Fantasy Basketball Player Props and DFS Lineup for January 31: Tyrese Maxey, Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and More

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been putting together fantasy basketball DFS lineups and identifying player props to maybe take advantage of.

Today (Friday, January 31), I’m going to put together a DFS lineup on DraftKings and also find some player props on Sleeper and put everything in one article.

I’ll continue using FantasySP’s projections and defensive rankings and more NBA.com statistics for help in our suggestions.

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DraftKings Lineup

Point Guard - Tyrese Maxey ($9,700)

I love Maxey as a DFS guy right now. He’s averaging 53 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days on DraftKings, which is obviously a great mark.

His clash against Denver is a really favorable defensive matchup for Maxey, and he’s projected for a big game. He scored 51.5 points in the last meeting with Denver.

Shooting Guard - Payton Pritchard ($5,100)

Pritchard has averaged just 23.5 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days, but has scored over that mark in three straight (26.25-29.5 points).

He’s also got a favorable matchup against New Orleans that I want to take advantage of. Pritchard scored just 19.75 points in the team’s last matchup, but for this price, I’m willing to roll the dice on Pritchard.

Small Forward - Quentin Grimes ($4,300)

Grimes is another affordable DFS player with a favorable matchup - his clash is against the Pistons. Grimes is averaging 22.1 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days.

These teams have not met this season.

Power Forward - Michael Porter Jr. ($5,600)

Porter is another player with a favorable matchup ahead. He scored 29.5 points in the last meeting with Philadelphia.

Porter is averaging 25.1 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days and 32.1 for the season.

Center - Kristaps Porzingis ($7,000)

Porzingis is averaging 42 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days and is coming off a 63.3-point showing. The clash against New Orleans is pretty favorable, but this is more about me taking advantage of a surging fantasy player.

Porzingis had 42.75 fantasy points in the first meeting against New Orleans.

Guard - Derrick White ($6,800)

Hey look, another Celtic. White is averaging 30 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days. 

In this favorable matchup just a couple weeks ago, White scored 21 fantasy points. I think he’ll be a bit better tonight.

Forward - RJ Barrett ($7,300)

Barrett is averaging 31.9 fantasy points over his past 10 games. It’s a pretty favorable matchup for him too.

In the last game against Chicago, Barrett tallied 55.75 fantasy points.

Utility - Keldon Johnson ($4,000)

I decided to go with Johnson to cap my roster. He’s averaging just 13.3 fantasy points per game over the past 10 days.

He’s got a tougher matchup against the Bucks, but in this meeting earlier in January, Johnson posted 41.75 points.

A final note before we move on: I had $200 leftover in salary, so there’s a little wiggle room if you need to adjust the lineup because of players sitting out.

Sleeper Player Props

Points

Kevin Durant OVER 25.5 points

Durant has a tough matchup against the Warriors, but I still like him to go over tonight. He’s had 26 or more points in two of the past three games.

Our system has Durant at 28 points tonight. He scored 21 points in the first game against Golden State this season, but then totaled 31 in the second game.

Stephen Curry UNDER 24.5 points

In the same game, I have Curry going under 24.5 points. He hasn’t reached that mark in any of the past five games.

In the first two meetings against Phoenix, Curry scored 22 and 23 points. He should be close to 24.5 points tonight, but I have him scoring less.

Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 31.5 points

This is a huge number, but I still like Giannis to go over. Our system has him at 33.3 points and he’s gone over that mark in five of the past six games.

In the first meeting with San Antonio this season, Antetokounmpo had 25 points in a game Milwaukee comfortably won. I think Giannis scores more in a closer game tonight.

Nikola Jokic UNDER 26.5 points

I have Jokic falling under 26.5 points tonight. He has a tougher matchup against Philadelphia.

Jokic is projected for 26 points after scoring 27 points against Philly just over a week ago. It took a 10-of-15 shooting night to get there, and I don’t think he’s quite as efficient tonight.

Victor Wembanyama UNDER 24.5 points

I picked against Wemby recently and he made me look silly by scoring 30 points. Well, I’m taking Wembanyama under 24.5 points tonight.

He’s gone over that mark just once in the past 10 games (yes, the 30-point showing). Milwaukee is a tough matchup for him, and he scored just 10 points in the last meeting, so I think he fails to top 24.5 points tonight.

Assists

James Harden OVER 9.5 assists

This is another big number, but I’m taking Harden over 9.5 assists. He’s gone over that mark in five of the past six games.

Harden hasn’t faced Charlotte yet this season. He’s projected for 9.5 assists, but I think he gets into double digits.

Nikola Jokic OVER 10.5 assists

We’re going back to Jokic again, but taking the over this time. He’s gone over this mark three times in the past four games.

Jokic had 10 assists in the last meeting with Philly. That was in a very lopsided win, so I think he’ll find more success in a closer contest tonight.

Tyrese Maxey OVER 7.5 assists

My final player prop tonight is Maxey going over 7.5 assists. He’s projected for just six in our system, but had 10 in the last clash with Denver.

I think Maxey will lead Philly again. He’ll have the ball in his hands a lot, and it will lead to a big assist total.

DFS Recap

On Thursday, I identified some player props to maybe take advantage of. Let’s see how I fared.

I had Anthony Edwards over 28 points. He scored 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting, easily going over.

I had Donovan Mitchell over 25 points. He finished with 24 points, but played just 27 minutes in a blowout win for the Cavs - that’s just tough luck.

I took Jalen Green over 23 points and he finished with 25 on just 8-of-21 shooting. It got the job done for me though.

I had Franz Wagner over 23.5 points and he went for 24 points despite the Magic getting crushed.

I had the following players under their marks: Anfernee Simons (19), Deandre Ayton (13.5), Jaren Jackson Jr. (22.5). Simons had eight points, Ayton erupted for 22 points and Jackson had 21. Two-out-of-three is a mark I’ll take.

For blocks, I had Walker Kessler over 1.5 and Jarrett Allen over 0.5. Neither player had a block.

For rebounds, I took the following players to go over: John Collins (6.5), Alperen Sengun (7.5), Wendell Carter Jr. (6.5). Collins had just five rebounds, Sengun didn’t end up playing and Carter grabbed seven boards.

For assists, I had LeBron James over 9 and Isaiah Collier over 4.5. LeBron posted 11 assists and Collier had seven. Apparently I need to stick with point and assist props.

Finally, I had Fred VanVleet over 2.5 3-pointers and Lauri Markkanen under 2.5 triples. VanVleet got stuck at two triples despite taking eight 3-point shots. Markkanen took 10 triples and made three.