FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 2/26/22

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.

Guards

Ja Morant, PG, (FanDuel Salary: $9,800) - I'm loving Morant tonight. Over the last 10 games, he has a 34.9% usage rate, and he's in the DFS game of the night against the Chicago Bulls -- a clash with a 1.5-point spread and a slate-leading 236.5-point total. To make things even better, Chicago has allowed the fourth-most FanDuel points per game to point guards (52.5) over their last 15 games. It all adds up to Morant offering sky-high upside.

Trae Young, PG, $9,200 - Point guard is a little shallow tonight (as of early Saturday), so I don't mind going for two of the big dogs. Young is facing a Toronto Raptors squad in a game with a 226.0-point total and 2.5-point spread. Young underwhelmed with only 28.6 FanDuel points last time out, but prior to the break, he'd put up at least 51.8 in two of his last three. The Raps have given up at least 110 points in four of their past five outings.

Brandon Goodwin, PG, $5,400 - Darius Garland and Rajon Rondo are out for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which should result in Goodwin starting and logging big minutes. He generated 29.3 FanDuel points in 24 minutes off the bench last game, and that was with Rondo playing 26 minutes before getting hurt. Goodwin draws a nice matchup with the Washington Wizards, and our model projects him for 31.4 FanDuel points -- 5.82 per $1,000 -- and rates him as the best point-per-dollar pick among guards.

Others to Consider: Kyrie Irving ($9,900), Dejounte Murray ($9,700), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($4,300)

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF/PF, $11,700 - Giannis is capable of torching the Brooklyn Nets; he just needs the game to stay competitive. The Milwaukee Bucks' 122.5-point implied total paces the slate, but they are 10.0-point home favorites. This is Milwaukee's first post-break game, and Antetokounmpo was on a heater prior to the hiatus, posting FanDuel outputs of 67.7 and 69.8. He had 81.8 FanDuel points four games ago. He can break the slate if he gets his full minutes.

Jimmy Butler, SG/SF, $8,900 - Butler is super intriguing in a home date with the San Antonio Spurs. Both the Spurs and Miami Heat are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and over their last 10 games, San Antonio is 9th in pace and 17th in defensive rating. The Spurs have also surrendered the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to two-guards over their past 15 contests (44.3). Our algorithm forecasts Butler to finish with 45.6 FanDuel points (5.13 per $1,000).

Danilo Gallinari, SF/PF, $5,000 - Sans John Collins, Gallo started last game and posted 35.8 FanDuel points in 34 minutes. He should see a similar workload tonight with Collins out again, and that makes him one of the slate's better point-per-dollar choices. We have him scoring 27.4 FanDuel points -- 5.47 per $1,000.

Others to Consider: DeMar DeRozan ($10,200), Kyle Kuzma ($7,400), Scottie Barnes ($5,400), Cedi Osman ($3,900)

Bigs

Nikola Jokic, C, $11,500 - Just like Giannis, Jokic is super enticing in a friendly matchup -- there's just a little blowout risk. The Denver Nuggets are 9.0-point favorites over the Sacramento Kings. I prefer Jokic to Giannis if I can have only one. The Joker saw the Kings last time out and torched them for 65.9 FanDuel points. He's totaled at least 52.5 FanDuel points in five straight, with two consecutive games of 65-plus. He's a monster. Our projections have Jokic amassing 59.3 FanDuel points, a slate-high mark by nearly 9.5 FanDuel points (as of Saturday morning).

Jarrett Allen, PF/C, $6,800 - With Cleveland's expected inactives off the floor this year, Allen owns a 22.3% usage rate and produces 1.20 FanDuel points per minute, according to RotoGrinders' CourtIQ. That's a usage bump of 4.0 percentage points compared to his season-long clip, and it makes him my favorite way to take advantage of all the Cavs' injuries -- although Goodwin, Cedi Osman ($3,900), Evan Mobley ($7,500) and Kevin Love ($4,800) are quality options, as well. We have Allen pegged to score 35.2 FanDuel points (5.18 per $1,000).

Others to Consider: Domantas Sabonis ($9,600), Jaren Jackson Jr. ($7,100), Bobby Portis ($6,400), Kevin Love ($4,800), Daniel Gafford ($3,700)