NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 12/22/18

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, which starts at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Best of the Best

James Harden ($12,200): Not only has Harden been on fire as of late, scoring at least 29 actual points in seven straight games and 32 or more in five straight, but he's been playing a ridiculous amount of minutes (40 or more in three of the last four). He has scored 78.5, 62.4, 71.7, 56.1, and 63.2 FanDuel points in those five games. To make things even better for his production potential, it looks like Chris Paul is going to be out for a while, which means Harden will be the focal point of the offense without much competition. In the last three games that Chris Paul has missed, Harden has put up 81.1, 73.7, and 58.3 FanDuel points. He played 41, 44, and 47 minutes in those three, scoring 33, 40, and 54 real-world points. My word, what a beast. Do not get cute in cash games as Harden is a must-play. In tournaments, you'll be hard pressed to find someone who has close to Harden's upside on this mid-size slate.