FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Friday 12/3/21

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

Here's to what is -- hopefully -- a more normal night of NBA action. Keep the record margins of defeat and last-minute scratches at home, please.

The Miami Heat injury questions are no more. We already know this morning that Miami will be without Jimmy Butler (back) for at least this game, and Bam Adebayo (thumb) will miss several weeks.

On the other side of that game, Indiana will be without T.J. McConnell (wrist) and Justin Holiday (COVID-19 protocols).

It's a battle of Los Angeles tonight as the Clippers and Lakers battle. The Lakers will be boosted by the return of LeBron James after it was returned that his positive COVID-19 test was a false positive. Worth noting, Anthony Davis is once again questionable with the thumb injury he's been playing through. The Clippers will also get back Paul George from a day of rest.

Karl-Anthony Towns is questionable due to a back injury after a hard fall on Wednesday. The Timberwolves could be significantly shorthanded if either Anthony Edwards or Jarred Vanderbilt were to miss the game with their respective illnesses, as well.

Kristaps Porzingis was questionable Wednesday with an ankle injury. Now it's a knee that has him listed as questionable for Friday. Dallas just bludgeoned New Orleans in that game, so they may err on the side of caution with their prized big.

The Rockets got great news on Christian Wood's ankle. He's probable for Friday and should be okay, but Kevin Porter Jr. (thigh) also left Wednesday's contest early and is still questionable for Friday.

Jaylen Brown is going to sit Friday for rest as he continues to build up from his extended injury absence. That will impact the Boston Celtics' rotation.

The Devin Booker injury is also not accounted for in the salaries, so many Phoenix value options should be sound once more.

Guards

Luka Doncic ($10,500): The surface level FanDuel-point total (48.8) made it seem like Doncic was a poor play on Wednesday against the Pels, but it was just unfortunate. Dallas led by 27 entering the fourth quarter, so Doncic actually averaged 1.81 FanDuel points per minute for the game against New Orleans' awful defense. There's still a 7.5-point spread on tonight's rematch, so it's not safe for Doncic to see a full workload, but the oddsmakers believe it to be more likely. He's the top guard of the day.

Kyle Lowry ($6,500): Miami looked Wednesday like they just found out their two stars would be out for a while. They got smacked by Cleveland, but the positive of that was their salaries stayed stationary with increased roles. Lowry's 18.9% usage rate without Butler seems low, but he's taken on a low-profile role (18.2%) all season with his new team. Without Butler and Adebayo on the floor, Lowry's 1.02 FanDuel points per minute are second on the team and more than serviceable here.

Landry Shamet ($3,800): Shamet started and played 31 minutes on Thursday for Booker, which put yesterday's helper's hypothesis into motion. Phoenix has very distinct roles with very distinct backups, and no other Suns player saw a massive minute or usage boost without Booker. Shamet likely overperformed his scoring expectation with four threes, but he'll also collect more than three boards and an assist with that much court time moving forward.

Others to Consider:
Cole Anthony ($8,300): He has scored at least 34 FanDuel points in his last five contests. A solid floor against a horrid Rockets defense.
Reggie Jackson ($5,900): 25.9% usage rate the past two weeks, and he has scored at least 27 FanDuel points in his last six with 30-plus minutes.
Dennis Schroder ($5,500): Boosted to the clear "B" scoring option to Jayson Tatum, but a volatile one for this salary. Might not get there.
Jalen Brunson ($5,000): Salary is too low. Scored 25-plus FanDuel points in eight of his last nine before the injury. Porzingis out would be a lift, too.

Wings

Paul George ($9,200): Who is second in the entire NBA at a 34.0% usage rate and has seen that increase to 35.2% the past two weeks? That's right, it's George -- the guy who's failed to score 40 FanDuel points in five of his last six games. It was well known in Clippers circles that George -- playing heavy minutes very early in the season without Kawhi Leonard -- was just losing steam. After four days of rest, I'm willing to buy into arguably the second-best role on the slate behind Luka.

Andrew Wiggins ($5,800): Wiggins might be entirely sneaky despite his solid projection by numberFire. The Suns enlisted Mikal Bridges to neutralize Stephen Curry, and that led to monstrous games for Otto Porter and Jordan Poole. With their salaries elevated, this is a solid chance to deploy Wiggins in a spot where he may be positioned to carry the offense. Wiggins' 0.99 FanDuel points per minute are right in line with Poole's (1.00), and his salary is lower at a position with fewer quality options.

Caris LeVert ($4,800): The question really becomes how far LeVert can slide. He's currently on a stretch the past two weeks shooting just 41.4% in the last 10 games. He was a 44.3% field goal shooter a year ago, and he's clearly in a rut. LeVert was even benched for a few minutes after a dismal shooting start to the third quarter Wednesday. If McConnell and Holiday were playing, I would fear a role change, but he'll likely get one more get-right opportunity for the shorthanded Pacers on Friday. He's better than this salary in a 30-plus minute role on even his average night.

Others to Consider:
Brandon Ingram ($7,400): Likely game stacks with Luka only, but a 28.9% usage rate can do some damage in a plus environment.
Tyler Herro ($7,000): Herro leads Miami in usage by a country mile without Butler (30.1%). He should bounce back Wednesday like Lowry.
Eric Gordon ($5,000): Could be the de facto point guard tonight if Porter Jr. sits. Jae'Sean Tate's salary is also untouchable with Wood expected back.
Cameron Johnson ($3,900): Didn't get the start or minutes boost we were hoping for without Booker. Still a possibility in a tougher offensive matchup with Golden State.

Bigs

Anthony Davis ($10,500): To clarify, Joel Embiid is a far superior play in a vacuum at the top. But the arrival of value centers like Naz Reid and other mid-range options could make it tough to build around Embiid with just center eligibility. Davis should be more popular than he will be with LeBron back; the Clippers are terrible against bigs. They allow the fourth-most offensive rebounds per game (11.1), and Davis can do plenty of that. He's quietly exceeded 53 FanDuel points in three of five games -- with and without LBJ.

Deandre Ayton ($7,700): Ayton torched the small Warriors on Wednesday, and I'm not sure what the adjustment could be to his bully ball on Friday. In the two games where Booker was either limited or out, Ayton has averaged 1.27 FanDuel points per minute on a significantly increased 25.2% usage rate. Expect Phoenix to continue leaning on their big man for additional offense, and we know he's always got 13.46 rebounds per 36 minutes in the bank, as well.

Wendell Carter Jr. ($6,500): Carter has been too popular for his role for weeks, and now it should flip. His role is actually getting better. He's seen at least 29 minutes in each of the past five games, but his production dropped for a bulk of them with Cole Anthony sidelined. Seeing 1.02 FanDuel points per minute with Anthony this season, and approximately 30 minutes of court time, he's finally in the role that his production would have implied. However, now, the production has slipped. Perfect time to buy.

Others to Consider:
Joel Embiid ($10,200): A monster since returning from injury. 1.56 FanDuel points per minute. His position is the only drawback.
Draymond Green ($7,100): Game stacks in tournaments only. He has triple-double upside but also 32 or fewer FanDuel points in 13 of his last 14 games.
Naz Reid ($4,400): A free square if Towns is forced to miss tonight. 30-plus minutes at 1.01 FanDuel points per minute this season.
P.J. Tucker ($4,300): I have almost zero confidence in him, but he's still a far superior Miami big man option to $5,500 Dewayne Dedmon on a bad knee. Try not to play Dedmon. I know the upside, but I care about you.