FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 11/27/19

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

Oh, boy. This 14-game slate is going to be a wild one. This is the perfect night to get the FanDuel Scout App loaded up so that you can track your players right up until tip-off.

Point Guard

Russell Westbrook ($8,600) rates out number-one in my model among all point guard options tonight. The Houston Rockets will be down in pace against the Miami Heat, but Westbrook is priced down. He averages 1.29 FanDuel points per minute and should get up near 35 minutes of action. Kemba Walker ($7,500) projects closely to Westbrook in my model in terms of floor and ceiling combination. The Boston Celtics' total of 111.0 is pretty solid. He's a high floor play.

numberFire's projections are high on Damian Lillard ($9,200) and Ben Simmons ($8,700), ranking both of them as top-two value options despite their prices. Lillard is third for me behind Westbrook and Walker. I'd rather go with Cory Joseph ($5,000) than Simmons in that low-totaled game. Joseph rates fourth in tournament value in my projections.

With Jimmy Butler off the floor, Goran Dragic ($5,000) has a 27.2% usage rate and averages 1.08 FanDuel points per minute. Kendrick Nunn ($5,600) is close behind (24.6% and 1.03). Both get boosted if Butler is ruled out.

Core Plays: Russell Westbrook, Kemba Walker, Goran Dragic
Secondary Plays: Kendrick Nunn, Damian Lillard, Cory Joseph
Tournament Plays: Ricky Rubio ($6,800), Trae Young ($9,600), Rajon Rondo ($4,800)

Shooting Guard

With value inevitable, it's easy to love James Harden ($11,600) even at his price. Harden rates out as the best tournament value among shooting guards in my model tonight.

I'll go hard at Bradley Beal ($9,500) again in the game of the night. Beal averages 36.8 minutes per game and 1.21 FanDuel points per minute. Injected into an uptempo game, he ranks as one of my favorite plays regardless of position. Washington Wizards/Phoenix Suns stacks will be plentiful for me, and that includes locking up Beal and Devin Booker ($8,400) as the shooting guards.

Terrence Ross ($4,500) and Evan Fournier ($6,500) offer appeal for the Orlando Magic against the Cleveland Cavaliers' defense, which ranks 22nd when removing garbage time. The total is the lowest on the board, but Ross in particular projects well in the matchup. With no Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Carter-Williams (all listed as out), Fournier has a team-best 28.5% usage rate. Ross is at 23.3%

Core Plays: James Harden, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker
Secondary Plays: Terrence Ross, Tyler Herro ($4,900; if Butler is out), Norman Powell ($5,000), Evan Fournier
Tournament Plays: Fred VanVleet ($8,000), Jrue Holiday ($8,300), Devonte' Graham ($7,200)

Small Forward

Spending up for two of Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,700) against the Atlanta Hawks, LeBron James ($11,200) against the New Orleans Pelicans, and Brandon Ingram ($8,800) against the Los Angeles Lakers (revenge game) is something I'd love to do. Giannis and LeBron rank first in my adjusted value projections. numberFire's projections put James first, and I don't hate it.

Kelly Oubre ($6,900) offers nice savings from that tier in the game of the night against Washington's 29th-ranked defense. Oubre should see minutes in the mid-30s and averages 1.01 FanDuel points per minute on the season. Jaylen Brown ($6,800) and Danilo Gallinari ($6,700) project nearly exactly the same in terms of range of outcomes but have much less encouraging game environments.

Small forward is a position where I don't want to punt too often, so the mid- and upper-range is the place to prioritize.

Core Plays: Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Brandon Ingram
Secondary Plays: Kelly Oubre, Jaylen Brown, Danilo Gallinari
Tournament Plays: Troy Brown ($3,700), Jae Crowder ($5,000), De'Andre Hunter ($5,100)

Power Forward

Power forward has the more bankable value than small forward tonight. That starts with Frank Kaminsky ($4,000). Kaminsky should be cleared for 25 or so minutes with the Suns' frontcourt injuries. Kaminsky puts up 0.87 FanDuel points per minute and is in the premier matchup of the night. Washington is 28th in rebounding rate. numberFire projects Kaminsky for 6.38 FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary.

Khem Birch ($4,200) is projected for nearly 28 minutes and has been underwhelming despite starting. With the key Magic players off the court, his usage rate is just 10.4%, and he has averaged only 0.51 FanDuel points per minute. He's a floor play for cash games to help you get to studs. He averaged 1.00 FanDuel points per minute last season. Omari Spellman ($4,200) also grades out with a similar range of outcomes as Birch. He has averaged 1.00 FanDuel points per minute.

Blake Griffin ($7,000) rounds out the top three in my model (adjusted for salary) and won't break the bank. Griffin has averaged 29.5 minutes, and the Charlotte Hornets are 29th against versatile big men.

Core Plays: Frank Kaminsky, Blake Griffin, Omari Spellman
Secondary Plays: Anthony Davis ($11,100), Khem Birch, Eric Paschall ($6,300)
Tournament Plays: LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,500), Bam Adebayo ($8,400), Domantas Sabonis ($8,100)

Center

Center is peppered with good options at various price ranges, so building your first eight and leaving salary dictate the center isn't the worst play tonight.

Andre Drummond ($9,300) should still be someone you make sure to play, though, as the Hornets are dead last in rebounding rate. Joel Embiid ($9,700) is coming off what will be his worst ever game and is down $500. Embiid draws a Sacramento Kings team that is 23rd in rebounding rate but 3rd against versatile bigs.

Thomas Bryant ($6,700) is in that top game of the night. He gets a matchup with the Suns, who are 26th in rebounding rate. Bryant puts up 1.1 FanDuel points per minute and is always a player with a good ceiling in the right spots.

Willie Cauley-Stein ($5,500) projects with the best floor/ceiling combination in my model, and he is a good per-minute producer (1.01 FanDuel points). The Chicago Bulls are a bottom-five rebounding unit. WCS should get minutes in the mid-20s.

Core Plays: Andre Drummond, Willie Cauley-Stein, Thomas Bryant
Secondary Plays: Joel Embiid, JaVale McGee ($3,800), Jakob Poeltl ($4,900)
Tournament Plays: Mohamed Bamba ($4,500), Moritz Wagner ($4,300), Marc Gasol ($5,700)