FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 3/22/22

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.

The Slate and Key Injuries

A four-game slate means a pretty quiet official injury report.

The largest, unexpected confirmed absence is in Milwaukee. Khris Middleton won't play with a wrist issue.

Bogdan Bogdanovic (quad) is questionable for Atlanta. The Hawks are in New York to take on the Knicks.

Really, the only other note is that Jalen Suggs (ankle) will miss a fourth straight contest for Orlando.

Guards

Reggie Jackson ($7,200): Trae Young's total is higher, and Jrue Holiday will benefit from Middleton's absence, but Jackson should go totally overlooked in a phenomenal matchup he's already torched. The Nuggets allow the third-most FanDuel points per game (49.2) to opposing point guards, and Reggie dropping 47.6 in Denver back on January 19th was no exception. I'm less concerned about him finding the bench in this must-win game for playoff purposes.

Alex Caruso ($4,000): Caruso is the top overall value play on this four-game slate. He returned to 32 minutes for the Bulls in their contest Monday, and since he's returning from a wrist issue, the lack of a restriction isn't surprising. He's not been a production juggernaut this season at 0.81 FanDuel points per minute, but that's actually higher than Ayo Dosunmu (0.71), and Dosunmu has been sitting in the $5,000 salary range in Caruso's exact role before his return.

Others to Consider:
Trae Young ($10,200): Trae in MSG narrative is real, but there are three key studs on this slate and he's definitely third.
Jrue Holiday ($8,100): 5.4 percentage-point increase in usage without Middleton is massive. The salary really isn't.
Cole Anthony ($5,700): Full-time role with no Suggs, but he's one of the least inspiring players that have one.

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,200): Though he doesn't actually see a massive uptick (0.5 percentage-point increase in usage) without Middleton, Giannis is just a good play in the best environment of the day. The 235.0-point total in Milwaukee is much higher than New York or Denver. Middleton's absence can't hurt Giannis' gaudy production which still sits at 1.77 FanDuel points per minute in March. He's probable with a knee injury after resting last game.

Evan Fournier ($4,800): Sometimes, FanDuel salaries just get stuck. Fournier has exceeded 25 FanDuel points in each of his last four contests, but his salary is still one that closely resembles his inactive trend before New York lost its starting point guard. You can debate his limited ceiling on larger slates (just a 17.6% usage rate in March), but he's without a doubt the best way to save salary on this small one. numberFire's model agrees.

Others to Consider:
DeMar DeRozan ($7,800): 26 points last night were a sign of life. This salary is way too low if that return to shooting form stays long-term.
Marcus Morris ($5,800): He may not play due to his ongoing battle with Denver fans, but absolutely has 25-point scoring upside if he does.
Otto Porter Jr. ($5,500): One of the few Warriors without a wild salary increase after Stephen Curry went down. His 29 minutes last game imply a better role is coming without Steph.

Bigs

Wendell Carter Jr. ($7,300): Look, I know there's not a ton of eyeballs on the Magic these days, but Wendell Carter deserves a salary higher than this. On a slate loaded with big men in better environments, we can take advantage of that. He's posted 1.27 FanDuel points per minute in March while eclipsing 30 minutes in four of the five contests he's been able to play. His role is just better than the salary mark despite the lower, 215.0-point total in this one.

Nikola Vucevic ($6,900): There are a few reasons I just don't think I can prioritize Nikola Jokic's salary in an admittedly-good matchup himself. The first is Giannis in a better environment, and the second is Vucevic at this tiny salary in that same environment. numberFire's model has Vuc cruising past required value here. Notably, Vucevic averages 1.10 FanDuel points per minute this season with Caruso on the court, so perhaps his return is forcing the big man's production back into place.

Others to Consider:
Nikola Jokic ($11,500): Monster games against the Clippers this season, but he's just hard to prioritize with the alternatives.
Julius Randle ($8,300): 60-plus FanDuel points in two of his last seven really makes you think in a single-entry tournament.
Aaron Gordon ($4,900): A third reason Jokic is hard to get to. Gordon could be the beneficiary of L.A.'s rebounding woes at a much lower salary.