NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 12/28/17

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 ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.

Here, we'll put all of that together and take a look at who you should target on today's slate.

Best of the Best

James Harden (FanDuel Price: $12,500) - The Houston Rockets will be without Clint Capela tonight and tomorrow, and Chris Paul will sit out, too. Per NBAWowy, Harden owns a 43.5% usage rate without Capela and Paul on the court, as well as 1.84 fantasy points per minute. The Boston Celtics' defense ranks just 16th in defensive rating over the past 10 games, yet the Rockets own the best offense in basketball in that split. Harden's usage is just too high without Capela and Paul not to try to build around him.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,900) - Giannis, who leads the league in minutes, and the Milwaukee Bucks host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. Giannis sat out on Saturday to rest up but bookended that with 37-minute outings, so he should be fine to push past 35 yet again against the league's 21st-ranked defense over the past 15 games.