI ($6,300)

Ultimately, I think ownership will go heavily to the side of Julius Randle - which I understand - but Nurkic has great upside and could actually benefit from the return of Damian Lillard (whom he has a positive fantasy point correlation with). While Randle posted monster numbers last night, he did it playing 33 minutes with a 33 Usage rate. Those things rarely, if ever, happen for him and I don't see it happening again. That said, he does post nice Usage rates and the Lakers rotation is a little shorter due to injuries. My preference is with a rested Nurkic, who should see 25-27 minutes in a tight game with a Usage rate of 25.

Other FanDuel DFS Centers to Consider: Julius Randle - C, at MIN ($6,200); Karl-Anthony Towns - C, vs LAL ($9,600)

 

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