NBA

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 12/13/21

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 and Key Injuries

Away Home Game
Total
Away
Implied
Total
Home
Implied
Total
Away
Pace
Home
Pace
Miami Cleveland 208.5 101.5 107 23 14
Sacramento Toronto 220.5 108 112.5 3 24
Golden State Indiana 215 109.5 105.5 5 19
Houston Atlanta 224 106.5 117.5 1 15
Milwaukee Boston 219.5 109.25 110.25 13 18
Philadelphia Memphis 209.5 106.25 103.25 28 6
Charlotte Dallas 219.5 108.5 111 2 30
Washington Denver 214 104.5 109.5 24 26
Phoenix LA Clippers 212 107.5 104.5 4 7


The Hornets are slightly healthier than we left them last week. Terry Rozier has cleared COVID-19 protocols and is set to return for Charlotte in a limited fashion on Monday. PJ Washington is questionable for them with a non-COVID illness, as well.

However, also over the weekend, Luka Doncic picked up yet another ankle injury that will require him to miss some time for Dallas.

Paul George sat most of the weekend with an elbow injury, and he's listed as doubtful for the Clippers' run-in with Phoenix on Monday. On the other side of that one, the Suns might be missing Deandre Ayton with the illness that cost him Friday's contest.

Richaun Holmes remains out with his eye issue, but with Sacramento, your guess is always as good as mine with the replacement.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is also questionable tonight for Memphis with the knee injury that forced him to miss Saturday's game.

Guards

Trae Young ($9.900): Just like Friday, the top guard is Young by default. Young has scored at least 25 points in each of his last eight games, and he's posted double-digit assists in seven of those eight. His rock-solid usage rate without Bogdan Bogdanovic (36.5%) gives him a decent ceiling, but at the very least, he laps Stephen Curry and Chris Paul in terms of the floor. There are other places to spend on the slate, but none better than Young in the backcourt.

Jalen Brunson ($6,300): Brunson started for Doncic on Sunday and led the Mavericks in scoring with 18 points. He's projected well by numberFire because of the role he absorbs without Doncic historically (1.02 FanDuel points per minute), but it could get better. He's worked alongside Tim Hardaway Jr.'s higher usage rate in much of that sample, but Hardaway is still coming off the bench even with Luka sidelined. That should thrust more onto the Villanova alum moving forward.

Cody Martin ($5,200): With Rozier back in the fold, the upper echelon of Hornets is a dicey game where multiple will likely horribly fall short of value. Martin, though, remains low-salaried despite a monstrous effort Friday. His FanDuel-point total (48.3) was inflated by five blocks plus steals, but that's going to happen seeing 42 minutes. He likely is overwhelmingly popular again, but his floor in this shorthanded period for Charlotte has been 23.2 FanDuel points. He's the top value guard again.

Others to Consider:
Bradley Beal ($8,300): This salary has dipped low enough to see some upside. A 30.1% usage rate is stellar for the salary.
Kyle Lowry ($6,900): The floor is concerning if Miami implodes without Jimmy Butler again, but his projection is fair for the top-dog role.
Reggie Jackson ($6,000): Without George, Jackson is the clear top option offensively. The only concern is the Clips are watching his minutes, too.
Spencer Dinwiddie ($5,400): Likely won't pair him and Beal in the same lineup, but both salaries have dropped considerably to open up massive value.

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500): Giannis scored his first-triple double of the season on Sunday, but hilariously, it wasn't even a top fantasy performance because he only scored 20 points. Giannis' floor is defensible to fade in spots, but the ceiling is what makes him such a supreme tournament play. He's broken 60 FanDuel points on 10 separate occasions, and there's no other place to spend salary with that type of reasonable, can't-miss upside. His matchup with Boston (and their lack of size) is solid, too.

Luke Kennard ($5,200): There is plenty of room for both Kennard and Terance Mann in Paul George's stead, so don't take this as a shot against T-Mann. Mann has the more well-rounded, reliable floor, but Kennard could realistically score 25-plus real-life points and pay off his salary with just his scoring. These two -- plus Jackson -- are the only ones seeing 30-plus minutes consistently for the Clippers, and Marcus Morris' minutes have been wildly volatile without much of a ceiling to justify him.

Kevin Huerter ($4,800): I've lost Huerter the past week in the shuffle of value before lock, but this salary is just way, way too low. I want to prioritize him in such a friendly matchup with Houston. Huerter's played at least 33 minutes in five of his last six games, and he's posted 27-plus FanDuel points in three of his last five. That's been amidst difficult matchups, but the Rockets are allowing the fifth-most three-point attempts per game (38.7), so Huerter and Young both should have room to let it fly.

Others to Consider:
Tobias Harris ($7,300): Salary has crept down, so I'll be here out of necessity in the $7,000 range. The floor is terrible, so a "no" in cash games.
Gary Trent Jr. ($6,000): Played at least 37 minutes and took 16 shot attempts in each of his past two games without Precious Achiuwa. More than fine.
Terance Mann ($5,400): Just a matter of which one between him and Kennard pops in tournaments. I'll have both.
Reggie Bullock ($4,200): Got the start for Dallas in place of Hardaway. Against Charlotte's awful defense, he's more than viable scheduled for 30-plus minutes.

Bigs

Nikola Jokic ($11,400): The NBA schedule makers are cruel to always put Jokic and Joel Embiid on the same slate, but Jokic is the priority tonight. In a sample that's growing wildly large, Jokic is still averaging 1.81 FanDuel points per minute without Michael Porter Jr., and he's trending towards a salary above $12,000. He's posted at least 59 FanDuel points in his last three games that stayed close, and the 5.0-point spread Monday brings plenty of confidence that he sees his full minutes allotment again.

Kristaps Porzingis ($8,500): The Hornets' defense has been poor most of the season, but amidst this wave of COVID-19 issues, it's been downright awful. They have a 118.5 defensive rating in the past 10 games, and Porzingis is the primary benefactor for the Mavericks. He blows the rest of his teammates away with 1.30 FanDuel points per minute without Doncic this season, and he'd likely have smashed value if not for the blowout of the weak Thunder on Sunday.

Chris Boucher ($5,000): I'm far from in love with Boucher's role, but at a team-best 1.06 FanDuel points per minute this season (and 1.22 last season), he's terrifying to fade with even an assured 20 minutes of court time. He saw 27 minutes on Friday, but there is some risk here given the Kings are without Richaun Holmes and may be willing to go small anyway. The reward is tremendous, though; Sacramento is ninth-worst in estimated rebounding and ripe for a double-double by any opposing center.

Others to Consider:
Joel Embiid ($10,500): With Jokic present and Tobi Harris' salary surpressed, I'll likely only get to Embiid when I can't find the salary for Joker.
Evan Mobley ($7,500): Eight games this season with 40-plus FanDuel points. That's way too many for this salary.
Jaren Jackson Jr. ($6,400): If he plays, his popularity likely doesn't match his role because of the injury. 1.31 FanDuel points per minute without Ja Morant.
Marvin Bagley III ($4,300): Hoping he starts again. 1.07 FanDuel points per minute the past week and could return to 30-plus minutes with a close game.