FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 11/5/21

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 basketball is very reliant on a player's 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 break down today's main slate on FanDuel.

The Slate

Everyone could always go for getting a little bit healthier.

The Bucks will do just that Friday. Jrue Holiday is set to return for Milwaukee, which is a badly needed lift with Khris Middleton (COVID-19 protocols) and Brook Lopez (back) still out for the time being.

The highest-salaried name to watch at this moment is Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans forward is questionable to miss a fourth straight game due to a hip injury, but with the salaries lofted up for New Orleans, his status is more of a concern for the competitiveness of their contest with Golden State.

D'Angelo Russell is still out for Minnesota with his ankle issue. We saw Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley, and Patrick Beverley all see boosts in his stead.

A surprise Wednesday was that Jakob Poeltl entered the COVID-19 protocol for San Antonio. His absence led to a weird rotation where guard Devin Vassell actually benefitted most. Vassell played 31 minutes.

Lauri Markkanen will also miss Friday's game for Cleveland due to COVID-19 protocols. Dean Wade started in his absence, but Ricky Rubio got most of the minutes left behind.

The Hornets will also likely be without PJ Washington. Washington is doubtful with an elbow issue, and that should thrust Mason Plumlee into a full-time role again.

Guards

Stephen Curry ($9,800): Because of a monster game from Jordan Poole, Steph had a tough Wednesday and only scored 15 points, but he continued a tremendous trend considering this friendly salary -- peripheral assisting and rebounding. Curry's current pace of assists (6.9 per game) and rebounds (7.4 per game) would set high-water marks for him in any season since 2014. We already know the scoring is there, so these extra stats should continue to raise his floor in daily fantasy.

Terry Rozier ($5,500): Like with Poole on the other side, most of the Charlotte offense was consumed in that same game by Miles Bridges. All other starters failed to meet value in a great environment. Still, this salary seems too low considering Rozier's now seen at least 33 minutes in three straight games and averaged 1.07 FanDuel points per minute in a similar offense last year. Rozier's role isn't really different, but he's shooting a paltry 32.7% from the field. When that turns, so should his production.

Cade Cunningham ($4,200): Free square alert! Now that the top pick in the 2021 draft is healthy (30.0 minutes per game the last two games), this salary is ridiculous. Cunningham has returned to a 26.5% usage rate and averaged 0.77 FanDuel points per minute through frigid shooting, so he should soon find himself with a salary around $6,000 as a minimum. Not sure even an armageddon resulting in dozens of injuries could push me off the talented rookie at this salary.

Others to Consider:
Bradley Beal ($8,700): Salary went down as his production (47-plus FanDuel points in three of his past four games) has gone up. Okay then.
De'Aaron Fox ($7,500): Still have to think his 37.5% shooting turns around and he eats into Harrison Barnes' reign of terror before too long.
Darius Garland ($5,900): Salary hasn't budged all week despite two nights of value. Still going to the well. The role is too good.
Patrick Beverley ($5,000): Maybe this is just for revenge for two games on the Clippers, but the Wolves seem dead set on Beverley over Beasley. Whichever starts brings great value.

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,300): Even with Holiday returning, I'm not sure how you start anywhere else at the forward spot. With Middleton and Holiday at various points, Antetokounmpo has scored north of 60 FanDuel points -- a 60-burger! -- in four of their eight games this season. While Paul George and Kevin Durant have an equal path to 50-plus FanDuel points, they don't reasonably meet Giannis' ceiling to truly score 60 or 70 FanDuel points. The 4.5-point spread with the Knicks should keep the game close despite the tougher matchup.

Anthony Edwards ($8,000): Without D'Angelo Russell, the Timberwolves become the movie Ant-Man. Ant Edwards holds a 33.1% usage rate in floor situations without DLo this season, and he sees a per-minute production increase to 1.11 FanDuel points per minute. Edwards scored 46.6 FanDuel points on Wednesday with just 3 rebounds -- a season-low for him. His ceiling is realistically over 50 points, and there's plenty of usage for him and Karl-Anthony Towns to co-exist and exceed value.

Keldon Johnson ($5,700): This has to make sense, right? San Antonio needs tall people on the floor. Drew Eubanks just doesn't play good enough defense to stay on the floor for Popovich; his highest minutes total last season in a game that ended less than 10 points in margin was 22, and he played just 19 minutes on Wednesday. Johnson played 18 minutes in the second half after foul trouble in the first, so he should see run -- even at the five. That should boost his already solid 0.93 FanDuel points per minute mark.

Others to Consider:
Paul George ($10,800): Nothing wrong here, but it's hard to justify the gap in ceiling between him and Giannis for just $500 more in salary.
Caris LeVert ($7,000): Played 31 minutes on Wednesday! Not surprisingly, posted 42.1 FanDuel points per minute inside of them. A deserving core play.
Saddiq Bey ($5,600): Salary has come down enough that I can take chances at his solid minutes role (33.0 per game) and hope the shooting turns back around.
Doug McDermott ($4,400): Non-Eubanks tall people -- unite! Dreadful on Wednesday, but was his first game back from injury. Should start and see decent minutes. Rebounds to be had.

Bigs

Karl-Anthony Towns ($10,200): Mostly, the play appears to be taking some chances in the mid-range at center. Still, there are far worse options than Towns at a respectable salary. Towns leads all Wolves -- including Edwards -- at 1.28 FanDuel points per minute in floor situations without Russell, which, with a quick-and-dirty projection at his season average in minutes, puts us in the ballpark. With just a 2.5-point spread and heavily concentrated usage between Towns, Edwards, and George, the Clippers-Wolves contest is one of the best for game stacks.

Evan Mobley ($6,200): Really, not much has changed that produced back-to-back monstrous outings from Jarrett Allen, so I'm more inclined to use the rookie, Mobley. Mobley is seeing heavy minutes without Markkanen and Kevin Love (39.5 per game the past two contests), and that may mean that Mobley's monstrous numberFire projection may even be selling him short. He's still grabbed double-digit boards the past two contests with Jarrett Allen entering the avatar state in that time, and his forward eligibility helps fit him into builds.

Mason Plumlee ($5,700): Plumlee likely is my highest-drafted center this evening. With PJ Washington out, Plumlee played at least 32 minutes and scored at least 35 FanDuel points in both games. Those matchups weren't even tremendous either, and Plumlee draws a Kings squad that has allowed the fifth-most rebounds per game (49.0) in the NBA this season. The one-point spread between two top-five teams in terms of pace makes the Sacramento-Charlotte matchup a plus stacking environment as well.

Others to Consider:
Jarrett Allen ($7,500): He will likely be popular off back-to-back 50-burgers, but it's a no from me, personally. The role hasn't changed significantly.
Jaren Jackson Jr. ($6,300): Minutes, minutes, minutes. 34.6 FanDuel points in games with 30-plus minutes. 20.8 in games with less. Will the coaches let him play?
Mitchell Robinson ($5,600): Center is weak enough to justify swipes here. A totally stable role; 27-plus minutes in five straight games.
Bobby Portis ($4,700): Should see another minutes increase and has already exceeded 25 FanDuel points in both games without it. The window to buy low is closing.