FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 12/5/21
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. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, and we also have player news updates.
We'll be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position. Today's main slate starts at 6 p.m. EST.
Guards
Trae Young, PG, (FanDuel Salary: $9,600) - As of early Sunday, Young tops our projections as we peg him to score 43.6 FanDuel points. The Atlanta Hawks are taking on a COVID-depleted Charlotte Hornets squad in a game with a 220.5-point total and 6.5-point spread. The total is tied for the highest on this four-gamer. Even at full strength, the Hornets are a great matchup as they sit fourth-worst in defensive efficiency while playing at the second-fastest in pace. This should be a great environment for Young, and his ceiling is as good as anyone's on the slate.
Fred VanVleet, PG, $7,900 - FVV will go up against the Washington Wizards, and while Washington isn't the dream DFS matchup they were a year ago, VanVleet is one of the slate's better plays. He's logged at least 36 minutes in six straight games and he's put up at least 40.0 FanDuel points in four of his last five outings. We project VanVleet for 39.4 FanDuel points, which amounts to 4.98 per $1,000 and is the second-most of any guard-eligible player.
Others to Consider: Ish Smith ($5,000), Armoni Brooks ($$4,100)
Wings
Brandon Ingram, SF, $7,700 - Ingram went off last time out for a season-best 55.6 FanDuel points, benefitting from Josh Hart ($5,800) sitting out. Hart's status is up in the air for tonight, but even with our model accounting for Hart playing, Ingram projects pretty well in a clash with the Houston Rockets. This game shapes up as the DFS matchup of the night as it boasts a 220.5-point total and 2.5-point spread. The Rockets are permitting the second-most FanDuel points per game to small forwards (45.5), and we forecast Ingram to amass 37.3 FanDuel points.
Kelly Oubre, SG/SF, $6,600 - Soooo Charlotte is going to be without LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee and Jalen McDaniels. Rozier and Ball are the key absences, and without those two on the court this season, Oubre averages exactly 1.00 FanDuel points per minute on a 24.9% usage rate, which is up 3.6 percentage points, according to RotoGrinders CourtIQ. Our algorithm projects Oubre for 35.6 FanDuel points (5.39 per $1,000).
Others to Consider: Miles Bridges ($8,600), Pascal Siakam ($7,800), Kevin Huerter ($4,800)
Bigs
Clint Capela, C, $8,200 - At full strength, Charlotte has had a ton of trouble with centers, surrendering the second-most FanDuel points per game to the position (59.2). With the Hornets short-handed, Capela should feast, and I like the idea of stacking him with Young. Capela has posted two straight duds, but prior to that, he'd ripped off outputs of 55.9, 58.4 and 52.1 FanDuel points.
Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, $4,900 - Achiuwa is our model's top point-per-dollar play among all forwards and centers. We have a few enticing center options at our disposal, so Achiuwa fits better at power forward. The Raptors' big is averaging 33.0 minutes per game over his past four, and we slate him to produce 27.6 FanDuel points in this one, which comes out to 5.64 per $1,000.
Others to Consider: Jonas Valanciunas ($8,000), PJ Washington ($6,000)
