NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 12/31/18

If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes hugely on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each price point.

Let's take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.

Best of the Best

Anthony Davis ($12,700): For as good as James Harden ($12,600) has been, when Davis is priced similarly to another player, he's almost always going to be the play. Harden is absolutely on a tear, with 60-plus FanDuel points in seven of his last nine games, but we've seen Davis produce like that over a much bigger sample. He's also got 60-plus in 7 of his last 9, and he has 21 such games on the season, compared to 10 for Harden. He's averaging 61.8 per game on the season versus 54.6 for Harden. Harden also draws a tough matchup against Memphis tonight, while the Brow is up against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that ranks 19th in defensive rating and 21st in rebound rate.