FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Thursday 12/16/21

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

How FanDuel players handle the key news of prior days differently on Thursday will likely decide tournaments.

On Tuesday, the primary source of value was in Brooklyn. The Nets placed seven rotation players in the COVID-19 protocols, and that left them with the minimum eight players available for the game. Luckily, FanDuel has adjusted salaries for this entering Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Rockets were without their top two active players on an already-depleted roster. Christian Wood remains out Thursday with a knee injury, but Eric Gordon will return from a groin injury tonight to become Houston's 11th active player. Salaries are largely similar on FanDuel with a back-to-back not accounting for the Wood issue, so there is value to be had in Houston.

The Knicks could also remain without RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes due to COVID-19 protocols. Both are listed as questionable.

Also, the Washington Wizards are resting Spencer Dinwiddie on Thursday.

Salaries largely haven't caught up to the Jerami Grant long-term thumb injury for the Pistons, but the way Detroit manages their rotation...your guess is as good as mine in terms of who becomes a viable, trustable value play.

Guards

Cade Cunningham ($7,900): Even though he's difficult to get to prioritizing the top stars, Cunningham is the star of the Pistons with Grant out. He had a 30.7% usage rate across 35 minutes in their last game on Sunday. Point guard is fairly bleak across the board, so unless banking on Chris Paul to exceed value for just the third time in 14 games, Cunningham's safe floor is the easiest target in a muddy Detroit rotation.

Derrick Rose ($6,200): Derrick Rose starting and getting regular minutes could be lethal. He averages 0.99 FanDuel points per minute on the whole season despite wild fluctuations in situations and playing time. He draws the Houston defense that was ripped to shreds by the Cavs last night because the Rockets' lone shot-blocker is on the shelf. The Knicks figure to be hard to project most nights, but at least three starters are now regularly seeing 30-plus minutes, and Rose is one of them.

Others to Consider:
Bradley Beal ($8,200): Dropped 30 points last night with Dinwiddie's playing time continuing to be reduced. He could return to his 2020 form (1.25 FanDuel points per minute) if that continues.
Seth Curry ($5,300): Mostly using wings with forward eligibility to fill shooting guard, but Curry would be Option #3 at point guard. Ugly position.
Armoni Brooks ($4,500): I will still make a conscious effort to be overweight on him tonight. Should start and see 30-plus minutes if Houston can keep it remotely close.

Wings

Kevin Durant ($12,000): Durant is the key pivot point of the slate. There's no doubting his role (31.3% usage on Tuesday) in this barren Nets' hierarchy, but his salary also fits that role. He's the only Nets player I'm even considering with the lofted salaries because Steve Nash has no regularity in his rotation. Cameron Thomas played 29 minutes on Sunday with a full team, and then he only played 22 minutes on Tuesday with the minimum active players. It's not dependable, and the salaries aren't even true values with Thomas at $5,700 the lowest viable option.

Jae'Sean Tate ($6,300): Those who rostered Rockets besides Alperen Sengun last night had to feel robbed. Sengun was the only Houston player that was over 20% drafted, and he was the only one to exceed salary-based value because of a 29-point halftime lead. Tate should still have an excellent role without Christian Wood tonight and moving forward; he averages 1.19 FanDuel points per minute in those floor situations.

Others to Consider:
Eric Gordon ($5,700): Likely the starting point guard for the Rockets tonight in a beatable matchup. They missed his offense badly on Wednesday.
Alec Burks ($5,500): The second of the Knicks' trio regularly seeing 30-plus minutes. Saw 39 on Tuesday. More shots will fall soon (31.3% shooting in December).
Saddiq Bey ($4,600): Likely the best bet for a Pistons' value play to see 30-plus minutes. 28.8% shooting in December keeps getting him benched, though.

Bigs

Julius Randle ($8,700): Randle is the third of the Knicks' trio regularly seeing 30-plus minutes, but he's currently got clearly the best role on the team. He's averaging 1.11 FanDuel points per minute on a 26.9% usage rate in December, and he's also averaging 15.4 shots per game this month -- including 21 against Golden State on Tuesday. The Rockets' 127.8 defensive rating on Tuesday could just be a sign of things to come without Christian Wood holding down the five.

Alperen Sengun ($5,800): "Baby Jokic" is a more than appropriate nickname for the rookie. Sengun has seen buzz since the summer league, and averaging a team-best 1.25 FanDuel points per minute, he hasn't disappointed on the offensive end of the floor. However, his playing time is limited because of his terrible defense, the Rockets have limited his playing time. He's well-projected in a space he should see additional minutes, but approach him with caution; Daniel Theis could play more minutes for defense if Thursday's game is closer than Wednesday's.

Others to Consider:
Deandre Ayton ($8,000): He sees a 1.1 percentage-point increase in usage without Devin Booker. A high-floor option at the pivot in lineups, but one is likely fading Durant to get to his salary.
Isaiah Stewart ($6,000): 39 minutes with Grant out on Sunday. Anything goes in Detroit, but that's encouraging enough to take some swipes in tournaments at this elevated salary.