FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 1/19/22

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:

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This is the first weekday slate we'll be missing Kevin Durant. The Nets' forward sprained his knee over the weekend and is expected to miss around four weeks. Brooklyn may also be missing DeAndre Bembry due to a back flare-up,

Elsewhere, Norman Powell is doubtful for Portland as they travel to Miami. He's dealing with a personal issue.

The Hawks will be without Bogdan Bogdanovic for a third straight game due to knee soreness.

Gary Trent Jr. is a question mark for a fifth straight game for the Toronto Raptors after sitting out the previous four contests with an ankle injury.

The 76ers will also be down a couple of wings compared to normal. They'll be without Danny Green (hip) and Matisse Thybulle (shoulder).

Finally, the Lakers might be missing Carmelo Anthony for the third straight game due to a strained back.

Editor's Note: Due to an issue with RotoWire, Utah's Donovan Mitchell was not properly marked out on FanDuel at this time of publishing for this article. He's out due to concussion protocol, and Jordan Clarkson, Joe Ingles, and Mike Conley are great options in his stead.

Guards

Ja Morant ($9,100): This bloated, 13-game slate is almost difficult to get your arms around, but Morant definitely is the cornerstone at guard. With Desmond Bane (in COVID-19 protocols as mentioned) and Dillon Brooks off the floor this season, Morant has a team-high 34.5% usage that he's turned into 1.30 FanDuel points per minute. His floor is extremely high with a 227.5-point total on tap as the Grizzlies host the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams are also top-10 in overall pace.

Cade Cunningham ($6,000): The Pistons should have a better night than last night -- even on a back-to-back. They were sentenced to pain against a motivated Warriors squad, but they're just 6.5-point dogs to Sacramento on Wednesday. That brings Cunningham's role (26.4% usage rate) into play; he's simply just salaried here due to the tendency of getting blown out often. If allotted their full minutes, both he and Saddiq Bey are in production-per-minute roles far superior to salary.

John Konchar ($4,000): This stanza could easily be De'Anthony Melton or Ziaire Williams as well. The Grizzlies will have peripheral minutes to make up with Bane, Brooks, and Kyle Anderson all out of the lineup. My sense is Konchar will start over Tyus Jones as he did on December 27th, but Melton was inactive for that game. Williams is also the best talent of the four, so mixing and matching the opportunities in tournaments is crucial. Konchar has seen 20-plus minutes in the last two, so he's safest in cash games.

Others to Consider:
Kyrie Irving ($8,900): Road game with no Durant at a fair salary. Should be fairly popular.
Coby White ($5,700): He will finally see regular minutes with Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine on the shelf for a while. Talent to make them count.
Reggie Jackson ($5,700): Scored 26 points on Monday going just 1-for-7 from three. His role has always been there. Will the shots fall?
Ayo Dosunmu ($4,200): Should see solid work with the myriad of Bulls injuries. Personally, a better value than all four Grizzlies.

Wings

James Harden ($10,600): While he's more than justifiable as well, forward starts somewhere besides Giannis Antetokounmpo on a 13-game slate. Harden has been shifted from a guard to a forward on FanDuel; he'll presumably play the three with Durant out. He's still a tremendous value in his lead role with K.D. off the floor this season (1.48 FanDuel points per minute), and Kyrie's return will keep the offensive efficiency intact during their road games. The 234.0-point total in Washington is a dreamy one, too.

DeMar DeRozan ($8,500): At 1.15 FanDuel points per minute this season, DeRozan was reasonably salaried at this mark before Chicago's backcourt injuries. Now, it's a steal. That production balloons to 1.24 FanDuel points per minute with LaVine and Ball off the floor, but his gaudy 39.9% usage rate (which would lead the NBA in a qualifying sample) insists that should be higher. You can fit him in with other stars when he could potentially lead this slate in FanDuel points.

Marcus Morris ($5,800): Morris's salary was reduced just as his production recovered. I'll take it. Jackson and Morris still have the lead roles for the Clippers while Paul George is sidelined, and Morris has turned a hefty 25.9% usage rate into 0.95 FanDuel points per minute. The Clippers can be a frustrating target in fantasy, but there's one guy in this $5,000 range at forward tonight that can drop 25 real-life points, and you're reading about him. That's important for tournaments to consider.

Others to Consider:
Jimmy Butler ($9,100): If not for Harden and DeRozan's elevated roles, this salary would be the talk of the day. Portland's defense is terrible, too.
Luguentz Dort ($5,500): No surprise he's eclipsed 29 FanDuel points in three of four games without Kenrich Williams. His minutes are safe.
De'Andre Hunter ($5,000): Heavy minutes are back, but a newfound offensive aggressiveness came with them. 11.8 shots per game in January.
Dorian Finney-Smith ($4,500): 32-minute role. 0.75 FanDuel points per minute this season. Flat under-salaried.

Bigs

Nikola Jokic ($11,500): The Clippers and their size issues are dead last in the NBA in estimated rebounding (73.9%), and Jokic is as stable as they come on the glass. He's posted double-digit boards in 11 of his last 12 games. L.A. is also fourth-to-last in paint points allowed per game (49.5). Aaron Gordon popped last time on the glass against the Clippers, but the wiser bet is Jokic mirrors his 26-point, 22-rebound rebound performance from December 26th against this same squad.

Bam Adebayo ($7,700): Adebayo returned to a full role of 31 minutes, so this salary is probably on the low end for someone averaging 1.13 FanDuel points per minute this season. Both he and Butler should have plenty of opportunities against Portland's shoddy 114.2 defensive rating (second-to-last in the NBA) offensively. Adebayo's healthy projection per numberFire seems warranted, and his forward eligibility is clutch to build around Jokic or value centers.

Onyeka Okongwu ($4,900): I will take an "L" on Okongwu. He was fully unleashed into a 35-minute role against the Bucks on Monday, and with that workload, you're essentially getting a slightly reduced version of Clint Capela for $4,900. Sign me up. There's no guarantee it stays, but Okongwu is the only Hawks player in the rotation that could check either Karl-Anthony Towns or Naz Reid, so he should see plenty of minutes again. He's the clear best option spending down at the pivot.

Others to Consider:
Nikola Vucevic ($9,200): Not a huge usage boost without the Bulls' starting backcourt normally, but he's had pop games at this salary with them.
Evan Mobley ($6,600): What happened to his salary? Two poor games erased 0.99 FanDuel points per minute this whole season? Great value.
Bobby Portis ($6,300): Portis seems locked into this salary. Was over 60% drafted Monday, crushed it, and he stayed put. Here again out of obligation.
LaMarcus Aldridge ($4,400): Projections love Day'Ron Sharpe, but Aldridge is a per-minute monster that could see crunch time minutes. Sneaky upside.