NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 11/29/18

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 main slate.

Best of the Best

Kevin Durant ($11,500): Durant has been absolutely cruising lately. He has topped 50 FanDuel points in each of his last five games, and his last three have seen him post 62.3, 69.1 and 77.7 -- a season-high. This kind of elite production is no surprise with Stephen Curry on the shelf, as KD has averaged 1.49 FanDuel points per minute with a 35.7% usage rate with Curry out compared to 1.32 FanDuel points per minute and 28.3% with Curry playing since the start of last season. For context, those Curry-less numbers would rank him third in the league in fantasy efficiency in that time. Combining that efficiency with an average of 37.9 minutes per game over his last five makes him a top play. A matchup with the Toronto Raptors isn't exciting, but matchups become less crucial on a three-game slate, and Durant's elite combination of volume and efficiency make him a terrific option in all formats.