FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 1/30/21

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

Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, we have player news updates, and the FanDuel Scout app will send push notifications for pressing updates regarding your players.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's break down today's main slate on FanDuel:

The Slate

It should be a tame slate compared to Saturdays of the past, as there is not a lot of fresh injury news entering the day. Jimmy Butler is questionable to make his return from COVID-19 protocols for the Miami Heat, but one would have to imagine Butler would likely face some type of minutes restriction after sitting out 10 consecutive games. Tyler Herro is also questionable with his neck injury. Goran Dragic is out with a groin injury.

Elsewhere in the Association, the Los Angeles Lakers' star duo who dominates the injury report is back, as LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (quad) are both questionable for Saturday, but conventional wisdom would say both stars will play in ABC's debut Saturday Night Primetime game of the season. Throughout the day, rest news may pop up with five of the 16 teams on their second leg of a back-to-back.

Point Guard

John Wall ($7,300): When a super team is disassembled and reassembled on the fly, it will take some time to sort out usage and chemistry. However, in all Houston Rockets minutes this year without James Harden, it becomes apparent John Wall is the clear top option. Wall leads Houston in both usage rate (35.0%) and FanDuel points per minute (1.27) in 156 minutes in that split, and he comes at a $1,200 discount to Victor Oladipo, who is second in both categories. Wall has a great matchup, as well, as the New Orleans Pelicans give up the fourth-most FanDuel points per game to opposing point guards.

Lonzo Ball ($5,600): Despite battling an ankle injury, Lonzo Ball has started to take off inside the Pels' new offense. Ball is averaging 1.32 FanDuel points per minute over his last three games, including a 43.6 FanDuel-point outburst on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Assuming no injury setbacks, which would slide Eric Bledsoe into a marquee spot again, Ball will get the best available matchup for a point guard in Houston, who has ceded the most FanDuel points per game to opposing floor generals.

Other Notable Plays: Ja Morant ($7,900), Coby White ($6,000), Dennis Schroder ($5,300)

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan ($7,300): The salary on DeRozan is strange, because it seems like the lone path to failure for him here is a blowout. In games this month in which DeRozan has seen at least 30 minutes, the fewest FanDuel points he scored was 34.5, and he averaged 42.4 FanDuel points per game in the eight games fitting that criteria. DeRozan upset the Denver Nuggets on Friday with a 30-point, 10-assist triple-double, and the matchup should be no issue again on Saturday, as DeRozan posted 57.3 FanDuel points against the Memphis Grizzlies on opening night.

Gary Trent Jr. ($5,000): It appears the Portland Trail Blazers have found their short-term answer for C.J. McCollum's absence. Trent is averaging 22.5 points and 16.5 shots over his last two games while getting an average of 39.5 minutes per game. He will be overwhelmingly popular coming off the last two games, and Trent's season-long metrics are still slightly concerning if you are looking to fade him for tournaments. Trent has only a 19.6% usage rate without McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, which slots him behind Anfernee Simons, but Trent remains a high-floor option while he's taking such a large role shooting the basketball.

Other Notable Plays: Devonte' Graham ($5,900), Kendrick Nunn ($5,900; if Jimmy Butler sits), Tyrese Haliburton ($4,900)

Small Forward

Jerami Grant ($7,800): Some have taken a victory lap on Grant coming back to Earth, but he remains the Detroit Pistons' best option in one of the top team spots on the slate. Detroit sees a huge pace increase against the Golden State Warriors, and Grant still leads all Detroit starters in usage (28.5%), shot attempts (17.8), and FanDuel points per minute (1.11). Grant has also shot 43.8% from the field on the high volume and has added 6.09 rebounds per 36 minutes, which makes him a high-scoring, double-double threat in such an elite matchup. The phrase "keep the hold" is getting used quite a bit these days, and I'd definitely hold on Grant's stock.

Gordon Hayward ($7,200): Like Grant, Hayward has struggled in his past couple games but is a bounce-back pick as the Charlotte Hornets' clear number-one option. It has been a weird couple of games, where all nine Hornets rotation players have fallen between 18% and 22% usage, but Hayward still has the season-long advantage at 25.6%. Charlotte may also lean on their established star with one of the top teams in the East coming to town in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hornets are in a great pace-up spot against Milwaukee, who is 7th in the league in pace while Charlotte sits 19th.

Other Notable Plays: Keldon Johnson ($5,700), Eric Gordon ($5,500), Cameron Johnson ($4,600)

Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis ($7,000): With Maxi Kleber still out due to health protocols, Porzingis' path to a ceiling game is obvious and apparent in his rebounding. In Porzingis' last four contests, he has snagged more than eight boards just once. That's a drop from what he was doing as he'd surpasses eight rebounds in five of his first six games this season. Porzingis also is under his season efficiency shooting at just 42% on 17 shots per game in that same span. Both of those clips should trend the other direction soon, which may allow him to tap into the ceiling he has already showcased this year, as he has scored more than 40 FanDuel points three times.

Brandon Clarke ($6,500): Since Jonas Valanciunas remains out due to health protocols, Clarke will get another chance to play his college position of center more often, and that has been a huge boost to the former Gonzaga Bulldog. Clarke is averaging 35.7 FanDuel points per game since replacing Valanciunas at the five, including breaking 40 FanDuel points twice. Clarke sees a boost of only 0.01 rebounds per minute without JV, so it is likely more attributable to just regular playing time without fear of losing his role. The Grizzlies have been out of action for a while due to COVID-19, but after returning to practice Wednesday, this game with San Antonio appears on track to play.

Other Notable Plays: Bam Adebayo ($9,200), Blake Griffin ($5,800), Draymond Green ($4,900)

Center

Deandre Ayton ($8,100): Ayton is the cornerstone with just a few playable options at the center position due to injury. Full disclosure -- I also just can't handle a Richaun Holmes floor game again inside a Sacramento Kings rotation that shifts faster than stocks these days. Of the remaining big men in play, Ayton has the upside of continuing to absorb usage from Devin Booker, as Ayton trails only Chris Paul among Phoenix Suns starters in increase in usage (+2.1 percentage points) and FanDuel points per minute (+0.06) without Booker. Ayton should also be aided by the fact the Dallas Mavericks cede the sixth-most rebounds to opponents despite playing at just the 22nd-fasted pace.

Other Notable Plays: Steven Adams ($5,200), Cody Zeller ($4,900)

Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. 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.