FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 11/10/21

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 basketball is very reliant on a player's 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

Wednesday's 13-game slate is the largest of the year thus far. We ride!

The major news entering Wednesday's slate is the one-game suspension to Denver's Nikola Jokic for his on-court incident Monday. On the other side of their contest, Malcolm Brogdon should return for Indiana after missing two games with an illness.

From there, the Lakers are still without LeBron James due to his abdominal injury. While we know the game plan as a result of that, Miami on the other side could be down two key players. Both Bam Adebayo (knee) and Tyler Herro (back) are questionable for Wednesday's visit to Staples Center.

Brandon Ingram appears to be in jeopardy of missing a sixth straight game due to a hip injury for New Orleans. The salaries are adjusted, so his return would just squander many Pels options.

Sacramento's Tyrese Haliburton might be in the same boat as well; he's questionable with a back injury. Buddy Hield would start again for the Kings.

Collin Sexton officially starts his leave due to a torn meniscus for Cleveland on Wednesday. Ricky Rubio saw a mammoth workload increase without him.

The Knicks could also be missing both of their big men in the middle. Mitchell Robinson (hip) and Nerlens Noel (knee) may both be unable to play -- a bump to Julius Randle.

Guards

Stephen Curry ($10,200): Guard is absolutely stacked on such a huge slate, but Curry still stands out. I noted his jump in peripheral stats last week, and Curry had a vintage night scoring the ball on Monday with 50 points. When that happens with his newfound assist and rebound tendencies, he's going to detonate slates as he did with 83.4 FanDuel points on Monday. Two nuclear games in a row would be surprising, but the 222.0-point total in their game with Minnesota should be a great environment for him.

Russell Westbrook ($9,400): With no salary adjustment from Monday, the Westbrook well is more than worth visiting again. Westbrook's usage rate without LeBron on the floor this season jumped to 32.5% after Monday's win over Charlotte, and he still is averaging 1.31 FanDuel points per minute after another triple-double. The unfortunate news is continued popularity as this is an obvious spot for all players, but even with a stingy matchup against Miami, his floor is very high. There's plenty of value to fit multiple stud guards in every lineup, too.

Ricky Rubio ($5,500): It will be interesting to see what Rubio's salary is when adjusted for the Sexton injury. He averages 1.17 FanDuel points per minute without Sexton on the floor this season, so assuming about a 36-minute workload, he should carry a salary closer to $8,000. That makes for obvious value in this spot to draw popularity, but Rubio has also averaged closer to 1.00 FanDuel points per minute over the course of his career. He's likely under-salaried in this spot, but it's not an egregious pivot to use Terry Rozier instead.

Others to Consider:
Ja Morant ($9,100): The highest total of the day belongs to Memphis and Charlotte. Tremendous game-stack option with a friendly salary.
De'Aaron Fox ($7,400): Finally had "the game" we all waited for with no Haliburton. Definite green flag if Haliburtons sits once more.
Terry Rozier ($5,300): Great tournament pivot with Rubio likely so popular, but also can and should be used together. Both seem locks for 30-plus FanDuel points.
Cade Cunningham ($4,800): Battle of the rookies on national TV! Both him and Jalen Green are identical salaries and should see 30-plus minutes.
Monte Morris ($4,300): Under-salaried even if Jokic was playing, but his role should expand with Jokic vacating a 30.2% usage rate.

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500): For as tremendous as guard is, forward is all about Giannis. Even on the second night of a back-to-back, he feels like a free square once again. Antetokounmpo has eclipsed 60 FanDuel points in 6 of his 11 contests. Yesterday's stud piece mentioned his salary at $12,000 would be fair given that 60 FanDuel points are a fair median projection for him at this stage. Under-salaried and so reliable, it's hard to pass up the "Greek Freak" for options that are closer in salary than quality.

Will Barton ($6,000): Barton should absolutely heave shots for the Nuggets tonight. His 29.7% usage rate without Jokic on the floor this season is the highest on the team by a wide margin, and he's parlayed that into 1.27 FanDuel points per minute in those floor situations. He's already averaged 18 shots per game in the past three contests with some mix of Jokic and Michael Porter Jr., but now without both, he is Denver's lone remaining top-tier scoring option. His old role was under-salaried in this spot; his new one makes him a near lock.

Jeff Green ($3,700): Hopefully, Green's low production (14.3 FanDuel points) in 33 minutes suppresses his popularity. Green has just a 17.6% usage rate with Jokic on the floor, but that rises to 22.4% in floor situations without the Serbian big man. Combined with a bump in rebounding volume, and the Georgetown alum should sail past value at this salary. P.J. Dozier should see more than Monday's 17 minutes of court time without Jokic, but his sporadic production at just $100 less in salary makes Green the superior option.

Others to Consider:
Jayson Tatum ($9,500): How good can the role get? Tatum already averaged 22.0 shots per game. Does it rise to 30 without Jaylen Brown consistently?
Keldon Johnson ($5,900): Saw 37 minutes in his last game on Sunday. Should continue to see a heavy workload as long as Jakob Poeltl remains out.
Saddiq Bey ($5,200): 30-plus minute role is stable enough that this salary is too low. A better option than Cunningham because Bey fills small forward.
Aaron Gordon ($5,000): Plug-and-play value without Jokic. Sees a +0.93 lift in rebounds per 36 minutes without him on the floor, and a much more secure path to 30-plus minutes.

Bigs

Julius Randle ($9,500): Especially given his presence on the other side of a known core play (Giannis), Randle's appeal is pretty solid regardless of the Knicks' injuries to monitor. His 28.1% usage rate is still the best amongst New York starters. However, he could be on triple-double watch without Robinson and Noel; he vaults to 14.48 rebounds per 36 minutes in floor situations where the Knicks have gone small without them this season. There is plenty of value to justify Randle in many spots.

Evan Mobley ($6,700): The sneaky beneficiary of Collin Sexton's absence could be the rookie. He sees a 2.6 percentage-point increase in usage without Sexton on the floor this season -- a mark that is higher than Rubio and all other starters. He has been flashing his ceiling lately by exceeding 36 FanDuel points in three of his past six games, but the extra workload could make that a more regular occurrence. It's a stars-and-scrubs night, but Mobley is a top-tier option in the mid-range.

JaMychal Green ($3,800): Green is close to a 100% roster type of guy thanks to dual-position eligibility. Only one player that is at least 6'10" tall that will be active for Denver tonight has played at least 15 minutes this entire season -- JaMychal Green. Bol Bol may draw the start, but almost certainly, Green will play nearly 40 minutes and close if the game remains tight for Denver. He's salaried at his bench role, so the risk of fading him is pretty substantial given he's been a productive player (0.89 FanDuel points per minute) off the pine this year.

Others to Consider:
Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,800): Salary is more than friendly for game stacks with Golden State in their high-total affair.
Wendell Carter Jr. ($6,400): His role is slightly more stable than Mohamed Bamba's in the frontcourt. On a normal slate without the Denver value, he'd be a core play.
Robert Williams ($5,700): It feels like a down season, but he's still averaging 0.96 FanDuel points per minute. 33 minutes in his last game could be a new normal without Brown.
Frank Kaminsky ($4,300): Phoenix value feels unnecessary today, but Kaminsky is still likely the plus option. JaVale McGee only saw 25 minutes Monday despite significant foul trouble for Kaminsky.
Dewayne Dedmon ($3,800): Plug-and-play value if Adebayo sits. Will see 30-plus minutes.