NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 10/22/18

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 hugely 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 ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each price point.

Let's take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.

Best of the Best

LeBron James ($11,800): With Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram suspended, the Los Angeles Lakers don't have much choice but to lean on LeBron for a massive workload tonight. Rondo and Ingram have combined for almost 60 minutes per game to start the season, and Rondo has a 17.1% usage rate while Ingram's sits at 21.3%. The King doesn't have much room for his minutes to increase, already playing 38.0 per game so far, but his 27.5% usage rate has a ton of room to increase, especially when you consider the fact that his lowest usage rate in the last 13 seasons was still 30.0%. LeBron will offer his usual massive floor and ceiling tonight, and is the safest stud play on the slate.