FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 11/30/19

Usually, NBA Saturdays are a happening place, but the holiday on Thursday has slightly thrown off the schedule, which means tonight's main slate features only three games. The Philadelphia 76ers will look to stay unbeaten at home, hosting the Indiana Pacers. The Houston Rockets face the Atlanta Hawks in what looks to be a game ripe for a shootout, and lastly, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will host the Charlotte Hornets.

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.

Let's deep dive this three game slate with a look at the best plays by position on FanDuel.

Point Guard

Trae Young ($9,800): With a whopping 238.5 total, the Hawks/Rockets game has the highest over/under on the slate with two teams that like to press the attack. Houston is second in pace, and Atlanta is 12th. Trae Young has been sizzling, scoring at least 29 points and dishing out six assists in each of his last four games. Ar $9,800, he still falls well below Giannis and Harden's price tag while offering legitimate 40-point upside, and with minimal value at point guard today compared to other positions, it may be best to pay up at this spot.

Malcolm Brogdon ($8,600): Brogdon has been stuffing the stat sheet all season. Now back healthy after missing time with an ankle injury, he should continue to produce. Indiana is still without Victor Oladipo, and when all players have been available this season (other than Oladipo), Brogdon leads the team with a 27.4% usage rate. He is coming off a disappointing game by his standards against Atlanta at home, posting only 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in 38 minutes, so he will look to bounce back in a tough matchup against Philadelphia, who is the best rebounding team in the NBA.

Shooting Guard

James Harden ($11,500): Atlanta has given up the 29th most fantasy points to shooting guards this year, largely because of the inexperienced defense of young players Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish, but they better be ready to answer the bell against the best one in all of basketball. Harden has scored at least 30 real-world points in 11 of his last 12 games, and he broke 40 points in five of those. Houston will be without Clint Capela and Danuel House Jr, as both are doubtful with an illness, but that may be good for Harden's fantasy prospects, as he skyrockets to a 46.1% usage rate without them.

Ben McLemore ($3,700): As mentioned with Harden, House will likely cede his starting spot to McLemore because of his illness. McLemore becomes the injury plug in at only $3,700, as in games in which McLemore has eclipsed 22 minutes, he is average 20.7 fantasy points per game. All but one of those games were starts for McLemore, which provides a common theme -- when he starts, he produces enough at this price tag. If he got to 20.7 points tonight, McLemore would hit 5.59 FanDuel points per $1,000, which would make him well worth his likely hefty ownership in tournaments.

Small Forward

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,400): Giannis might be somewhat contrarian on this slate because of limited injury value and his enormous price tag, but there is reason to pay up for the Greek Freak on such a small slate. Giannis has dipped to only 57.2 FanDuel points per game over his last two, and that has directly correlated with Khris Middleton's return to the lineup. On the second leg of a back-to-back and with Middleton fresh off an injury, Middleton could be ruled out for Saturday's game, which would be great news for Giannis. Antetokounmpo's usage rate with Middleton off the court spikes to 38%, and he should return to closer to his season average of 61.2 FanDuel points per game if Middleton sits.

DeAndre Hunter ($5,000): Atlanta's rotation outside of Trae Young and Jabari Parker has been a mess all year, but DeAndre Hunter appears to be emerging as the third player. Hunter has played at least 34 minutes in each of his last five games, and while his production has been scattered, the high implied total should do well for his numbers. Hunter is also a catch-and-shoot offensive scorer who is taking on Houston, a team that has allowed the fifth most three-point baskets. Hunter is my favorite per-dollar play on the slate.

Power Forward

Jabari Parker ($7,400): Even with a terrible output against Indiana on Friday, scoring only four points, Parker sees a large price increase to $7,400 in the marquee game of the evening. Parker is averaging 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds across his last four games and is one of a few Hawks sure to see big minutes in this high-paced contest. The Rockets are top 10 in offensive rebounds allowed, where Parker usually looks for opportunities. Look for a rebound game for the Hawks' forward, who is always a threat for a double-double.

PJ Tucker ($5,300): Usually the injury plug for a player is at the same position, but Tyson Chandler has yet to reliably see minutes at any point starting in place of Clint Capela. With Capela set to miss another game due to illness, PJ Tucker is the beneficiary for a Rockets team that will likely play small against Atlanta, who plays their center, Alex Len, only 16.8 minutes per game. Tucker sees a rebounds-per-minute spike without Capela on the floor, as expected, moving from 0.17 to 0.23. Atlanta is not much better than Houston in allowing three balls, either, giving up the eighth most in the league. Look for Tucker to grab boards and bomb corner threes in a shootout, which will be great value at only $5,300, and he could see lower ownership in this salary range than PJ Washington does after Washington's big Friday night.

Center

Joel Embiid ($10,400): This slate simplifies a touch if Joel Embiid sits due to rest, with Al Horford resting on Friday, opening that possibility. But if Embiid does not sit, he should be one of the top plays on the slate. At a much cheaper price, he is in the neighborhood of Giannis and will probably see reduced ownership in a slower-paced game. If Embiid does not rest, it could be Tobias Harris who sits, which would be great news for Embiid. Joel's rebound-per-minute number jumps .08 boards without Harris on the floor.

Bismack Biyombo ($4,800): Sometimes production stems from clarity on roles in the NBA, and Biyombo is a great example. In a timeshare with Cody Zeller this year, Biyombo has averaged only 17 fantasy points per game, never surpassing 20 minutes in an outing. With Zeller's hip injury, Biyombo has exploded to 33.5 FanDuel points per game, and with Zeller as a surprise late scratch on Friday, Zeller's status for the back-to-back is very much in the air. Biyombo will once again be viable in all formats if Zeller is out, but a word of caution in tournaments -- Brook Lopez only averages 27 minutes per game for Milwaukee on the other side and is a stretch big, so it is possible Biyombo's night is cut short with both teams choosing to mix and match their deep arsenals of wing players late in the game.

Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.