FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 8/10/20

After a 4.5-month hiatus, the 2019-20 NBA restart is officially underway.

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 -- and that's especially the case now.

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 Monday's five-game main slate, which locks at 2:30 PM ET.

Noteworthy inactives: Each of Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, and Dorian Finney-Smith will be OUT for today's matchup with the Utah Jazz due to rest. Kendrick Nunn is out for the Miami Heat, while Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic expect to play. T.J. Warren and Donovan Mitchell are listed as questionable for their respective teams. Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nerlens Noel are all out for the Thunder.

Point Guard

Since the league resumed play, Kyle Lowry ($6,800) has had some impressive performances, posting FanDuel totals of 57.8, 36.1, 35.8, 25.4, and 38.4. Lowry needs just 34 points for 5X value tonight (or 5.0 points for every $1,000 in salary), and he should be able to attain that against a Milwaukee Bucks squad allowing the most points to opposing point guards since the restart. Chris Paul ($7,500) needs 37.5 for 5X, and he's surpassed that number in three of his five games in the bubble -- including 40.5 and 46.7 in his last two. He should see a ton of usage with half of Oklahoma City's roster inactive.

Seth Curry ($3,600) obviously has to be considered, as his near-minimum salary will allow you to load up on studs. Curry should see a heap of usage with Kristaps and Doncic sitting.

Eric Bledsoe ($5,700) looks to be getting back to full strength, as he logged 30.9 minutes on Saturday. He's reached 31.1 and 25 fantasy points in his last two, but his upside far exceeds that. He's our model's third-highest projected value at the point.

Shooting Guard

Delon Wright ($4,200) has averaged 32.6 points in the 12 games he's seen more than 27 minutes of playing time, scoring 35.4 or more in five of those contests. He should see plenty of minutes with Doncic, Porzingis, and Finney-Smith all out. Our model has him surpassing 5X with ease. Fred VanVleet ($6,800) has posted 38.5-plus in four of his five bubble games thus far, and he needs just 34 for 5X. Our model has FVV scoring 36.4.

Luguentz Dort ($3,900) has scored at least 20.8 in each of his last four, and he should be a great value with Gallinari and SGA inactive.

Jordan Clarkson ($4,400) is numberFire's top-projected value at shooting guard. He's worth a look, especially if Mitchell can't go. Khris Middleton ($7,200) needs 36 points for 5X on FanDuel, and he's scored 38 or more in four of his five post-restart contests. Middleton is a top-tier start with Giannis sitting. Devin Booker ($8,200) has totaled 49.8 and 49.6 in two of his last three, though this matchup isn't as friendly.

Small Forward

This is the position you've been saving all that salary for. Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,000) is our model's highest-projected scorer on the slate, at 56.9 points. In two matchups against the Toronto Raptors this season, Giannis has posted 58.8 and 78.0 fantasy points. LeBron James ($9,600) looks as if he'll play in tonight's matchup with the Denver Nuggets. At $9.6K, James is at his lowest price of the season, which makes him a near must-start. LeBron needs 48 for 5X, and he's scored 50.1 and 53.1 in two of his last three.

Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,900) needs to garner serious consideration. With Doncic and Porzingis off the court, Hardaway sees a team-high usage bump of 6.5% and scores an additional 0.12 fantasy points per minute. Hardaway has been proven to be up to the task when given more minutes and usage. Darius Bazley ($3,600) has totaled 22.8 and 34.9 fantasy points in his last two. Look for that success to continue as he get most of the center responsibilities for OKC today.

If he's active, T.J. Warren ($7,500) will be extremely difficult to fade. In five bubble contests, Warren has averaged 54.1 FanDuel points. This isn't the easiest of matchups, however.

Update: Giannis is OUT for the Bucks.

Power Forward

I'm going to keep going back to the Dallas well, because the value there will be tough to match. At power forward, that value is Maxi Kleber ($4,700). Without Kristaps, Doncic, and Finney-Smith on the court, Kleber averages an additional 0.18 fantasy points per minute on FanDuel, and that's spanning 323.9 minutes. Kleber exceeded 30 fantasy points seven times with Porzingis out of the lineup this season, and that was with Willie Cauley-Stein and Finney-Smith in the lineup. Anthony Davis ($9,200) has been cold of late, which explains his season-low price of $9.2K. Davis has tagged the Denver Nuggets for at least 53.7 points in two of his three matchups against them this season. Our algorithm has AD as the second-best value at the position.

Michael Porter Jr. ($8,000) is finally priced like a stud, though it's probably still not enough. In his last four games, Porter Jr. has recorded 55.9, 49.0, 53.4, and 47.2 points on FanDuel, and he needs just 40 to reach 5X value. The Lakers are a tough matchup, but Porter Jr. is scorching hot right now. In that same range, our model has Bam Adebayo ($7,900) exceeding 5X. Bam often plays at the five, and the Indiana Pacers have allowed the most points to opposing centers since the league restarted.

Center

With Porzingis out, Dallas might have trouble defending the interior -- enter Rudy Gobert ($7,800). Gobert has record 54.7 and 40.6 fantasy points in his last two games, respectively, and he needs only 40 for 5X. Gobert already dropped 56.4 points on Dallas in January, and that was with Kristaps on the floor.

Deandre Ayton ($7,700) has an appealing matchup with Adams and Noel out. Ayton has scored 47.9 or more in two of his five bubble games and could post another high number in this matchup.

Nikola Jokic ($8,500) is also worth considering, but his matchup is a tough one.