Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.
A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense is shut down.
A high-salaried NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.
While this consistency puts us in an excellent position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying up for someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, paying up and getting a dud will likely leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.
Which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today?
Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, Kings ($10,200)
I could have written up Nikola Jokic here just as I did yesterday, but he's vanilla ice cream at a shop today. He's there, and he's good, but for several reasons -- namely center-only value options today -- we should look elsewhere.
Domantas Sabonis can be plugged into a power-forward spot instead -- and a good one. Like Jokic, Sabonis is a multiple-column stat-stuffer, posting at least 46 FanDuel points in 11 of his past 13 games. His floor is supremely high entering this sublime matchup with the Lakers.
Los Angeles allows the third-most FanDuel points per game to centers (58.5), and we've seen it on display when the Kings have battled the Lakers this year. Sabonis is averaging 19.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in three games this season versus L.A.
Days like today are where Jokic's positional opportunity cost can be tough to justify. A lite version of Jokic at forward -- for a lower salary -- isn't a bad alternative.
Kawhi Leonard, SF/PF, Clippers ($9,400)
The aforementioned Lakers may not have LeBron James due to an ankle issue, which would leave small forward barren at the top.
Kawhi Leonard isn't a bad first stop, though. Leonard -- surprisingly expected to play the back-to-back in Utah -- has returned to full speed, and his role should remain pretty solid tonight with the Clippers resting Paul George's hamstring.
With George off the floor, Los Angeles -- to no one's surprise -- has leaned heavily on "The Klaw." He's averaged 47.5 FanDuel points per 36 minutes with George off the floor, and that's come on a team-best 30.8% usage rate.
At that rate of production, we can feel solid about Kawhi in a matchup where the Jazz, holding the league's fifth-worst defensive rating, aren't particularly scary, either.
Anthony Edwards and Kyle Kuzma could be alternatives at the top today if injury news breaks their way, but with George already confirmed out, Leonard is a safe, reliable start.
Darius Garland, PG/SG, Cavaliers ($8,000)
Though he's just above my usual $8,000 cutoff for a "stud," Darius Garland is a pivotal piece of Wednesday's daily fantasy puzzle.
In all likelihood, Donovan Mitchell will be sidelined for the Cavaliers' contest in Memphis, and that'll provide a substantial boost to most of Cleveland's starting lineup. One could argue no one will benefit more than D.G.
Garland has dropped 40-plus real-life points three times this year, and two of those occasions were with Mitchell sidelined. Overall, with Donnie off the floor, Garland averages 42.3 FanDuel points per 36 minutes on a team-best 30.0% usage rate.
The Grizzlies are a tough defensive squad, but in a bit of solace for fantasy, they play at the league's second-fastest pace. The Cavs should have plenty of possessions in this game, which features a modest 228.5-point total.
At higher salaries, Luka Doncic, LaMelo Ball, and C.J. McCollum are all performing moderately well in our projections, but Garland needs a spot in cash-game and single-entry lineups.