NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 5/9/18

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.

We'll also be coming at you with this 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 one-game slate.

Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers ($17,000)

Joel Embiid is the clear-cut top play on tonight's slate. His 45.9 FanDuel points per game in this round are 5.4 more than anyone else on the slate. He's playing a big 37.1 minutes per game and his 21.0 field goal attempts per game are not only the most on the slate, but they make him the only player averaging more than 16.0 per game.

His 29.5% usage rate makes him one of only two 76ers players with a mark above 20% (minimum five minutes played) in this round, and he's combining that with a solid 16.3% assist rate and 21.1% rebound rate. He's coming off a down performance in Game 4, but has still topped 48.0 fantasy points in three of four games in this series.

It's no surprise that he has been posting huge numbers with the minutes he's seeing, as he finished the regular season sixth in the NBA with 1.46 FanDuel points per minute. In a must-win game, Embiiid, could be a must-play in DFS.

Jayson Tatum, SF, Boston Celtics ($12,000)

Jayson Tatum's fantasy production has been ridiculously consistent in the postseason. He has topped 30 FanDuel points in all but 2 of his 11 games, including each of his last 6. He's averaging 32.5 per game in this round, and that consistency has come with a big workload.

He has played at least 33.3 minutes in each of his four games against the Sixers (averaging 37.5 per) while also attempting at least 14 field goals in each of those games (averaging a team-high 15.8 per). He hasn't dropped fewer than 20 points since Game 5 against Milwaukee, and his floor is outstanding because of that scoring consistency.

He hasn't shown much of a ceiling recently, but that has him under-priced here. His upside is still there -- he hit 44 FanDuel points in his first playoff game, and we saw him top 45 three times in the regular season -- but his price tag doesn't reflect it. And that's what makes him both a safe play and a strong ceiling play for tonight's matchup.

T.J. McConnell, PG, Philadelphia 76ers ($7,500)

The Sixers made a lineup change in a must-win Game 4, moving Robert Covington to the bench and T.J. McConnell into the starting lineup.

This wasn't just a slight shuffle of personnel either, as they leaned on McConnell to play a team-high 39.0 minutes. He notched a 22.9% assist rate in that time, and he finished with 36.1 FanDuel points.

It's rare to find a value play this strong in the playoffs, and unless we hear that Philly is moving back to the lineup that dug them an 0-3 deficit to start the series, McConnell is someone you'll want to lock into all of your lineups. He is an elite value and provides a ton of flexibility under the salary cap.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.