We have a solid eight-game slate on tap Monday night, one that features a majority of games with narrow spreads. We also have some intriguing matchups on tap in Lakers-Nets, Kings-Timberwolves, Warriors-Thunder, and Hawks-Trail Blazers, although some key absences in that first contest will reduce the star power considerably.
Projected totals also offer some reason for optimism, as all but one game carry a figure of 230 points or more as of early Monday, including three over 235 points.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy basketball lineup picks for the respective main slates on DraftKings and FanDuel on 1/30/23. Remember to monitor the NBA injury report as the slate can completely change before lineups lock, which is at 7:00 pm ET. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings and FanDuel Guards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG/SG, OKC vs. GSW ($9,900 DK, $10,500 FD)
Gilgeous-Alexander has taken his play to a completely different level this season, a pivotal factor in the Thunder achieving borderline contender status as they approach their 50th game of the campaign. The star point guard is averaging 31.1 points (on 55.3 percent shooting, including 40.7 percent three-point shooting), 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks over his last 12 games, a stretch during which he's exceeded 40 fantasy points in each contest, including more than 50 in four straight.
The Warriors could very well facilitate another spectacular return for the fifth-year pro. Golden State will bring a slight bump in pace for the Thunder, considering the Dubs are averaging the second-most possessions per road game (106.4). Additionally, the Warriors are allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards (28.5), along with 51.4 DK/50.4 FD points per game to the position. The fact the defending champs also concede the fifth-most assists per road game (26.9) certainly doesn't hurt Gilgeous-Alexander's prospects, either.
De'Aaron Fox - PG, SAC at MIN ($8,300 DK, $8,500 FD)
Fox is another young guard whose stellar performance is helping elevate his team to new heights this season, as the fifth-year pro has helped Sacramento to several wins over big-name opponents and has significantly outpaced his current salaries on multiple occasions as well. Fox heads into Monday's favorable matchup running hot as well, having just put up 46.3 DK/47.6 FD points against this same Timberwolves squad on Saturday night. He's also shooting 50.4 percent over his last six contests overall, a stretch that includes one 29-point effort and two 31-point tallies.
The Timberwolves have allowed the 10th-highest offensive efficiency rating to point guards (27.3), along with 50.4 DK/48.9 FD points per game to ones on the season. Minnesota is also tied for fourth-most assists per home game allowed (25.8), and just as important, the T-Wolves are giving up Western Conference-high 38.2 percent three-point shooting at home, giving Fox another path to fantasy success.
Dennis Schroder - PG/SG, LAL at BKN ($5,400 DK, $6,800 FD)
Schroder's production can undeniably experience some fairly drastic fluctuations from time to time, but the veteran point guard's salaries are still too modest for his ceiling. Additionally, those figures are in no way reflective of the significantly expanded usage Schroder should see Monday night with both LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (foot) sidelined for Los Angeles.
Schroder boasts a 24.9 percent usage rate and is averaging 36.2 DK/35 FD points per 36 minutes without his two star teammates on the floor. Schroder has a pair of tallies of more than 40 fantasy points on both sites in two of the last five games alone with at least one of his teammates available, and the Nets have also allowed over 47 fantasy points on either site to point guards on the season.
ALSO CONSIDER: Monte Morris - PG, WAS at SAS ($4,900 DK, $5,300 FD)
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DraftKings and FanDuel Forwards - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Kristaps Porzingis - PF/C, WAS at SAS ($9,100 DK, $8,900 FD)
Porzingis has capitalized on favorable matchups on numerous occasions this season, and he'll certainly walk into one of those scenarios Monday. Additionally, the big man has been removed from the injury report altogether after missing the last three games with an ankle issue, so he'll have a nice rest component in his favor after last having taken the floor nine days ago.
The Spurs shape up as an appealing target, as San Antonio has allowed a Western Conference-high 28.9 offensive efficiency rating to power forwards on the season. The Spurs are also yielding an NBA-high 50.4 DK/48.3 FD points to fours on the campaign, along with the ninth-most rebounds per home game (52.2) and an NBA-high 8.0 blocks per contest in the last three games.
Klay Thompson - SF/SG, GSW at OKC ($6,700 DK, $7,400 FD)
Thompson hasn't looked like himself at times this season, but the veteran sharpshooter's 39.3 percent three-point shooting and his four performances of 24 points or more in the last five games both serve as a reminder of his significant ceiling. Thompson is known to be a streaky player as well, so his 43.6 percent success rate from behind the arc and average of 36.5 FD points per game in that span -- a stretch that includes his unforgettable 54-point tally against the Hawks on January 2 -- is a good sign he's currently locked in.
OKC checks in allowing 36.1 percent three-point shooting at home overall, including 39.1 percent to two guards specifically. The Thunder are also yielding the eighth-highest offensive efficiency rating to shooting guards (24.4), as well as over 42 fantasy points per game on either site to the position on the season. Thompson has also been at his best from long distances on the road, shooting 40.9 percent in that split from behind the arc.
Dorian Finney-Smith - SF/PF, DAL vs. DET ($4,600 DK, $5,300 FD)
Finney-Smith has been especially productive of late while seeing extended opportunity during Christian Wood's (thumb) absence, and he could potentially take the floor again Saturday without Luka Doncic (ankle), who's listed as questionable. In the absence of both his teammates Saturday night versus the Jazz, Finney-Smith recorded his second straight 30-plus fantasy-point tally, and he's averaging over 25 on both sites in the last six contests.
The Pistons are surrendering the 10th-highest offensive efficiency to power forwards (27.0), along with 49.5 percent shooting, including 36.5 percent from three-point range, to fours. Detroit is also allowing over 46 fantasy points on either site to power forwards for the season, including over 52 DK points per contest in the last seven games. The Pistons are conceding the eighth-most rebounds per road contest as well (53.2), while Finney-Smith has hit or eclipsed nine boards in three of his last six games with Wood unavailable down low.
ALSO CONSIDER: Anthony Edwards - SF/SG, MIN vs. SAC ($9,400 DK, $9,300 FD)
DraftKings and FanDuel Centers - NBA DFS Lineup Picks
Nicolas Claxton, BKN vs. LAL ($8,100 DK, $8,400 FD)
Claxton has regularly offered the production of a higher-salaried player recently, posting over 44 fantasy points on either site in four consecutive contests. The big man is particularly thriving with Kevin Durant (knee) out of the lineup, and the combination of his star teammate's ongoing absence Monday and the very favorable matchup versus a short-handed Lakers squad puts him firmly in play.
Los Angeles will be without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, meaning Claxton will see plenty of Thomas Bryant down low. That's a scenario that's helped lead to the Lakers surrendering over 56 fantasy points per contest to centers in the last 15 games. L.A. is also ranked in the bottom 10 in blocks per game surrendered per road contest (5.4), while Claxton is averaging a career-high 2.7 blocks per game.
Daniel Gafford - C, WAS at SAS ($4,800 DK, $6,200 FD)
Gafford put together a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double without Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup Saturday against the Pelicans, and although his frontcourt mate will be back in action Monday, Gafford's salaries and matchup still keep him very viable at a position that can be difficult to fill effectively sometimes. The fourth-year pro has already been building momentum beyond Saturday's production, scoring over 30 fantasy points on either site in three of the last four contests.
The Spurs come in allowing the fourth-highest offensive efficiency rating to centers (35.0), along with the third-most DK (62.8) and second-most FD (62.5) points per game to the position. San Antonio has also conceded a Western Conference-high 58.3 total rebounds per game in the last three contests, certainly an encouraging sign for Gafford, who's averaging 8.8 boards in the last four games.
Rui Hachimura - C/PF, LAL at BKN ($4,100 DK, $5,300 FD)
Gafford's former teammate Hachimura should be in a favorable position to overdeliver on his modest salaries Monday, as he's in line for a likely start at power forward with LeBron James (ankle) sidelined. The floor-spacing big man has been trending in the right direction of late as well, as he posted 41.8 DK/42 FD points against the Magic three games ago in what turned out to be his final game with the Wizards, and he's been solid thus far off the bench in two games with the Lakers.
The Nets are allowing 36.8 percent three-point shooting on the season, including an especially elevated 41.9 percent in the last three. Hachimura shot a career-best 44.7 percent last season and has multiple threes in eight games already this season, and Brooklyn also checks in having allowed over 49 DK and over 47 FD points per contest to power forwards in the last seven games.
ALSO CONSIDER: Jusuf Nurkic, POR vs. ATL ($6,900 DK, $7,500 FD)
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