FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 1/2/21

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 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 break down today's main slate on FanDuel:

The Slate

The Orlando Magic are the epicenter of injury news on this slate, as both Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross are fighting injuries for today's contest. Fournier is questionable with a back injury that forced him out of Thursday's contest, but things are looking up for Ross, who is probable with the hamstring injury that kept him out Thursday, and that should put Ross in position to take much of Fournier's workload if Fournier sits.

Other injuries on the slate include New York Knicks sixth man Alec Burks, who is questionable with the ankle issue that has forced him to miss three games this week. If Burks were to return, it probably most affects the peripheral roster pieces for New York and could reduce the minutes of Reggie Bullock or Elfrid Payton, as well. Kevin Love is also still out with his ankle injury, and that will mean another start for the productive Larry Nance Jr.

Point Guard

Ben Simmons ($8,600): When the Philadelphia 76ers hired Daryl Morey, there was an expectation they would play at a much faster pace this season. That has yet to be the case, as they are only the 18th-fastest team in the league so far, but this season is just a five-game sample with two blowouts. One thing Philadelphia has done is consolidate plenty of volume to its top three players, as three 76ers are averaging upwards of 1.20 FanDuel points per minute. One of them is Simmons, who averages 1.29, and his usage is up to 21.3% for the year as he;s working more with the bench than he did last season. He has a nice floor/ceiling combination tonight versus the Charlotte Hornets.

Markelle Fultz ($5,800): With Fournier questionable, the backcourt should be much more fixated on Fultz and Terrence Ross to produce (should Ross play). The Magic were blown out on Thursday, but Fultz was the one productive member as he was still able to produce 0.89 FanDuel points per minute in just 24 minutes. Both Fultz (30.7% usage without Fournier on the floor) and Ross (33.8%) should see large bumps in offensive responsibility, and that could bode well for the team as a whole given how well Fultz played against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, when he dropped in 33.8 FanDuel points with a double-double.

Other Notable Plays: Lonzo Ball ($6,500), Michael Carter-Williams ($3,800), Aaron Holiday ($3,700)

Shooting Guard

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($8,200): Many DFS players will want to avoid using Gilgeous-Alexander at this salary because he has yet to produce an explosive outing for the Thunder this year, but his peripheral usage indicates that better days should be ahead. SGA has a 28.1% usage rate on the young season, a clip which is sandwiched between the usage marks for players like Russell Westbrook and D'Angelo Russell. Oklahoma City is trusting him to have the ball in his hands, and his ceiling might finally be unlocked if he can cease giving the ball away (4.0 turnovers per game). Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 23 points in each game before his Thursday dud, and if he arrives with his usual aggressiveness and efficiency (45.9% field goal percentage), he could go off in a rematch with Orlando.

Devonte' Graham ($5,900): The Charlotte Hornets' backcourt is too crowded for Graham to have an astronomical ceiling, so this recommendation is tailored more towards cash games and single-entry lineups, but the third-year budding star is worth consideration. His 18.6% usage rate is significantly down from last year, but so his is his salary, and that usage drop has not deterred him from still getting a good amount of shots. He is second on the team to Terry Rozier with 13.0 shots per game, and Graham is also still averaging 34.0 minutes per game, so his on-court role has not been too reduced. His floor was certainly low Friday, when he scored just 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting, but he should rebound closer to his 38.3% shooting clip, and it could be as soon as Saturday's contest.

Other Notable Plays: Collin Sexton ($6,800), Terrence Ross ($5,400), Eric Bledsoe ($4,600)

Small Forward

Larry Nance Jr. ($6,800): Nance is a tough player to pinpoint for fantasy, because he is productive -- with at least 27.0 FanDuel points in four of five games so far -- but it comes at an incredibly low 12.1% season-long usage rate. He is a fantasy asset heavily reliant on lobs, rebounds, and blocks, and he should see a significant increase in potential to accumulate all three with the pace increase versus the Atlanta Hawks, who are fourth in the league in that category. Nance's salary has caught up with his production, so he may be not overwhelmingly popular for the first time all year, but he still has a tremendous ceiling while starting at the four in place of Kevin Love.

RJ Barrett ($5,900): No one may be looking forward to this Knicks-Indiana Pacers rematch more than RJ Barrett, who bludgeoned the Pacers to the tune of 26 points and 8 rebounds in New York's opening contest. While things have not been quite as good since for him, Barrett has still showcased a solid floor with at least 27 FanDuel points in four of five contests. Using Barrett might be easier to do than plugging in some other Knicks on Saturday given that Alec Burks may return, but Barrett's big game to open the year came with Burks playing 33 minutes and garnering a 22.2% usage rate that night. Barrett's salary is at its lowest point in four games, and it may represent a great buy-low spot at the weakest overall position on the slate.

Other Notable Plays: Tobias Harris ($7,200), OG Anunoby ($6,500), Cam Reddish ($4,900)

Power Forward

Zion Williamson ($8,100): Stan Van Gundy's "old school" mentality has slowed down the New Orleans Pelicans, who may be using their league-low 98.6 pace rating as a way to mask their young defense. That has had minimal impact for the Pels' stars in fantasy, however, as Brandon Ingram is up from last year in terms of FanDuel points per minute at 1.36, and Zion has seen an increase, as well, to 1.06. Zion's ceiling comes from his aggression, as he has eclipsed 45.0 FanDuel points in both games in which he has attempted more than 20 shots. His matchup may be better than Ingram's on Saturday, and that should necessitate some needed aggression, as the Toronto Raptors give up the 4th-most FanDuel points to power forwards, but the 10th-fewest to small forwards.

Pascal Siakam ($7,800): Siakam ruined a lot of daily fantasy lineups on Thursday, as he was benched after lock on Tuesday. There may be a small implicit bias against the forward to reduce his popularity for that, but he still remains the best way to garner exposure to the Raptors in a plus matchup. He leads all starters with a 25.6% usage rate, and that comes from the frontcourt, where he remains the only reliable source of rebounds for the Raps (9.0 per game) with a complete platoon at the center position. Siakam's floor for this salary -- eclipsing 32.0 FanDuel points in every game this season -- is tough to pass up in cash games, as well.

Other Notable Plays: Julius Randle ($8,000), John Collins ($7,000)

Center

Bismack Biyombo ($5,000): There are not many injuries on this slate, which makes extreme value a little tougher to come by. Combining that with plenty of upside in the mid-range, this helper has a balanced feel to roster construction, and Biyombo may be the perfect lower-salary option to cap it off. Biyombo remains at an affordable salary despite starting and playing at least 28 minutes in each of the last four games. He has been incredibly consistent, as well, posting at least 22.7 FanDuel points in every game during that span. His best game was Friday, when he posted 16 points and 12 boards in a great matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he may have another good one against Philadelphia, who has ceded the seventh-most FanDuel points to centers so far.

Other Notable Plays: Nikola Vucevic ($8,400), Clint Capela ($6,100)

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.