FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 4/28/23

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

We've got just one questionable listing for the two games on Friday's injury report.

It's Luke Kennard of the Grizzlies, who is deemed questionable with a shoulder issue. The opposing Lakers have a trio of probables as they try and end the series on their home floor.

The Kings have no designation on De'Aaron Fox despite the finger issue, and they'll also try to avoid elimination against Golden State.

Guards

The trio to consider at the top here remains the same as Wednesday.

Ja Morant ($10,500) is well over 40 minutes per game on the floor at this stage, and he's showing triple-double upside we didn't see much in the regular season. He's eclipsed six rebounds or seven assists on three occasions apiece, which is a dangerous addition to his usual 30-point efforts.

Now that he's at least cleared to play, De'Aaron Fox ($10,000) is back on the table, but I've still got concerns. He went 9-for-25 (36.0%) from the field in Game 5 -- potentially due to the broken finger.

I'd rather roster Stephen Curry ($9,500) at his declining salary. Curry's floor with at least 28 points in every game this series is absurd. It's not too surprising that Klay Thompson ($7,000) is projecting well in our model with a team total implied over 120 points, too.

D'Angelo Russell ($6,000) posted a double-double in 30 minutes, but I still believe Dennis Schroder ($4,000) could have a role if he struggles in Game 6. Schroder has eclipsed 30 minutes in two of L.A.'s six postseason efforts so far at a near-minimum salary.

Malik Monk ($6,500) and Davion Mitchell ($4,500) are the only other two guards on the slate with a path to playing more than 20 minutes.

Wings

There are two angles to LeBron James ($10,700) tonight, and I haven't decided which I prefer.

We could get the LeBron from Game 4, who posted 22 points, 20 boards, and 7 assists in 40 regulation minutes. Conversely, there's also an argument the 38-year-old is fatigued, missing 23 of his last 26 three-pointers and shooting just 29.4% from the field in Game 5. Your guess is as good as mine.

If there's a top-salaried guy I want to take a stand against, it's Desmond Bane. Bane has shot 50.0% from the floor in back-to-back performances, but his salary has crept insanely high for a guy who topped out at 36 FanDuel points to start this series with a much lesser offensive role. Is he hot, or is this a substantial role change? I think the former.

Andrew Wiggins ($7,500) and Austin Reaves ($6,500) are projected as over-salaried, but they're the entirety of the mid-range with full roles, so they're not awful. The value options are better, though.

That starts -- surprisingly -- with Keegan Murray ($4,500). The rookie has usurped Kevin Huerter for playing time alongside Fox and Monk with 30-plus minutes in the past two games. Harrison Barnes ($5,300) is also a high-floor choice over 30 minutes in every game of the series so far.

Oh yeah, the one last guy with sizable playing time here is Dillon Brooks ($4,600). Brooks' salary is insane for a full-time player who took 15 shots last time out, and his backup, Kennard, might sit tonight. Of course, there's the small detail that his confidence might totally be shot.

Bigs

Even though Ja's upside is increasing, no player can smash this slate as Anthony Davis ($11,500) could.

Davis rebounded with 31 points and 19 boards, and his FanDuel potential could be even higher with more than just a pair of blocks. Davis hasn't tied a monstrous double-double to four-plus blocks yet in this series, but I sure don't want to be on the wrong side of exposure to him when it happens.

That presents a difficult choice with Domantas Sabonis ($9,300) and Jaren Jackson Jr. ($8,400) deserving, too. Sabonis' floor is great for the salary; he's eclipsed 37 FanDuel points in every game this series. Jackson has hit that mark in all but one affair.

Draymond Green will surely be on the floor for the Dubs when it matters, but his $7,800 salary is a bit rich for what is now a bench role topping out at 31 minutes. He needed five stocks (steals plus blocks) to eclipse value in Game 5. With at least 14 boards in three straight, I'd rather turn to Kevon Looney ($6,800).

The Lakers don't seem set on Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt at this stage, and they've both been swallowed by Davis' production on the boards for FanDuel purposes. Darvin Ham doesn't make much sense with rotation choices or matchups.

The lowest realistically viable option at the big-man spots today is Xavier Tillman ($6,200), who could rebound toward 40 minutes in a closer affair on Friday.