FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 6/1/21

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 and COVID-19 situations. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news and we also have player news updates.

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.

Please note: When I'm referencing a player's value figure, it is the number of fantasy points scored for every $1,000 in salary. Typically, a value figure of 5.0 (meaning, 5.0 FanDuel points for every $1,000 in salary) is the minimum baseline we'll be targeting.

Let's take a look at who you should target on tonight's three-game playoff slate, which locks at 7:30 PM Eastern.

All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.

Point Guard

Facundo Campazzo ($6,200) - Paying up at point guard is simply not a necessity tonight, as there are enough high-upside options in better spots at other positions. Instead, we'll start in the mid-range with Campazzo. The 30-year-old has been a model of consistency so far in the playoffs, averaging 32.6 FanDuel points through four games, including a low-water mark of 27.1. The Portland Trail Blazers struggled to defend opposing point guards all season, ranking 22nd versus the position, according to numberFire's DvP tool -- so look for Campazzo to continue producing.

Payton Pritchard ($4,500) - Kemba Walker looks doubtful to suit up tonight, which means we can look to Pritchard for some value. In the last 10 games that Walker has missed for the Boston Celtics, Pritchard has averaged 23.7 fantasy points, and that includes four outputs of 28.3 or more. The rookie would only need 22.5 FanDuel points to achieve five-times value (or 5.0 fantasy points for every $1,000 in salary).

Shooting Guard

Devin Booker ($7,500) - Despite the fact that Booker has only averaged 30.8 FanDuel points in the last three games of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers, our algorithm projects Booker to be the top point-per-dollar play at shooting guard as the series returns to Phoenix. The All-Star dropped 51.4 fantasy points in Game 1, and anything close to that would be fantastic value at a salary of just $7,500. numberFire's model has him accruing a value figure of 5.25, and the next-closest two-guard is at 4.73.

Marcus Smart ($6,800) - Game 1 of the series against the Brooklyn Nets saw Smart limited to 25.1 FanDuel points due to the extremely rare occurrence of him getting shut out in the defensive categories. However, Smart has proven that to be an anomaly, as the three games since have seen him put up 36.6, 34.6, and 40.7 fantasy points. That 40.7-fantasy-point performance came on the back of a nine-assist outing, which coincided with the absence of Walker in the lineup. Smart is one of the safer plays on this three-game slate, especially if Kemba is out again.

Small Forward

Kevin Durant ($10,600) - Through the first four games of the 2021 postseason, KD has amassed 49.9, 54.1, 62.3, and 63.3 FanDuel points. Durant has essentially displayed the same upside as James Harden, albeit at a $500 discount. LeBron James ($10,000) is certainly in play tonight, especially if Anthony Davis can't go, but Durant's consistent ceiling makes him the top play at the position. As a reminder, the Boston Celtics were the most generous team to opposing small forwards over the final 15 games of the season, according to FantasyPros.

Kyle Kuzma ($4,300) - numberFire's top-projected value at small forward is Kuzma, and that'll especially be the case if Davis is inactive. In a team-leading 1,418.5 minutes with Davis off the court this season, Kuzma has averaged 0.91 FanDuel points per minute, according to RotoGrinders. At that rate, he would only need to play 23.6 minutes to achieve our baseline value, and our algorithm has him predicted for 33.6 minutes of action tonight.

Power Forward

Jayson Tatum ($10,800) - Over the last two games, Tatum has been the source of offense for Boston, dropping 50 and 40 real-life points, respectively. That led to fantasy outputs of 62.9 and 75.7. numberFire's model has Tatum outscoring the next-closest power forward by an insane 24.8 fantasy points tonight, which makes fading him extremely risky. Over the last 30 games of the season, only the Oklahoma City Thunder ceded more fantasy points to opposing power forwards than Brooklyn.

JaMychal Green ($3,700) - At some point, we'll have to throw a dart at someone and hope it sticks, and that someone might just be JaMychal Green. Green has garnered at least 17.3 minutes in each game of the series so far, and in Game 4, he topped out at 21.4 minutes and 23 FanDuel points. While that game was a blowout, all of Green's production came in the first three quarters, which means his production likely wasn't a product of said blowout. Green's certainly a risk to drop a complete dud, but his low salary would allow us to fit more studs in our lineups.

Center

Tristan Thompson ($5,600) - Prior to racking up just 19.7 fantasy points in Game 4, Thompson had managed 27.0, 29.2, and 34.1 in the first three games of the series. With Robert Williams looking doubtful to suit up tonight, Thompson should be able to take advantage of a Brooklyn team that lacks an interior presence.