FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 10/24/21

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, and we also have player news updates.

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

Guards

Stephen Curry, PG, (FanDuel Salary: $10,200) - Curry has been cooking to start the year, going for 53.0 and 58.5 FanDuel points in two games while piling up a 32.1% usage rate. Taking on the Sacramento Kings, Curry is in line for his easiest matchup of the season so far, and the game is a DFS dream as it has a slate-high 233.0-point total and 3.0-point spread. We know what Steph does shooting and as a playmaker, and he's also snagged 10 boards in each game thus far. We project him for a slate-leading 48.3 FanDuel points, 4.9 more than any other point guard.

De'Aaron Fox, PG, $8,500 - The Kings-Warriors bout has a total 8.5 points more than any other game's over/under. Both teams sit in the top five in pace, and the two highest implied totals come from this clash. It's the fantasy game of the night, and even though it'll be a go-to spot for everyone on this small slate, we should target it aggressively. Fox is another point guard-only play, and he's got a juicy 30.8% usage rate through two games while averaging 35.5 minutes. Our model has him producing 42.6 FanDuel points -- good for 5.02 per $1,000 in salary -- and he makes for a fun game stack alongside Curry.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG, $6,800 - SGA is one of my favorite plays of the night. He's stunk through two games, generating 24.8 and 15.8 FanDuel points. The 15.8 points came Friday in a dope matchup with the Houston Rockets, and he burned a lot of people as one of the night's chalky plays. He's got a fairly blah matchup tonight with the Philadelphia 76ers, and when you couple that with his poor start, I think he'll go under-rostered. He leads the Oklahoma City Thunder in usage rate (26.7%) and should get back close to the 34.4 minutes per game he averaged across the last two seasons if OKC -- an 8.5-point 'dog -- can keep it close. We have him going for 39.9 FanDuel points (5.86 per $1,000).

Cole Anthony, PG/SG, $4,900 - The Magic-Knicks game is the ugliest on the slate. Not only does it have the lowest total (215.5), it has the biggest spread (12.0 in favor of New York), so it's expected to be a low-scoring game with lots of blowout risk. Yay. That could cause some people to mostly write it off -- even on a five-gamer -- but I have a lot of interest in Anthony. He's averaging 30.5 minutes per game and is second on Orlando with a 26.1% usage rate. The role is simply too good for this salary, and we forecast him to score 29.9 FanDuel points, which amounts to 6.1 per $1,000.

Others to Consider: Jaylen Brown ($8,500), Tyrese Haliburton ($6,000), Terrence Ross ($4,400), Kent Bazemore ($4,100)

Wings

LeBron James, SF/PF, $10,200 - We have only five guys pegged to score more than 43.0 FanDuel points, and three of them are the Los Angeles Lakers' big three in a date with the Memphis Grizzlies, who are on a back-to-back (although both games are in LA). Of the Lakers' trio, James is my favorite option. With the Lakers in the midst of a terrible start, LeBron could take it upon himself to right the ship against a Memphis squad with the third-worst estimated defensive rating. James' 30.3% usage rate leads the Lakers, and he's played exactly 36 minutes in each of his first two games.

Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, $9,800 - One of the key injury situations to monitor is the status of Jaylen Brown, who is listed as questionable with a knee injury. If Brown suits up, I'm not a big fan of Tatum at this salary despite a friendly matchup with the Houston Rockets in which both sides are in the top 10 in pace. But if Brown sits, Tatum becomes one of the slate's best plays. In 13 games last year in which Tatum played and Brown didn't, Tatum averaged 28.6 real-world points per game -- up nearly 3.0 points from his average in games where both of them suited up. Check Brown's status as the day progresses.

Tobias Harris, SF/PF, $7,600 - Another day, another slate where Harris is a rock-solid play. The 76ers' forward has been a popular midrange target so far this season, and he's delivered with outputs of 40.4 and 36.4 FanDuel points. The 40.4 points could've been a lot more if not for a blowout win keeping Harris to just 27 minutes. There's some blowout concern today against the Thunder (Philly is 8.5-point favorites), but Harris can feast if the game stays competitive. OKC is sixth-worst in estimated defensive rating while playing at the eighth-fastest pace.

Draymond Green, PF/C, $6,600 - Green is another way to get exposure to the Dubs-Kings game. While he hasn't been very good this year in DFS, scoring 22.6 and 29.7 FanDuel points, Green has faced both LA teams, so the Kings will be a much softer matchup. He's played 31.0 minutes per night and is due for some more steals and blocks. He's averaging 1.0 combined steals/blocks right now after posting 2.5 steals/blocks per game last campaign.

Others to Consider: Christian Wood ($8,100), RJ Barrett ($5,900), Franz Wagner ($4,000)

Bigs

Joel Embiid, C, $9,900 - Embiid has been superb through two games. Despite averaging just 27.0 minutes, the Sixers' big man has put up 45.7 FanDuel points per game. The lower minutes might be here to stay for Embiid, who continues to be listed on the injury report with a knee issue. He got just 29 minutes in a tight game with the Brooklyn Nets, so Philly may be taking it easy on their star man. Even with that, Embiid could torch OKC. We project him for 33.0 minutes and 47.2 FanDuel points.

Jaren Jackson Jr., PF/C, $10,600 - Jackson is a great piece for Lakers-Grizz game stacks. Through two outings, JJJ is averaging 30.5 minutes and 33.8 FanDuel points, recording 3.0 combined blocks/steals. While his 19.7% usage rate isn't going to excite anyone, Jackson could be a busy man defensively on the inside versus a Lakers team that doesn't have much three-point shooting. We project him for 34.4 FanDuel points (5.13 per $1,000).

Others to Consider: Robert Williams ($7,000), Derrick Favors ($3,900)