Fantasy Basketball DFS Lineup for January 21: Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Mikal Bridges and More

As the NFL season winds down, fantasy owners are looking for different ways of entertainment during the winter months. Doing Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is one suggestion, and I’m going to put together a lineup for Tuesday’s five-game NBA slate.

I found a $4 DFS contest on DraftKings (NBA $60K Four Point Play). It could have up to 17,835 entrants and features $60,000 in total prizes, with the top 4,630 places being rewarded. First prize is $6,000. You could also enter the same lineup in a free contest if you are looking for some fun without having to spend money.

Let’s build an eight-player lineup that stays under the $50,000 salary! I’ll use FantasySP’s projections and defensive rankings for help along the way.

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Point Guard - Tyrese Maxey ($9,900)

I got things rolling with Maxey, who is projected for the fifth-most fantasy points on Tuesday. He’s got a fantastic matchup against Denver, and has been a great fantasy asset of late, scoring 45 or more fantasy points in six of the past seven contests.

Philly will be without at least Joel Embiid, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin for the contest, and might also be missing Guerschon Yabusele, Andre Drummond and Paul George. Maxey is going to be a major fantasy asset even if the final three guys there end up playing.

Shooting Guard - Tyler Herro ($8,300)

I took Herro with my shooting guard slot. He has a very favorable test against Portland coming up and recently has been on a tear, scoring over 30 fantasy points in nine straight games. Herro scored 48.75 fantasy points against Portland just 10 days ago.

Herro is projected for the 10th-most fantasy points in the FantasySP system tonight. Miami isn’t dealing with the multitude of injuries that Philly is, but Herro is still primed for a huge game tonight.

Small Forward - Mikal Bridges ($6,200)

I have Bridges at my small forward spot. He’s scored 30 or more fantasy points in three of the past four contests and has two big fantasy showings against Brooklyn already this season.

He scored 39.75 points in the first meeting and another 35 in the second matchup. New York is pretty healthy right now, but the matchup and overall fantasy value of Bridges is what makes him a good option for the night. He’s the No. 33 ranked player in the projections for the night.

Power Forward - Rui Hachimura ($5,000)

Hachimura is the No. 48 ranked player in the nightly projections. He’s scored 25 or more points in three straight games, so I like the value here.

His matchup against Washington is also very favorable. Los Angeles could be without Anthony Davis and/or LeBron James, as both are on the injury report. If even one of them is out, Hachimura’s value will rise - if both are out, Hachimura seems like a slam dunk pick.

Center - Wendell Carter Jr. ($5,900)

Carter has been trending up of late, scoring 30 or more fantasy points in three straight contests - he tallied 49.75 in his last appearance. His matchup against Toronto is also the best it could possibly be, so I think Carter keeps his hot streak up.

He only scored 22.25 fantasy points in the first regular season meeting between the teams, but he also only was on the court for 18 minutes in that one. He’s played over 30 minutes in three straight, and 25 minutes in the two games before that.

Goga Bitadze is one of the Orlando players out for this game, so I expect Carter to go over 30 minutes again.

Guard - Terry Rozier ($4,800)

As I mentioned with Herro, Miami guards have a good matchup against Portland, so I’m doubling up with Rozier here. He scored 35.5 fantasy points in his last game and had 29.75 in the contest before that. 

He tallied 22 fantasy points in a game against Portland 10 days ago. Rozier has topped that mark in three of the four games since then, and I think he performs well again tonight.

Forward - Nikola Jovic ($4,900)

Let’s add another Miami player to the mix in Jovic - I’m really trying to take advantage of the defensive matchup against Portland. Jovic has scored at least 25 fantasy points in three straight, and has hit that mark in six of the past seven games.

Jovic erupted for 44 fantasy points the last time these teams met. While that good a fantasy performance is probably not in the cards tonight, I do think Jovic will have a big enough game to warrant a DFS starting spot.

Utility - Jonas Valanciunas ($5,000)

I’m capping things off with Valanciunas, which uses the rest of my remaining salary. He’s a double-double threat any time he takes the court, and has scored 20 or more fantasy points in five straight, including a 45.5-point outing in his last game.

The matchup for a center against the Lakers is a pretty favorable one, and even though Valanciunas only averages 19.4 minutes a game, there’s enough fantasy value here to try him out tonight.