FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 1/21/23

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

Trae Young ($9,600): At his median salary this month, Atlanta's offensive leader has a great spot versus a Charlotte Hornets team ranked 27th in defensive rating and 26th in opposing true shooting percentage. In two previous encounters, Young has averaged 29.5 real-life points on 21.5 shot attempts and 45.6 FanDuel points.

Anthony Edwards ($8,700): In his third opportunity against a leaky Houston Rockets' standing 28th in defensive rating, "Ant-Man" ranks fifth overall with 45.5 expected FanDuel points. Since his last meeting against Houston on January 8th, Edwards has produced 1.13 FanDuel points per minute and a 31.2% usage rate.

Dejounte Murray ($8,600): The 26-year old has recently been on fire in the past week, producing at least 27 real-life points per game while averaging 1.40 FanDuel points, 0.17 rebounds, and 0.20 assists per minute.

Jrue Holiday ($8,600): If Giannis Antetokounmpo is unable to suit up on Saturday night, Holiday's fantasy production is boosted by 0.15 to 1.34 FanDuel points with a 31.4% usage rate.

Darius Garland ($8,500): Since his return on January 6th, Cleveland's emerging point guard has produced 1.09 FanDuel points, 0.10 rebounds, and 0.24 assists per minute while his FanDuel salary has increased by 6.25%.

De'Aaron Fox ($8,300): At his lowest salary point this month, Fox is ranked fifth among guards in value with a 4.97 rating and a 41.3 fantasy projection versus a Philadelphia 76ers' team giving up 20.0 real-life points and 41.9 FanDuel points per game to his position.

Terry Rozier ($8,100): Despite a 9.4% salary jump, Rozier is fifth in value at his positions with a 4.9 rating and a 39.7 FanDuel point projection. After LaMelo Ball was listed as doubtful with wrist and ankle injuries, Rozier sees his fantasy output move up by 0.04 to 1.01 FanDuel points per minute in a 789.0 minutes sample size with Ball off the floor.

Jalen Green ($7,700): After scoring 41 real-life points in his last appearance, Green's FanDuel salary jumped by 8.4% to his highest point this season. Houston's second-year guard increases his fantasy production by 0.14 to 1.09 FanDuel points per minute in 189.2 minutes with Jabari Smith and Kevin Porter Jr. inactive.

D'Angelo Russell ($6,500): Since his first appearance in January, Russell's FanDuel salary has decreased by 8.4% to his second lowest point this month while producing 0.94 FanDuel points per minute. "D-Lo" ranks second among guards in value with a 5.48 rating and a 35.6 fantasy projection.

Tyrese Maxey ($6,000): If James Harden cannot play against a Sacramento Kings' unit ranked 25th in opposing true shooting percentage, Maxey would see a 0.21 increase to 1.13 FanDuel points per minute with a 31.8% usage rate.

Dennis Smith Jr. ($5,700): With LaMelo Ball unlikely to play on Saturday, the 25-year old is numberFire's top value option at the guard positions with a 5.66 rating and a 32.3 FanDuel point expectation despite a recent 21.2% salary increase.

Damion Lee ($5,200): In an appealing matchup versus an Indiana Pacers' squad ranked 23rd in defensive rating, Damion Lee is a viable lower salary option after Chris Paul was ruled out, averaging 0,76 FanDuel points per minute this month.

Forwards

Domantas Sabonis ($11,400): At his second highest salary this season, Indiana's versatile big man ranks third overall with 47.8 expected FanDuel points in a tough matchup versus a Philly team ranked 11th in fantasy production (51.1) allowed per game to his position.

Kristaps Porzingis ($8,900): Since his last meeting against the Orlando Magic on December 30th, Porzingis' FanDuel salary has moved down 1.1%. The 27-year old has played well versus the Magic this season, recording 30.0 real-life points and 58.6 FanDuel points in 35.0 minutes.

Mikal Bridges ($7,200): In his last five appearances, Bridges has been in a recent groove, recording 1.09 FanDuel points, 0.58 real-life points, 0.13 rebounds, and 0.17 assists per minute while his FanDuel salary has skyrocketed 16.1%.

Kyle Anderson ($7,200): Despite a low 15.1% usage rate, Anderson has accounted for his most productive stretch this season in his last three games, averaging a robust 1.44 FanDuel points, 0.31 rebounds, and 0.23 assists per minute.

PJ Washington ($6,500): In a great matchup versus an Atlanta Hawks' defense giving up the second most fantasy points (47.2) per game to his position, Washington's FanDuel salary has moved up by 6.5%. The Charlotte forward is averaging 0.89 FanDuel points, 0.49 real-life points, and 0.15 rebounds per minute with LaMelo Ball off the floor this season.

John Collins ($6,000): Atlanta's big man is having his best offensive month this season, averaging 15.9 real-life points per game on 11.6 shot attempts while his fantasy output stands at 0.94 FanDuel points per minute.

Kenyon Martin Jr. ($5,400): The 22-year old forward sees a 0.07 bump to 0.88 FanDuel points per minute in 343.6 minutes with Saturday's expected rotation.

Gordon Hayward ($5,300): After a eight game absence with a left hamstring injury, Hayward should see an increased offensive role in his first game back, while his fantasy average increases by 7.5% to 0.86 FanDuel points per minute with Charlotte's injuries.

Torrey Craig ($5,000): After Cameron Johnson was ruled out, Craig should play increased minutes versus his former team while averaging 0.90 FanDuel points per minute with today's current inactives.

Jae'Sean Tate ($4,500): In a potential starting role against a Minnesota Timberwolves' unit ranked 18th in defensive rating, Houston's third-year forward is first overall in value with a 5.87 rating and a 26.4 fantasy projection.

Centers

Joel Embiid ($11,600): Philadelphia's superstar center stands as numberFire's top option with 54.1 expected FanDuel points against a Sacramento Kings' defense ranked 28th in points allowed in the paint. Embiid's fantasy production sees a 2.5% boost to 1.64 FanDuel points per minute if Harden is inactive.

Alperen Sengun ($7,800): While Houston's second-year center has seen a 20% salary increase to his highest point this season during January, the 20-year old is producing his best offensive month, averaging 18.1 real-life points per game and 0.59 real-life points per minute.

Deandre Ayton ($7,600): In a mouth-watering matchup versus a Pacers' team allowing centers to score 55.6 FanDuel points per minute, Ayton is projected for 38.8 fantasy points at his second lowest salary this month.

Naz Reid ($6,000): If Rudy Gobert is inactive, Reid is averaging 1.23 fantasy points, 0.29 rebounds, and 0.44 shot attempts in a 581.6 minutes sample size with Gobert off the floor this season.