FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 11/16/21

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 and Key Injuries

The game of the year thus far in Brooklyn headlines this fun-sized three-game slate.

The Nets host Golden State in a matchup of championship favorites, and the only injury to speak of on either side is an important one. Joe Harris will miss Tuesday's contest with an ankle injury for Brooklyn, and his minutes should be dispersed amongst several of Brooklyn's bench options, including Patrick Mills.

The Philadelphia 76ers are not free of absences. They're still missing Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle to COVID-19 protocols, and Danny Green reaggravated his hamstring injury on Saturday and will miss Tuesday's showdown in Utah.

The people's evening national TV game is in Los Angeles, where the Clippers host the Spurs in a game that is more fantasy relevant and has a higher total. The Spurs will still be without Jakob Poeltl, who is nearing his return from COVID-19 protocols. The Clips are still without Marcus Morris -- as has been the case all season.

However, LA may also be missing Terance Mann, as well. Mann is questionable with an ankle injury that likely shoots more playing time the way of Eric Bledsoe and Luke Kennard if Mann is forced to miss the game.

Guards

Stephen Curry ($10,800): Steph Curry is both one of the best stars on the slate and someone that may not be a possibility. With all the injury to Joe Harris, all of the slate's best value is in the backcourt. In situations where you go contrarian, Steph is definitely worth his salary. Even with a more aggressive Andrew Wiggins, Curry still has a 30.1% usage rate over the past week that he's turned into 1.45 FanDuel points per minute. This salary is more than fair.

Derrick White ($5,200): The Spurs' rotation is a glob of Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, and six guys that all play roughly 24 minutes. With the former two players incredibly high-salaried compared to their median this season, White likely has the most realistic path to 30-plus minutes at a fair salary. numberFire's model is expecting him to play 31.80 minutes, and in turn, he's their top projected guard of the night. I tend to agree -- he's a top value option not tied to Joe Harris.

Patty Mills ($4,000): Mills is a 100% type of player on a three-game slate. He may not start this evening, but he played 31 minutes off the bench and dropped 29 points on Sunday. Mills has had four outbursts of 25-plus FanDuel points as the Nets' bench catalyst as is, and he's averaging 22.84 FanDuel points this season in games with at least 29 minutes. If any value option has the potential to be can't-miss, it's Mills torching the Warriors off the bench.

Others to Consider:
Mike Conley ($5,700): Minutes per game in the last three close contests are a concern (28.3), but he's an affordable path to 30-plus minutes with a 20.2% usage rate.
Bruce Brown Jr. ($4,700): Certainly starts as usual without Harris, but likely sees much heavier minutes without him. Trust him more than DeAndre Bembry for the salary difference.

Wings

Kevin Durant ($10,600): Durant's value on a three-game slate lies in game theory. He's only hit requisite "value" at this salary in 3 of his 14 games this season. However, he's shown a 69 FanDuel-point ceiling in those three contests, and Durant frankly hasn't had much to play for. His median projection is poor, but his ceiling is still capable. With bonus motivation against his old team, perhaps Durant takes on extra usage this evening. You won't win a single-entry tournament without being a little different, and Durant is an interesting spot to do so.

Tobias Harris ($7,700): I'm not sure Harris will be as much of a priority as he should be on this slate. Without Embiid on the floor this season, Harris' 31.3% usage rate is 8.1 percentage-points clear of his next highest teammate. While Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton were fun while they lasted, Harris is the clear alpha in the offense now that he's back. He's taken at least 18 shots in both games since returning from COVID-19 protocol, and he should take another 20-plus again in Utah.

Bojan Bogdanovic ($5,100): Especially if using Curry or James Harden, one of the Utah wings will be a must. While Royce O'Neale has played more minutes this season (31.6), his 10.5% usage rate says it's a lot of empty jogging. Bogdanovic at $100 north in salary has a 22.8% usage rate than he's turned into better per-minute production (0.89 FanDuel points) than O'Neale (0.68). It's hard to see the regret choosing Bogdanovic over his defensive-minded teammate if the salary is available.

Others to Consider:
Paul George ($10,000): Many will choose Durant or George. I love both in single-entry tournaments as a fun way to be different. Still the clear top guy in usage (33.4%) for the Clippers.
Royce O'Neale ($5,000): Minutes are safer for O'Neale, and many will follow my line of thinking with Bojan. You could also use both on a slate with limited value.
Doug McDermott ($4,700): Scored in double figures in four of the last six, but the low minutes (25.0 per game in November) mean that he could get "Popovich'd".

Bigs

Draymond Green ($7,000): There is not enough requisite upside at center to make spending here optimal on the surface. numberFire's projections tolerate Green, and we can as well given that he's assured some pretty solid minutes in the best fantasy environment of the day. Draymond will always be a unique fantasy asset in that he turns a paltry usage rate (14.0%) into 8.53 assists per 36 minutes. A lot of that is touch passing in a system with Curry, Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson, but that won't change Tuesday in a game with a 221.5-point total.

Blake Griffin ($3,900): At a significant salary discount, Griffin has a more realistic path to the floor in crunch time -- and potentially overtime -- than LaMarcus Aldridge. His 0.78 FanDuel points per minute this season is more than enough in this salary if he sees 25-plus minutes, and with the uncertainty of the Nets' rotation without any extended sample missing Harris the past two seasons, it's easier to justify a punt salary than Aldridge; LaMarcus may be locked into his approximate 22-minute role for health purposes.

Others to Consider:
Andre Drummond ($8,500): numberFire's median projections love him, but I just don't see the can't-miss upside at this salary.
Thaddeus Young ($5,900): If Young was starting and seeing 30-plus minutes, he'd be a button to mash. However, he's subject to the Popovich Purgatory at an elevated salary.
Kevon Looney ($4,800): Averages 0.97 FanDuel points per minute at a fair salary. Would tremendously benefit from Brooklyn going larger without Harris, but that's hard to envision.