FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 3/13/23

Since it's much simpler to predict than baseball or football, daily fantasy basketball would get plenty of votes as the best sport to play on FanDuel. Players usually stick to the same minutes and produce at roughly the same rate. Sounds easy, right?

As a result, NBA daily fantasy is highly reliant on a player's opportunity, so you'll need to ensure 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.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.

We'll also come at you with this primer daily, 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

Dallas' new star duo headlines Monday's official injury report.

Luka Doncic (thigh) is already ruled out for their contest hosting Memphis, and Kyrie Irving (thigh) is questionable. The 2.5-point spread leads me to believe Kyrie has a decent shot to play.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (hand) and Wesley Matthews (calf) are both questionable to return for Milwaukee tonight in Sacramento.

While Bennedict Mathurin (ankle) was a legitimate, on-court injury, the Pacers might otherwise just be waving the white flag on the 2022-23 season. Tyrese Haliburton (knee), Myles Turner (back), and T.J. McConnell (back) will all sit again Monday with injuries they've battled for much of the year. Buddy Hield (toe) is questionable.

The host Detroit Pistons aren't in much better shape. They'll be without Jaden Ivey (COVID-19 protocols), Marvin Bagley III (ankle), and Alec Burks (foot) in addition to their long-term injuries.

The Timberwolves have Rudy Gobert (ankle) and Austin Rivers (back) listed as questionable tonight. They're in Atlanta, where the Hawks have Bogdan Bogdanovic (back) in doubt.

Jordan Clarkson (finger) is questionable for the Jazz tonight in Miami. The Heat have Kyle Lowry (knee) and Caleb Martin (knee) sharing the same status.

Expect Robert Williams (hamstring) out again for Boston. From a viability standpoint, Alperen Sengun (groin) being listed as probable isn't good news considering he's already struggled to finish games for Houston.

Finally, Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) is questionable to play in tonight's Suns-Warriors clash.

Guards

Though Kyrie Irving ($9,600) isn't a must if he plays in the midst of Luka's absence, he's viable.

Irving didn't eclipse 45 FanDuel points in either of his first two contests in Dallas without Luka, but he's settled in with five of those efforts alongside him. Now fully integrated, his usage rate could be much higher than the 27.2% it is currently with Luka off the floor.

The highest total of the day is in Sacramento, so we shouldn't look away from De'Aaron Fox ($9,300), who has sported an increased 32.7% usage rate since the trade deadline.

On the other side, Jrue Holiday ($8,700) should be mentioned if Giannis sits again. His slow past couple of games aside, he's posted 42.8 FanDuel points per 36 with Antetokounmpo off the floor. Luckily, Dejounte Murray ($8,600) is a late-swap candidate performing well in our projections if that news comes after lock.

Chris Paul ($8,000) has dished out 0.40 assists per minute (25 total) in two games since Kevin Durant's injury, and our projections like his chances to put up fantasy points tonight despite the upgrade Golden State's defense gets for being at home.

The Pacers-Pistons tilt does produce a bulk of the best value spots at the position today, including Killian Hayes ($6,400), Andrew Nembhard ($4,900), R.J. Hampton ($4,200), and Rodney McGruder ($4,000).

Marcus Smart ($6,000), Mike Conley ($5,800), and Josh Green ($4,700) are also projecting well in their full-time roles.

Wings

The 12-point spread in Houston is one of the key forks in the road on this slate.

If the game stays close, one of Jayson Tatum ($11,000) or Jaylen Brown ($9,100) likely nukes the Rockets' 118.2 defensive rating, and you'll probably want to grab either Kevin Porter Jr. ($7,500) or Kenyon Martin Jr. ($5,700) on the other side. If we forecast a blowout, look elsewhere.

That elsewhere could be with Anthony Edwards ($9,000) against an Atlanta team ceding the seventh-most FanDuel points per game to small forwards. De'Andre Hunter ($5,200) returned to 39 minutes last game as a decent stacking partner.

I'd love it if Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,800) got to return for a showdown with Sacramento, a team that's top-10 in pace and bottom-10 in defensive rating. Giannis' hand injury likely doesn't have a cardio impact, either.

With so many bodies unavailable, Buddy Hield ($6,500) should have a massive role for the Pacers if he plays. Indiana's Chris Duarte ($4,400) and Detroit's Eugene Omoruyi ($4,400) are slated to play huge roles in that one already.

In Durant's continued absence, Josh Okogie ($4,700) got 34 minutes last time out, and Torrey Craig ($4,300) got 27. They're also two of the better plays at their salary.

Donte DiVincenzo ($5,900), Jaden McDaniels ($5,400), Harrison Barnes ($5,400), and Dillon Brooks ($5,200) are others projecting well at a position that's better for saving than spending on this slate if Giannis sits.

Bigs

As usual, I'll spend most of my salary on the consistent studs in the frontcourt. Great rebounders don't slump.

Domantas Sabonis ($10,000) is one, and the 244.5-point total blows most others out of the water tonight. That's why Giannis is such a key piece who's worth the hassle, but many of his Bucks teammates -- including Brook Lopez -- are too high-salaried to justify the risk should the former league MVP play.

Despite his struggles in this matchup on Saturday, Jaren Jackson Jr. ($8,800) should be fine to boot up here. Dallas is allowing the fourth-most FanDuel points to power forwards since the deadline, and Jackson's struggles were more of a struggle with poor shooting (0-for-5 from three). Xavier Tillman ($6,000) remains pretty under-salaried, too.

Gobert's injury listing nervously forces us to reserve some space for Naz Reid ($5,200), but plenty of pivot-only options stand out should Gobert play. Bam Adebayo ($8,400) gets to attack a Jazz defense that's allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points to centers this season, and Deandre Ayton ($8,000) -- correlating tremendously with Chris Paul -- got a salary haircut to bring him back into consideration.

Indiana's tandem of Jalen Smith ($4,700) and Isaiah Jackson ($4,600) should both see the court plenty with Turner out. Detroit's frontcourt is a bit messier. James Wiseman has been playing more minutes than Jalen Duren ($5,600), but Wiseman's salary reflects that. I'd likely get to Duren before Wiseman but potentially neither in favor of the Pacers' duo and Pistons forward Isaiah Livers ($4,900).

While the other value options have significantly higher upside, John Collins ($5,200) is a contrarian pivot in the Hawks-Wolves clash holding a 244.0-point total. There's a chance Pacers-Pistons duds just simply from lack of talent on the court.