FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 12/29/21

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

COVID-19 Protocol Update
Due to the advanced number of players in COVID-19 protocols, I want to provide just a manual list of those players moving forward and then discuss the other injury news separately. Only players that significantly impact the slate are listed:

While not a brand new injury, this is the second of two games that Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was expected to miss with a back issue. He's out tonight in Portland.

Malcolm Brogdon has missed the better part of four games for the Pacers with an Achilles injury, and he's questionable for a fifth Wednesday as the Pacers host the Hornets.

Marcus Smart missed Monday's contest for the Celtics, but he's questionable to return tonight from a hand injury against the Clippers. The Clips will be without Nicolas Batum on the other side due to an ankle injury.

Overall, not too many injury issues, but as was the case yesterday, keep an eye out for surprising COVID-19 list activations.

Guards

Damian Lillard ($9,000): Lillard's dominant role in the Blazers' offense has him pretty comfortable as the top guard of the night. Not only did he lead Portland in shot attempts his last game (15), but he also added a whopping 14 free throw attempts. The 228.0-point total -- without Donovan Mitchell -- has this contest comfortably the best environment of the day, and Lillard has shown recently (two of the last four games) that he has 50-point upside on FanDuel with the right ingredients.

Eric Bledsoe ($5,500): The Clippers are incredibly shorthanded at the moment, but also a little tricky to attack. Peeling back the onion, Marcus Morris clearly has the best role amongst starters -- but also a salary to match at $6,500. There's also no guarantee it sticks. At 1.27 FanDuel points per minute in the last two games, though, Bledsoe is the best bang for your buck to attack the Clips, and he's got eligibility at a point guard spot that's surprisingly unappetizing on an eight-game slate.

Derrick Walton Jr. ($4,000): Cade Cunningham is an unknown entering Wednesday's slate. He's currently on the COVID-19 list, but he's not definitively ruled out as of this time. If he isn't able to go, Walton Jr. should cash in on his elite projection by numberFire. In Detroit's last contest, Walton played 31 minutes and posted 20.8 FanDuel points without scoring the ball. He should find a bucket or two with that type of role again.

Others to Consider:
Ja Morant ($8,700): Desmond Bane's emergence is troubling, but his volume may also not be here to stay. Encouraging Morant went off Monday alongside him.
Marcus Smart ($5,800): If he starts, he's a tremendous play. No minutes issue with a hand. It -- thankfully -- spoils Payton Pritchard chalk at his absurd salary, too.
Frank Jackson ($5,500): A better version of Walton with the salary to boot. A good role even if Cunningham returns with Saben Lee also out.
Malik Monk ($4,700): Got the starting nod and played 36 minutes last night. A near free square in a good offense.

Wings

LeBron James ($11,200): The pairing of LeBron and Jimmy Butler posted 132.8 FanDuel points on Tuesday, so why not run it back? Both have tremendous roles on their shorthanded teams, and as mentioned yesterday, James' floor comes from the Lakers' inability to blow out bad teams. That won't be an issue tonight. The Lakers are six-point dogs in Memphis, but the 227.5-point total is right on par with the top games of the day. LeBron should have close to his 30.0% usage this month inside of it.

Jimmy Butler ($8,500): Butler was second on the Heat in usage on Tuesday (29.4%), and he and Tyler Herro were the only players above a 21.5% rate. That's an ironclad role entering a more-than-friendly matchup with San Antonio. Butler is averaging 1.56 FanDuel points per minute since returning from injury, which means this salary could be five digits by the time we next see "Jimmy Buckets". Best to buy him low here as a 3.5-point road dog in a pace-up spot with the Spurs (2nd in terms of pace).

(Editor's Note: Butler was ruled out after the publishing time of this article with an ankle injury.)

Joe Ingles ($4,500): Ingles is a great plug for stacking the best game today. He saw 32 minutes when inserted into the starting lineup for Donovan Mitchell on Monday, and he dropped in 17 points to nearly pay off this salary with just scoring. Ingles holds a wide range of outcomes with his 0.72 FanDuel points per minute, so while he's far from a must-have, pop games will be there for rostering as long as he's filling in for "Spida".

Others to Consider:
Saddiq Bey ($6,400): Pounded 41 minutes in Detroit's last game and took 16 shots. Certainly, a role with upside if more of those shots go in.
Tyler Herro ($6,200): Gabe Vincent also hit COVID-19 protocols this morning, so the Heat are a three-man band if you include Duncan Robinson.
Kyle Anderson ($5,100): Role should be better with rebounding-ace John Konchar hitting the COVID list on Tuesday.
Luke Kennard ($4,700): This salary dropped as his role got better. Can pay off this salary on points alone. Frustrating at times, but there's upside here.

Bigs

Rudy Gobert ($9,100): There was some concern, personally, about Gobert's production declining without Mitchell. It was nice he answered the bell with 16 points and 13 boards in 25 minutes against the Spurs. Portland's rebounding percentage on field goals drops 5.9% without Jusuf Nurkic on the floor, and that's a troubling trend with Gobert -- the NBA's leading rebounder -- entering the arena. He's a comfortable place to put salary, but he does clog the pivot spot from the higher-upside options.

Domantas Sabonis ($8,400): Assuming Brogdon does not play, Sabonis has every reason to succeed in this matchup at this salary. Charlotte is last in the league in estimated rebounding, and they've ceded 20-rebound games to both Gobert and Nikola Jokic in the last 10 days. Sabonis' floor is not viable in cash, but it's better than perception; he's posted at least 44 FanDuel points in five of his last seven games.

Al Horford ($7,000): Jaylen Brown saw a salary increase and didn't exactly light it up for his old salary in his new top-tier role for Boston. Horford is a better way to attack the C's depth issues tonight. He jumped right into 34 minutes off the COVID-19 list, and, posting 40.8 FanDuel points, made the most of them. Horford could actually absorb more offensive work if Payton Pritchard's 23.8% usage rate on Monday heads to the bench in favor of Marcus Smart.

Others to Consider:
Kristaps Porzingis ($8,900): Averaging 1.35 FanDuel points per minute this month -- with or without Luka Doncic. The role trumps this salary.
Larry Nance Jr. ($5,700): A cornerstone play in the game of the day. Started and saw 32 minutes at center on Monday. He'll have better days in that spot.
Mitchell Robinson ($5,500): A trio of great value centers at $5,500. Robinson is the gold medal. Over 30 minutes in back-to-back games with Nerlens Noel out.
Omer Yurtseven ($5,500): Yurtseven gets the silver medal; at least 14 boards and 30 minutes in his last two as well. Just doesn't have the same blocking ability.