FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 4/13/22

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

Another two-game slate means another quiet injury report.

The Hornets will be at full strength sans Gordon Hayward, who has missed most of the season with a foot issue. The opposing Hawks won't get John Collins (foot/finger) back, either.

Brandon Ingram (hamstring) said he'll play Wednesday in New Orleans and is officially probable. The Pelicans will host a Spurs club with its entire end-of-season rotation intact.

Guards

Dejounte Murray ($10,600): This slate is absolutely loaded at point guard. Murray, Trae Young, and LaMelo Ball are all in matchups that would require attention on a 12-game slate without nearly as much urgency. The Spurs are five-point dogs, so in a game that should stay close, there's zero doubt about Murray's role as the top scorer on the club. Murray accounted for 28.6% of all San Antonio points (by scoring or assisting) since the trading deadline.

Terry Rozier ($6,700): Though I prefer LaMelo at salary, Rozier is a key cog in a mid-range at guard that is absolutely desolate. Rozier and Devin Vassell are the only two guards below $7,000 with full-time roles. Rozier is among numberFire's top projected players, and it's for good reason. He averaged 1.03 FanDuel points per minute with Hayward off the floor this season, and he'll push 40 minutes in this stellar environment.

Others to Consider:
Trae Young ($9,100): At full health, Atlanta has more options to score. That's the only reason I'd rank him behind Murray in the better game.
Devin Vassell ($6,000): Expecting he'll be popular out of necessity, but I see too many paths to failure with Joshua Primo to trust he won't get "Pop'd."

Wings

Miles Bridges ($6,900): Bridges is the reason I'm lower on LaMelo Ball than the other two guards. With a 23.9% usage rate during floor situations without Gordon Hayward, Bridges has taken over several games and left his star guard for dead in fantasy. Eclipsing 20 real-life points in seven of his last nine games, Bridges has a really solid scoring floor, and his upside could come from motivation. This could be his last game before seeking a max contract in July.

Danilo Gallinari ($5,300): Two of the parachutes on Trae Young's production could be Gallinari or Bogdan Bogdanovic. Gallo is starting for John Collins, and since Collins went down on March 12th, he's got a sporty 20.8% usage rate for a player with his relative talent compared to his teammates. If Bogdanovic's $7,100 salary wasn't vastly inflated by a scorching April from the field (40.9% from three), he'd be in play as well against Charlotte's poor defense.

Others to Consider:
De'Andre Hunter ($4,300): As a key defender, he'll see close to 40 minutes. A safe value option, but a low usage rate limits his upside.
Josh Richardson ($4,100): I personally believe the veteran with playoff experience sees a full-time role for the Spurs over their younger guys like Primo. Not salaried like it.

Bigs

Clint Capela ($7,300): There's minimal value and so many star guards that Capela, despite the best possible matchup for him, may go ignored. The Hornets aren't a playoff team, so it's no surprise to see their gifted offense also holding a bottom-10 mark in defensive rebounding rate, defensive rating, second-chance points allowed, and paint points allowed. Capela is well equipped to exploit that, and he'll likely play larger minutes in the postseason.

Herbert Jones ($4,600): For my money, Jones is the one can't-miss value on the slate. The rookie will push for an All-Defense Team award due to his stellar work on that end. He averaged over 30 minutes in all four full months to end the regular season, and don't discount his upside in this spot. Because of his propensity to accumulate blocks and steals, Jones has quietly eclipsed 25 FanDuel points in 6 of his last 13 contests.

Others to Consider:
Jakob Poeltl ($6,900): The $400 between him and Capela can go a long way on this slate. Another full-time center.
PJ Washington ($5,000): Charlotte's big men are a total mystery. Washington is the best defender amongst himself, Mason Plumlee, and Montrezl Harrell. Maybe he gets the run.