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 NBA is very reliant on 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 take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.
The Slate
| Away | Home | Over/ Under | Home Spread | Away Total | Home Total | Away Pace | Home Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | Phoenix | 234.0 | -2.5 | 115.75 | 118.25 | 4 | 18 |
| Atlanta | Portland | 228.0 | -9.0 | 109.50 | 118.50 | 19 | 17 |
| Milwaukee | Oklahoma City | 220.0 | +7.5 | 113.75 | 106.25 | 3 | 26 |
| Charlotte | Philadelphia | 216.0 | -13.5 | 101.25 | 114.75 | 20 | 11 |
| Toronto | LA Lakers | 215.5 | -9.5 | 103.00 | 112.50 | 8 | 21 |
| Cleveland | New York | 214.0 | -2.0 | 106.00 | 108.00 | 30 | 25 |
| Indiana | Orlando | 204.0 | -4.0 | 100.00 | 104.00 | 15 | 27 |
Injuries
| Team | Injuries |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | De'Andre Hunter (GTD; Shoulder), Allen Crabbe (GTD; Knee), Kevin Huerter (GTD; Knee), Evan Turner (O; Achilles), Vince Carter (O; Personal), John Collins (O; Suspension), Chandler Parsons (O; Knee) |
| Brooklyn | DeAndre Jordan (GTD; Ankle), Wilson Chandler (O; Suspension) |
| Charlotte | Nicolas Batum (O; Finger) |
| Cleveland | John Henson (O; Hamstring), Ante Zizic (O; Foot), Dylan Windler (O; Lower leg) |
| Indiana | Jeremy Lamb (O; Ankle), Myles Turner (O; Ankle), Goga Bitadze (O; Concussion), Edmond Sumner (O; Hand), Victor Oladipo (O; Knee) |
| LA Lakers | Talen Horton-Tucker (GTD; Foot), Rajon Rondo (O; Calf), DeMarcus Cousins (O; Knee) |
| New York | Elfrid Payton (GTD; Hamstring), Dennis Smith (GTD; Personal), Kadeem Allen (GTD; Knee), Mitchell Robinson (O; Concussion), Reggie Bullock (O; Back) |
| Oklahoma City | Andre Roberson (O; Knee) |
| Orlando | Terrence Ross (GTD; Knee), Melvin Frazier (GTD; Personal) |
| Philadelphia | Ben Simmons (O; Shoulder), Shake Milton (GTD; Knee) |
| Phoenix | Deandre Ayton (O; Suspension), Ty Jerome (O; Ankle), Jalen Lecque (GTD; Calf) |
| Portland | Hassan Whiteside (GTD; Foot), Rodney Hood (GTD; Back), Skal Labissiere (GTD; Ankle), Pau Gasol (O; Foot), Zach Collins (O; Shoulder) |
| Toronto | Kyle Lowry (O; Thumb), Serge Ibaka (O; Ankle), Patrick McCaw (O; Knee) |
There are quite a few huge injuries, namely Ben Simmons, Kyle Lowry, Hassan Whiteside, and Myles Turner.
Point Guard
Both Damian Lillard ($10,200) and Kyrie Irving ($9,800) rate out well tonight, and each are in the top two games in terms of over/under. My model prefers Irving slightly, but both are studs on this seven-game slate.
Ricky Rubio ($7,000) is an affordable piece against the Brooklyn Nets. He's averaged 1.11 FanDuel points per minute on the season; Brooklyn is 20th in defensive rating. Terry Rozier ($6,800) is a high-floor play, as he averages 0.88 FanDuel points per minute and plays 32.3 minutes per game
There are value options are here for the taking, primarily Raul Neto ($3,700) without Simmons. Neto has played at least 30 minutes and returned at least 25 FanDuel points in consecutive games. Ben Simmons is out. numberFire's projections also love Anfernee Simons ($3,700), Aaron Holiday ($4,100), and Darius Garland ($4,000).
Core Plays: Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto
Secondary Plays: Damian Lillard, Terry Rozier, Darius Garland
Tournament Plays: Trae Young ($9,600), Aaron Holiday, Chris Paul ($7,000)
Shooting Guard
C.J. McCollum ($6,500) jumps off the spreadsheet today in a spot against the Atlanta Hawks. McCollum is putting forth just 0.78 FanDuel points per minute despite a 25.8% usage rate.
Norman Powell ($4,200) is numberFire's top projected shooting guard value by a good margin, followed by DeAndre Bembry ($4,000), and Evan Fournier ($4,500). Along with McCollum, they're my top four options as well. It's a good position to save salary when building cash game lineups.
For tournaments, spending up is enticing. Fred VanVleet ($6,800), Devin Booker ($8,400) and McCollum have top-five tournament value ratings in my model tonight. Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($8,100), and McCollum have targets worth loading up on in tournament lineups if you like the value elsewhere.
Core Plays: C.J. McCollum, Norman Powell, Evan Fournier
Secondary Plays: Fred VanVleet, Devin Booker, DeAndre Bembry
Tournament Plays: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Richardson ($5,900)
Small Forward
We have three studs here: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,700), LeBron James ($11,500), and Pascal Siakam ($9,600). By far, Antetokounmpo is my model's favorite price-adjusted small forward in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They're seventh in defensive rating, but Giannis averages an absurd 1.89 FanDuel points per minute, most in the NBA by far.
Kelly Oubre ($6,200) rates out well also against the Nets and projects for around 30 minutes. He has yet to fall shy of 20 FanDuel points and has just once had single-digit shot attempts.
Larry Nance Jr. ($4,900), JaKarr Sampson ($3,800), and Cam Reddish ($3,800) round out the top five in my per-dollar value ratings.
Core Plays: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kelly Oubre, Larry Nance Jr.
Secondary Plays: JaKarr Sampson, Cam Reddish, LeBron James
Tournament Plays: Pascal Siakam, Tobias Harris ($7,000)
Power Forward
Only Anthony Davis ($11,300), Domantas Sabonis ($9,100), Kevin Love ($8,800), and Julius Randle ($7,200) are above $6,600 at the position today. Davis rates out fourth in my model today when adjusting for price. He is putting out 1.54 FanDuel points per minute and averages 34.7 minutes.
Randle is actually at the top for me after adjusting for salary. He has a date with the Cleveland Cavaliers' 19th-ranked defense today and has eclipsed 32 minutes in five of six games. Teammate Taj Gibson ($4,000) ranks third for me without Mitchell Robinson.
Al Horford ($6,500) is also logging good minutes while getting up shots (12, 24, 20, 14, 12 the past five). When he converts, he has 50-point upside. His shot just hasn't been falling the past two games.
Jabari Parker ($6,600) has had his price fall back down a bit despite 12 and 18 shot attempts in the past two. He's in a premier fantasy game today.
Core Plays: Julius Randle, Al Horford, Anthony Davis
Secondary Plays: Taj Gibson, Jabari Parker, Jarrett Allen ($5,500)
Tournament Plays: Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Love, Dario Saric ($5,000)
Center
Bobby Portis ($4,400) and Joel Embiid ($10,600) are at much different price points but rate out pretty similarly on a per-dollar basis. They'll be building blocks at center today. Portis never gets a massive allotment of minutes (below 30 in the past eight games) but is a cheap play to help spend up elsewhere.
Embiid has a 40.9% usage rate without Ben Simmons on the court, via NBAWowy. That leads to 1.70 FanDuel points per minute. He's at 1.64 on the full season.
After these two, it's Marc Gasol ($5,400) and Alex Len ($3,900) in a tier of their own. Gasol is clinging to 30 minutes per game but has put forth only 0.71 FanDuel points per minute while shooting 34.0% from the field. His price reflects that. Even though my model likes Len, I don't love it. He finally got past 20 minutes last game but averages 4.6 shot attempts in 17.6 minutes on the season.
If going away from Embiid or Portis, I want price-relative upside. That points me to Gasol, Nikola Vucevic ($8,800), and Aron Baynes ($6,500). Whiteside ($8,200), as well -- if he plays, of course.
Core Plays: Joel Embiid, Bobby Portis
Secondary Plays: Marc Gasol, Nikola Vucevic
Tournament Plays: Aron Baynes, Alex Len, Hassan Whiteside (if healthy)