NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/14/17

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 handful of other awesome tools to help give you an edge.

We'll also be coming at you with a 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, which starts at 3:30 p.m. and features all four of today's games.

Best of the Best

DeMarcus Cousins (FanDuel Price: $11,400): Cousins has had a huge workload since Rudy Gay suffered his Achilles injury, posting a usage rate north of 40% in 6 of his last 12 games while averaging 34.8 minutes per game in that span. He has averaged a full 0.5 more fantasy points per minute this season with Gay off the floor (jumping from 1.06 to 1.56 per minute), and he combines that with an outstanding matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have allowed the league's most fantasy points per 48 minutes to opposing centers, rank below-average in rebound rate, second-last in the league in defensive rating and play at a top-five pace. It's no surprise that Cousins is our top projected fantasy scorer on the slate.