FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 2/12/23
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.
| Team | Opp | O/U | Spread | Implied Total | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | TOR | 227.5 | 11 | 108.25 | Cunningham OUT |
| MEM | BOS | 227 | 4 | 111.5 | Adams OUT |
| BOS | MEM | 227 | -4 | 115.5 | Smart, Brown OUT / Horford not listed / Brogdon probable |
| TOR | DET | 227.5 | -11 | 119.25 | Anunoby OUT |
Guards
Ja Morant ($10,700): After scoring a month-high 60.3 FanDuel points in his last appearance, Morant's FanDuel salary has moved up 4.9% to his highest point this month against a Boston Celtics' defense ranked seventh in fantasy production allowed to point guards. In their previous meeting despite his difficult matchup, the Grizzlies' superstar accounted for 30 real-life points and 58.1 FanDuel points.
Fred VanVleet ($8,600): In the past week, Toronto's point guard has seen a 4.4% decrease in his salary to his lowest point during February. VanVleet has an amazing spot for a ceiling performance versus a Detroit Pistons' unit allowing the second most FanDuel points (51.6) to point guards this season.
Desmond Bane ($8,000): At his highest salary in 2023, Bane is third among guards with 34.4 expected FanDuel points against a Celtics' team giving up 22.5 real-life points and 40.6 FanDuel points to his position.
Derrick White ($6,800): After a monster 62.6 fantasy point performance, White's salary has skyrocketed 11.4% to his highest point this season against a Memphis Grizzlies' team rated tenth in FanDuel points allowed to point guards. In 388.3 minutes this season with Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown off the floor, White's fantasy production sees a 0.15 boost to 1.07 FanDuel points per minute with a 21.4% usage rate.
Gary Trent Jr. ($6,500): Toronto's shooting guard has seen his salary increase by 6.5% against a Pistons' team ranked 29th in defensive rating and 28th in opposing true shooting percentage.
Jaden Ivey ($5,900): At his second lowest salary this month, Detroit's rookie is third among guards in value with a 4.9 rating and a 29.4 fantasy projection in an underrated spot versus a Toronto Raptors' unit ranked 17th in defensive rating.
Malcolm Brogdon ($5,600): In 448.5 minutes with today's current inactives, Brogdon sees a sneaky 0.11 boost to 1.15 FanDuel points per minute with a 27.5% usage rate. After a 5.0% salary decrease, the 30-year old is ranked fourth overall in value with a 5.13 rating and a 28.7 fantasy projection.
Killian Hayes ($5,400): After making just 9% of his shot attempts in his last appearance, Hayes' FanDuel salary moved down 10% to his lowest point in 2023. In a matchup against a Raptors' defense allowing 45.8 FanDuel points per game to his position, Hayes is numberFire's top value option at the guard positions with a 5.6 rating and 30.2 expected FanDuel points.
Forwards
Jayson Tatum ($11,000): At his highest salary in February, Boston's superstar forward is numberFire's top option with 48.9 expected FanDuel points versus a Memphis defense allowing 22.4 real-life points and 41.1 fantasy points to his position. Tatum had a monster outing against the Grizzlies in their previous encounter this season, recording 39.0 real-life points on 25 shot attempts.
Pascal Siakam ($9,600): Toronto's versatile forward has seen his salary increase by 11.6% after he averaged 36 real-life points in his last two appearances. In a middling matchup versus a Detroit defense ranked 13th in FanDuel points (44.1) allowed to power forwards, Siakam is third overall with a 45.4 fantasy projection.
Jaren Jackson Jr. ($8,800): After a 6.0% increase, Jackson's FanDuel salary stands at his highest point this season in a difficult matchup against a Boston team ranked first in fantasy production (40.6) allowed to power forwards.
Scottie Barnes ($7,700): In 191.7 minutes this month, the Raptors' second-year forward is averaging 0.86 FanDuel points per minute while his FanDuel salary has dropped 3.7% since the start of this month.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,600): Despite scoring 32 real-life points on Friday, Bogdanovic's salary did not move versus a Toronto defense ranked 29th in opposing true shooting percentage and 28th in three point percentage. Among Detroit's projected starting lineup, the veteran is producing 0.85 FanDuel points per minute and team-high 25.4% usage rate.
Precious Achiuwa ($5,800) / Chris Boucher ($5,600): Even with the acquisition of Jakob Poeltl, Achiuwa still logged 30 minutes and 0.83 FanDuel points per minute while Boucher averaged 0.92 FanDuel points in 22 minutes off the bench.
Isaiah Stewart ($5,500): Detroit's big man is currently fifth overall in value with a 5.11 rating and a 28.1 fantasy projection at his highest salary point this month. In 207.4 minutes with the Pistons' starting five, Stewart is averaging 0.68 FanDuel points per minute and a 18.0% usage percentage.
Al Horford ($4,900): At his lowest salary this season, the Celtics' veteran rates as an optimal value option with a 4.98 rating and a 24.4 fantasy projection against a Memphis unit ranked 24th (46.1) in FanDuel points allowed to his position.
Centers
Robert Williams ($6,100): In 221.5 minutes with Sunday's injuries, "Time Lord" is averaging 1.10 FanDuel points and a 10.7% usage rate. Boston's center is fourth overall in value with a 5.12 rating and a 31.2 fantasy projection versus a Grizzlies' defense allowing centers to score 51.4 FanDuel points per game.
Jalen Duren ($5,700): Despite averaging 22 real-life points and 52.8 FanDuel points in his last two games, Detroit's rookie has not seen a change in his FanDuel salary. Even in a tough matchup against a Raptors team ranked third (48.1) in FanDuel points allowed to centers, Duren is Sunday's top value option with a 5.7 rating and a 32.5 fantasy expectation.
Xavier Tillman ($5,000): Since Tillman was named his team's starting center on February 1st, the 24-year old is averaging 1.01 FanDuel points per minute and a 14.8% usage rate.
