FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 3/23/22

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

Injuries will litter today's 11-game slate, per the official report.

Luka Doncic (ankle) is already off the slate in Dallas with the weak Rockets coming to town.

Ja Morant is out for the Grizzlies battling a knee issue. They're hosting Brooklyn, who could also be short Goran Dragic (knee) and Seth Curry (ankle).

De'Aaron Fox (hand) is unlikely to play for the Kings, and Sacramento will also be without Domantas Sabonis (knee) for most of -- if not all -- of the remainder of the season. They're in Indiana, and the Pacers might be missing Tyrese Haliburton (back) and Isaiah Jackson (concussion).

The Knicks were without Julius Randle (quad) last night, and he's questionable again in Charlotte.

Bojan Bogdanovic will be out once more for the Jazz as they visit Boston. Meanwhile, the C's could be without their two questionable starters, Marcus Smart (illness) and Robert Williams (knee).

Both Jimmy Butler (ankle) and Tyler Herro (knee) are questionable for Miami as they host a Golden State Warriors squad still missing Stephen Curry long-term.

A great one is on tap in Minnesota with the Suns in town, but the Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns (forearm) listed questionable again. In a playoff push, he likely plays as he did Monday.

It's a tank-off in Oklahoma City. The Magic are resting Markelle Fultz, sitting Jalen Suggs (ankle), and listing Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) as questionable. The Thunder may respond by sitting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) through his lingering injury. He's officially questionable.

Recurring question marks LeBron James (knee) and Talen Horton-Tucker (ankle) are present once more as the Lakers host the 76ers. Both have continued to play. Joel Embiid and James Harden are back for Philly.

Finally, Josh Hart (knee) will sit for the tanking Blazers hosting a weak San Antonio Spurs squad. On the San Antonio side, Lonnie Walker (back) will create some room in their rotation by sitting this one out.

Guards

Dejounte Murray ($10,100): As one would expect from the injury report, standards should be very, very high for value tonight. Murray is in an incredible spot that could activate the 70-FanDuel-point upside we've seen in spurts from the budding star. Portland is totally indifferent about their results the remainder of the season, and it's shown on defense. Their 123.6 defensive rating in March is dead-last in the league by a mile. The Spurs are just nine-point road favorites.

Jalen Brunson ($5,300): No Luka will open plenty of doors in "Big D," and Brunson is no exception. Brunson has posted 1.14 FanDuel points per minute without Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on the floor for the Mavs this season. Undoubtedly, he does have a secondary role behind Spencer Dinwiddie at present, but his salary is still lower. That could be especially key considering it might all have to be in three quarters of work with Dallas still a 10.0-point favorite without their star.

Davion Mitchell ($4,600): Personally, I'd roll with the upside of the rookie from Baylor over Tyus Jones in the comparison of replacement floor generals. He posted 43.1 FanDuel points in 46 minutes on Sunday in his first true opportunity without De'Aaron Fox, Tyrese Halliburton, and Buddy Hield in front of him. Jones just doesn't have that role for Memphis with Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks still in the way handling the ball. Indiana stinks, as well, so I'm not concerned about a blowout.

Others to Consider:
Devin Booker ($9,500): His salary has dropped below five digits entering a pace-up versus the T-Wolves. I'm interested.
Spencer Dinwiddie ($6,600): 1.33 FanDuel points per minute with Luka off the floor. May go overlooked due to the higher salary.
D'Angelo Russell ($6,200): Free-falling salary that stacks well with Booker. Great way to target the 236.5-point total.
Tyus Jones ($4,300): Still a quality option, and you can use him with Mitchell. Point guard could be very chalky.

Wings

LeBron James ($11,200): With a day of rest and a national-television spotlight, LeBron likely suits up for the Lakers again. It's badly needed considering the dire state of small forward at the very top. There isn't much that needs to be said about the king. He's third in FanDuel points per game in March behind Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum, but those two have their co-stars in the fold. James (35.0% usage rate) continues to be the clear top dog in L.A.

Dillon Brooks ($4,800): With dual-position eligibility, Brooks might be the highest-rostered player on tonight's 11-game slate. He's still yet to really shake the rust off from his injury, but even then, he's posted 0.99 FanDuel points per minute on a 25.3% usage rate in March during floor situations without Ja Morant. Desmond Bane can certainly cap his upside by taking a supreme role, but Brooks' ability to reach a modest value score at this salary is borderline guaranteed.

Kevin Huerter ($4,400): With Atlanta at full health sans John Collins, Huerter bizarrely stands out in numberFire's projections as just being under-salaried in his normal role. It makes sense since he's eclipsed 24 FanDuel points in five of his last seven contests. Importantly, the Hawks are only five-point favorites over the lowly Pistons. Trae Young put in a ton of effort to Tuesday's national-television showcase, so don't be surprised if more of his teammates do the heavy lifting on Wednesday.

Others to Consider:
James Harden ($9,800): Our projections like him more than I do. Definitely has a ceiling at this salary, but the Sixers can coast to a win without him.
RJ Barrett ($7,200): If Randle misses, he's a must-have against a poor Hornets defense.
Justise Winslow ($5,300): He likely shares the top offensive role with Brandon Williams, but the better player (Winslow) has the lower salary.
Dorian Finney-Smith ($4,400): Dallas has an unreal matchup and likely lacks the firepower to blow Houston out entirely. Anyone in their jersey works.

Bigs

Joel Embiid ($11,000): The high standards on this slate drop considerably at center. Embiid has a path to disappointment here, but he's still the top overall place to spend coin at the pivot. Though his usage rate (37.5%) and production (1.55 FanDuel points per minute) are both considerably lower than his marks from February, that's not really the standard at this salary. He correlates well with LeBron in a game that does have a sporty 230.0-point total.

Jaren Jackson Jr. ($6,600): Jackson has posted a team-high 1.29 FanDuel points per minute this season with Morant off the floor, and that mark has bumped to 1.42 in March alone. The lone path to failure at this salary is Jackson's own coaching staff. He played just 21 minutes the last time Morant missed a contest. In 2022 with analytics rampant, it's hard to believe such a bad decision would be made considering Jackson's elite defense, as well. That's a chance I'm willing to take.

Trey Lyles ($5,000): With no Sabonis, both Lyles and Harrison Barnes are on the menu as two of Sacramento's top offensive options. Yikes. Still, Lyles has posted at least 31 minutes and 27 FanDuel points in each of his past three contests, and his role was growing even before the Sabonis injury. The Kings can get wonky with their rotations at times, but they're really down to six players seeing 30-plus minutes each. That list includes Mitchell, Justin Holiday, and Donte DiVincenzo, too.

Others to Consider:
Julius Randle ($8,100): Charlotte is the worst offensive rebounding team in the NBA. Would LOVE Julius in tournaments if he can go.
Al Horford ($6,400): If Robert Williams is out once again, Horford posted 37.5 FanDuel points while scoring just 3 real-life points. Don't fade him.
Drew Eubanks ($5,600): A full-time role in a revenge game? I've been slow to buy in, but he's a nice addition to game stacks with Murray and Winslow.
Dwight Powell ($4,300): Another position, another Mavericks player. He's pulling away from Maxi Kleber in both minutes and production.