FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 1/30/22
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. The projected numbers referenced below may change throughout the day.
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
Luka Doncic, PG/SG, (FanDuel Salary: $10,800) - On this five-game slate, there are three games with a total of at least 227.0 and two with a total of 211.0 or lower. I'll mostly focus on the trio of games with high totals. Luka is an exception. Despite the 211.0-point total in the Dallas Mavericks-Orlando Magic clash, Doncic projects well. Over his last four games, Doncic has gone for at least 63.2 FanDuel points twice, and that ceiling is super appealing on a slate where our model projects just three guys for more than 43.3 FanDuel points. Luka is one of them at a projection of 51.7 FanDuel points.
Devin Vassell, PG, $4,900 - This slate sets up well for stars-and-scrubs builds, and the San Antonio Spurs give us a plethora of low-salary targets with Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl all ruled out. That creates a ton of value. As of Sunday afternoon, of the nine best point-per-dollar options -- according to our algorithm -- five of them are Spurs. Jones and Tre Jones ($4,100) are two guard-eligible players who are part of that five-man group. We have Vassell and Jones projected for 31.1 FanDuel points (6.35 per $1,000) and Jones at 24.7 (6.01).
Others to Consider: Chris Paul ($9,200), Mike Conley ($6,000), Jalen Brunson ($5,600)
Wings
Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF/PF, $11,000 - The Spurs' value pieces help us get to Giannis. He is second on the slate with a projection of 57.2 FanDuel points (5.02 per $1,000), according to our numbers. The Milwaukee Bucks are taking on the Denver Nuggets in a game with a slate-best 233.5-point total and 6.0-point spread. Antetokounmpo has produced at least 54.9 FanDuel points in three of his last four appearances. Denver has given up the eighth-most FanDuel points per game to power forwards (45.8).
Anthony Edwards, SG/SF, $8,600 - I want to mention Edwards. D'Angelo Russell's status is up in the air. If Russell sits, Edwards becomes incredibly enticing in a matchup with the Utah Jazz that should be great for DFS. The total is 228.0 with a 2.5-point spread. Normally Utah is a downer of a matchup, but with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell sidelined, they're not the same D, permitting at least 105 points in five of their last six games. Sans D-Lo last time out, Edwards went off for 62.0 FanDuel points, and he scored 67.8 with Russell in the lineup three games ago.
Others to Consider: Keldon Johnson ($5,900), Dorian Finney-Smith ($4,300), Doug McDermott ($3,700)
Bigs
Nikola Jokic, C, $11,500 - If you're willing to pinch pennies elsewhere, you can plug in all of Jokic, Giannis and Luka. There's certainly merit to it. They are all pegged to score at least 51.7 FanDuel points, per our model, while no one else is forecasted for more than 43.3. Jokic has put up at least 50.9 FanDuel points in eight straight games, with five games of at least 62.8 in that span, including an outburst of 87.8. We have him going for a slate-leading 58.1 FanDuel points (5.05 per $1,000) in a pace-up spot versus Milwaukee.
Hassan Whiteside, C, $6,500 - Whiteside continues to project well with Mitchell and Gobert out for Utah. We have him at a projection of 41.3 FanDuel points -- good for a sparkling 6.36 per $1,000. He can thrive against a Minnesota Timberwolves squad that permits the eighth-most FanDuel points per game to centers (55.6). The opportunity cost of using Whiteside -- who is eligible at only center -- is that you have to pass on Jokic. I don't want to do that.
Others to Consider: Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,300), Evan Mobley ($7,100), Dwight Powell ($3,500), Marquese Chriss ($3,500)
