FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 5/24/21
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 and COVID-19 situations. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news and we also have player news updates.
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.
Please note: When I'm referencing a player's value figure, it is the number of fantasy points scored for every $1,000 in salary. Typically, a value figure of 5.0 (meaning, 5.0 FanDuel points for every $1,000 in salary) is the minimum baseline we'll be targeting.
Let's take a look at who you should target on tonight's two-game playoff slate, which locks at 7:30 PM Eastern.
All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.
Point Guard
Jrue Holiday ($7,900) - If the Milwaukee Bucks are hoping for a different result from what went down in the bubble last season, the difference will be Jrue Holiday. Their prize offseason acquisition totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in Game 1 en route to a 41.7-FanDuel-point performance. It was the third time in four games against the Miami Heat this season that had recorded at least 41.7 fantasy points. In order to accrue five-times value tonight, Holiday would only need 39.5.
Facundo Campazzo ($5,400) - Our algorithm's top-projected value at point guard tonight is Campazzo. The 30-year-old posted 27.1 fantasy points in the first game of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, which means that he has now eclipsed 27 in six of his last eight outings. numberFire has him garnering 27.4 FanDuel points in 32.9 minutes of action.
Shooting Guard
Donte DiVincenzo ($5,300) - DiVincenzo is our model's top-predicted point-per-dollar play at the two-guard position tonight. Prior to his 24-fantasy-point performance against Miami on Saturday, the 24-year-old had racked up at least 26.4 in seven straight games. Look for his solid production to continue as Milwaukee shortens their rotation in the playoffs.
Tyler Herro ($5,100) - If the Heat are going to get past the Bucks once again in the playoffs, they're going to need more than what Herro did in Game 1. While hitting just 2 of his attempts from the field, Herro totaled just 10 real-life points and 18.9 of the fantasy variety. In four of the six games prior, the sharpshooter had dropped outputs of 26.2, 36.6, 38.7, and 41.7.
Small Forward
Jimmy Butler ($9,100) - Despite hitting just 4 of his 22 field goal attempts in the first game, Butler still managed to produce 44 FanDuel points in the process. The Bucks ranked just 24th against small forwards during the regular season, according to numberFire's DvP tool, which means we can certainly expect more from Butler tonight. Our algorithm has him posting 49.6, making him the second-best point-per-dollar play on this two-gamer.
Carmelo Anthony ($4,400) - Melo provided a solid scoring boost for the Blazers on Saturday, amassing 18 points in 21.6 minutes. That was good enough for 26.1 FanDuel points -- the 12th time in his last 20 games that he'd surpassed 21. Denver scuffled against small forwards all season, allowing the second-most fantasy points to the position in 2020-21.
Power Forward
Giannis Antetokounmpo ($10,900) - Building a lineup without the upside of Giannis is risky, but it could very well prove to be a worthwhile strategy in tournaments. Still, our algorithm projects the two-time MVP to outscore the next-closest power forward by a ridiculous 26.3 FanDuel points, which is, by far, the largest gap at any position. Like Butler, Giannis still put together a solid fantasy performance (59.1 FanDuel points) despite a rough outing from the field (10 for 27).
Robert Covington ($4,600) - Covington is our model's top-projected value on the entire slate. Though he underwhelmed in the FanDuel-point department in Game 1, the veteran did see 34.2 minutes of action, which should be more than enough for him to return adequate value. This season, in the 32 games where he played at least 34 minutes, Covington averaged 31 FanDuel points. Our model has him going for 27.3 tonight.
Center
Jusuf Nurkic ($8,000) - If you'd like to get all the way up to Nikola Jokic ($10,700), you'll have to choose to forego one of Giannis, Butler, or Holiday, and while that's certainly a viable way to go, the same can be said for rostering Nurkic. The big man has trumped 40 FanDuel points in four of his last five games, including twice against these same Nuggets. numberFire's models have him doing so once again, with a projected output of 40.6 FanDuel points.
