NBA

FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 3/19/22

Luka Doncic is a prime candidate to bounce back on Saturday night. Which players are top priorities in Saturday's four-game slate?

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.

Guards

Luka Doncic ($10,900) Doncic is in a prime bounce-back spot on the road against a Hornets team ranked 23rd in defensive rating after the Mavericks' superstar shot poorly on Friday night with a 5-20 performance. With Spencer Dinwiddie sitting out for injury recovery reasons, Doncic sees a sneaky 0.14 boost to 1.62 FanDuel points per minute and a 41.0% usage rate in a 754.6 minute sample size. Expect a big performance in an uptempo opportunity against a Charlotte unit playing with the slate's second fastest pace.

Darius Garland ($8,500) In nine games since the All-Star Break, Garland has been an overall offensive force, increasing his average from 20.3 points per game to 26.3 on 19.9 shot attempts. In addition to his scoring, the Cavaliers' emerging point guard has also accounted for 2.8 more assists and at least one steal per game.

Jrue Holiday ($8,300) Despite being part of today's highest projected team total, Holiday's FanDuel salary has moved down $200 to his second lowest price point in March. As numberFire's fifth ranked guard with a 37.2 FanDuel point expectation, Holiday offers a high ceiling with his ability to rack up steals (2.8 per game this month) and assists (7.0 per game in March).

Cade Cunningham ($7,500) Cunningham will return to the court in a tough spot against a Cleveland team allowing a stingy 107.4 defensive rating after sitting out two games with an illness. In seven contests this month, Detroit's star rookie has really turned on his overall production, averaging 23.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists.

Russell Westbrook ($6,900) Anyone smell revenge? After last night's triple double, Westbrook reminded everyone about his potential high ceiling despite his recent volatile history with the Lakers. At a relative discount against a Washington unit ranked 24th in defensive rating, our models project Westbrook as today's third ranked point guard.

Patrick Beverley ($5,200) Beverley offers intriguing salary relief in today's highest projected game total against a Bucks' unit ranked 17th in FanDuel points allowed per game to point guards this season with a 1.25 FanDuel point average in a 130.9 minute sample size in March.

Reggie Bullock ($3,500) In 715.6 minutes with Spencer Dinwiddie off the floor this season, Bullock sees a surprising 0.12 per minute boost to 0.70 FanDuel points. The veteran guard should slide into a heavy minute workload while averaging 0.32 field goal attempts per minute with a 16.1% usage rate.

Forwards

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,500) Since March 9th, Antetokounmpo's FanDuel salary has dropped $400 to his third lowest price point this month. In an underrated spot against a Timberwolves' team allowing 49.3 points in the paint in their last three contests, "The Greek Freak" stands as numberFire's top ranked play on Saturday with a 57.9 projection.

LeBron James ($10,700) The King is on a scoring rampage in March, producing his highest mark this season with 33.0 points on 22.7 shot attempts per game. After his 67.4 fantasy performance in his last meeting against Washington, James is on track for another dominant performance against a Wizards' team ranked 21st in points allowed in the paint.

Kyle Kuzma ($7,000) Tonight's game offers various revenge opportunities on both sides of the ball. In a great spot against a Lakers' team ranked 19th in defensive rating, Kuzma should see an uptick in overall production after shooting 33% (13-of-39) in his last three contests.

Jerami Grant ($5,900) Despite Cunningham's return, Grant is still averaging 1.02 FanDuel points per minute and a 25.9% usage rate in a 676.6 minute sample size with Detroit's current inactives. In Cleveland's past three games, the Cavaliers have been a sneaky spot to attack, ranking 26th in points allowed in the paint.

Centers

Karl-Anthony Towns ($9,900) In nine games this month, KAT has been unstoppable in March, upping his scoring average to 29.0 points mostly by increasing his free throw attempts to 10.6.

Evan Mobley ($7,900) In 378.5 minutes with Cleveland's current inactives, the Cavaliers' rookie forward has benefited the most with a 0.14 boost per minute to 1.15 FanDuel points. During this span, Mobley has accounted for more offensive production, jumping his averages to 0.42 field goal attempts per minute and a 24.0% usage rate.

Kristaps Porzingis ($7,500) Despite a lower minutes workload, Porzingis has been extremely active with the Wizards, averaging 1.37 FanDuel points and a 29.1% usage rate. The 26-year old should have his way inside against a Los Angeles unit ranked 28th in points allowed in the paint.

Dwight Powell ($4,200) Powell sees a slight boost in production with a 0.06 addition per minute to 0.86 FanDuel points with Dinwiddie off the floor in a 646.6 minute sample size. In an uptempo opportunity against a Charlotte unit ranked 20th in points allowed in the paint, the Mavericks' big man has a sneaky chance for double digit points at a low price point.