FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 2/13/22

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 is a two-gamer that starts at 2 p.m. EST.

Guards

Trae Young, PG, (FanDuel Salary: $9,900) - Any two-game slate is gonna be a little weird. This one is particularly wonky because, as of early Sunday, our model projects just five players to best 5.00 points per $1,000 (although that can change throughout the day). None of them are salaried over $7,900. Young paces our projections at 45.3 FanDuel points despite the Atlanta Hawks' difficult matchup with the Boston Celtics. Young has scored at least 47.7 FanDuel points in four of his past six outings.

D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, $8,200 - The Minnesota Timberwolves-Indiana Pacers game has the same 6.5-point spread as the Hawks-Celtics clash but carries an over/under that is 16.5 points higher. It's tough to know how to handle Minnesota's stars when their big three are all playing, but I'm into D-Lo in this matchup. Indiana has allowed a league-worst 56.4 FanDuel points per game to floor generals over the last 15 games. The Pacers have held their opposition under 110 points one time in their last 12 games. D-Lo's stock would get a boost if a questionable Anthony Edwards ($7,700) sat out.

Others to Consider: Tyrese Haliburton ($9,000), Patrick Beverley ($5,700)

Wings

Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, $8,600 - Both of Boston's big two are worthwhile targets, but of the pair, I side with Brown. The Hawks are permitting the most FanDuel points per game to small forwards over the last 15 games (46.1), and Brown probably won't be as popular as Jayson Tatum ($10,000) is. We project him to post 40.5 FanDuel points.

Chris Duarte, SF, $6,000 - Durate and Oshae Brissett ($5,800) are great midrange targets on the Pacers. Brissett blew up for 40.9 FanDuel points in Indiana's last game, which was their first since they shook up their roster at the trade deadline. Brissett played 38 minutes, and he can thrive in this high-scoring bout with Minnesota. As for Duarte, he's scored at least 28.3 FanDuel points in three straight games and projects for 29.1 today, per our model.

Others to Consider: Anthony Edwards ($7,700), Buddy Hield ($6,200), De'Andre Hunter ($5,000), Jarred Vanderbilt ($5,000)

Bigs

Karl-Anthony Towns, C, $10,300 - Among players eligible at only center, Towns stands out as the premier play, and he's the only one salaried above $7,900. The matchup couldn't be better as the Pacers are allowing the most FanDuel points per game to centers over the last 15 games (65.1). When sharing the floor with Russell and Edwards, Towns leads the T-Wolves in both usage rate (26.0%) and FanDuel points per minute (1.26), according to RotoGrinders' CourtIQ.

Jalen Smith, PF/C, $4,000 - Smith came off the pine in his first game with the Pacers. While we'd prefer him to start, Smith still got 20 minutes and produced 18.6 FanDuel points in a tough draw versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana was sans Terry Taylor ($5,900) and Isaiah Jackson in that one. Jackson will be out again tonight, but Terry is expected to suit up. As of early Sunday, our projections like Smith, forecasting him to total 21.6 FanDuel points (5.39 per $1,000).

Others to Consider: Robert Williams ($7,900), Goga Bitadze ($5,000)