FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 3/12/22

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

Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, (FanDuel Salary: $10,800) - The best DFS environment of the slate is the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Indiana Pacers. The game boasts a slate-leading 236.0-point total and a tight 5.5-point spread. Indiana is giving up the 10th-most FanDuel points per game to point guards (51.1) over the last seven games. Murray has been consistently excellent, generating between 54.8 and 57.8 FanDuel points in five consecutive games. He's my favorite play on the slate.

Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, $8,100 - Mitchell is another superb guard play. The Utah Jazz are taking on the Sacramento Kings in what is a big pace-up spot for Utah. As of early Saturday, Mitchell projects extremely well as our model pegs him to score 43.7 FanDuel points, which amounts to 5.39 per $1,000, and that number could rise if Mike Conley sits on the second leg of a back-to-back. Across the last 10 games, Mitchell sports a 31.4% usage rate, which paces the team by 4.7 percentage points. The Kings are 21st in defensive rating and 8th in pace over their past 15 contests.

Brandon Williams, PG, $4,900 - Williams continues to project well across the industry. He's logged at least 26 minutes in three games in a row, and he erupted for 50.6 FanDuel points in one of those appearances. He's second on the Portland Trail Blazers in usage rate (29.7%) over their last 10 games. There's a lot of value in that at this salary, particularly in a soft matchup against the Washington Wizards, and we have Williams projected for 30.2 FanDuel points -- a pristine 6.16 per $1,000.

Others to Consider: Darius Garland ($8,500), Klay Thompson ($6,000), Devin Vassell ($5,200), Trent Forrest ($3,700)

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF/PF, $11,800 - Per usual, Giannis is one of the best options on the slate. I will, however, say this -- I prefer Murray and Jokic to him at the top end. With that said, Antetokounmpo is capable of a ceiling game against the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs have been a blah 20th in defensive rating over their past 15, and Antetokounmpo blasted Golden State for 64.9 FanDuel points earlier this campaign. Giannis has scored at least 60.9 FanDuel points in five of his last six games.

Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, $8,900 - I'm intrigued by Kuzma in a dreamy matchup with the Blazers. Both sides rank in the bottom nine in defensive rating in the last 15 games. Kuzma has played alongside Kristaps Porzingis ($6,600) in the past three games, and he's still held a meaty 28.2% usage rate in that span. Porzingis might sit out tonight in the second game of a back-to-back, and that would only enhance Kuzma's outlook.

Chris Duarte, SF, $4,800 - I want a piece of the Pacers in their clash with the Spurs. Durate is a low-salary way to get just that, and he's projecting as a stellar point-per-dollar play as our numbers forecast him to amass 26.1 FanDuel points (5.43 per $1,000). Duarte played only 15 minutes last time out in his first game back from injury, but he should see more run tonight. We project him for 29.9 minutes.

Others to Consider: DeMar DeRozan ($9,600), Jimmy Butler ($8,000), Josh Hart ($5,900), C.J. Elleby ($3,700)

Bigs

Nikola Jokic, C, $11,600 - Jokic scored 51.9 FanDuel points in his last showing, and that snapped a red-hot run in which he'd scored 92.9, 69.5 and 76.1 FanDuel points over a three-game onslaught. He's got a 34.8% usage rate since sitting out five games ago. The Toronto Raptors are a tough matchup on paper, but I'm not sure that matters a whole lot. Jokic projects for a slate-leading 54.9 FanDuel points, according to our algorithm.

Rudy Gobert, C, $7,500 - Gobert is in a nice spot versus the Kings. Over the past 15 games, Sacramento has permitted the eighth-most FanDuel points per game to centers (58.7). Gobert posted 45.7 FanDuel points last night, and we project him for 41.2 FanDuel points (5.55 per $1,000) against the Kings. Jokic is al1ways tough to pass on, but Gobert is a sweet alternative if you can stomach fading the Joker.

Others to Consider: Bam Adebayo, C, ($8,600), Jakob Poeltl ($7,100), Drew Eubanks ($4,300)