FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 1/4/22

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

COVID-19 Protocol Update
Due to the advanced number of players in COVID-19 protocols, I want to provide just a manual list of those players moving forward and then discuss the other injury news separately. Only players that significantly impact the slate are listed:

Kemba Walker will sit again with a sore knee for the Knicks. That will -- once again -- drastically alter their scoring hierarchy with Julius Randle also one of a handful of Knicks in the COVID-19 protocols.

The Kings' rotation might also still be a touch shorthanded with Terence Davis II potentially missing another game due to his ankle injury.

Isaac Okoro is still dealing with an elbow injury for the Cleveland Cavaliers and is already ruled out for Tuesday.

Finally, the Spurs are watching Keita Bates-Diop's status closely. He's questionable with a hamstring injury, and the starter would be another man out of a San Antonio rotation already missing Dejounte Murray in COVID-19 protocols.

Guards

Ja Morant ($9,800): The top guard spot is between Morant and Fred VanVleet. Since Christmas, Morant has a higher usage rate (33.8%) than Freddy as the pair continue to regularly find the 50-point mark on FanDuel. Overall, the Grizzlies are still shorthanded with protocol issues, whereas the Raptors have their entire rotation back, but VanVleet is just shooting the lights out currently. I feel more comfortable that Morant's role holds tonight, and VanVleet dips back into more of a timeshare role with his talented teammates.

De'Aaron Fox ($7,000): As numberFire's projection model would imply, Fox is just under-salaried for what can reasonably be expected from his role. This season, Fox has a 27.9% usage rate and is averaging 1.02 FanDuel points per minute. That's nearly 10 points higher than Tyrese Haliburton (19.2%) overall, but Haliburton has been on an assist binge since Fox entered protocols in December. This is still a fair salary even if his long-term role dips as Haliburton garners more usage.

Devin Vassell ($4,800): Vassell gets the nod over the equally deserving Tyus Jones because we have to fill shooting guard, as well. Jones is only point-guard eligible. Assuming Bates-Diop sits with his hamstring issue, there are quite a few Spurs that enter the conversation without fear of getting "Popovich'd" out of their minutes. In general, it's easier to trust Vassell's decent 0.90 FanDuel points per minute mark in a 30-minute role than Tre Jones -- who is also only point-guard eligible.

Others to Consider:
Devin Booker ($8,000): The Pelicans' weak defense could provide the 45-FanDuel-point ceiling we've seen in three of his last six.
Tyus Jones ($4,700): 1.01 FanDuel points per minute since De'Anthony Melton entered COVID protocols. Comfortable prefer him to his brother, Tre.
Bryn Forbes ($4,600): Another shooting-guard eligible value. Forbes takes a larger hit than Vassell if Bates-Diop plays, personally.
Duane Washington Jr. ($4,000): The Pacers have COVID woes, and Washington has stepped in as a starter. Better scoring upside than Keifer Sykes. 17 shots last game.

Wings

LeBron James ($11,400): James failed to score 60 FanDuel points for just the second time in his last eight games on Sunday against Minnesota, but we'll forgive him at 55.1. The ageless wonder has averaged a Giannis-like 1.81 FanDuel points per minute since Christmas Day on a 33.0% usage rate. His role is in no question and neither is his matchup; the Kings' 112.9 defensive rating (fifth-worst in the NBA) isn't scaring anyone. He will be the most popular player on the five-game slate.

Keldon Johnson ($5,500): Johnson is finally in a secure role since the Spurs are dealing with so many rotational issues. Johnson played 38 minutes in San Antonio's last contest, but he shot just 22.2% from the field. Hopefully, that reduces his popularity in this spot where he could easily regress closer to his season-long 48.1% field goal percentage. The Raptors allow the sixth-most FanDuel points per game to opposing power forwards (46.09), and that's where Johnson will be slotted on Tuesday.

Lauri Markkanen ($5,200): Markkanen and Johnson are two similar plays -- and good ones. Markkanen is also seeing stable minutes for the first time all season for Cleveland, but it's been a mixed bag of results. Even a limited Darius Garland should help the Cavs' offensive efficiency, and Markkanen has broken 30 FanDuel points in two of his last five games. Oddly, he saw well under 30 minutes in both of those instances, so an eruption game could be on the horizon.

Others to Consider:
Scottie Barnes ($7,200): My general strategy for Toronto is to fade VanVleet and Pascal Siakam expecting a return to the season-long, five-way split in usage. Barnes is Option A.
OG Anunoby ($6,400): Anunoby is Option B. Gary Trent Jr. is Option C.
RJ Barrett ($5,900): Is this the time Barrett can breakout with Randle and Kemba sidelined? Team-best 33.1% usage rate last game.
Justin Holiday ($4,600): Low point-per-minute output, but he's also the surest bet in the Pacers' backcourt for minutes. Likely not very popular, either.

Bigs

Jarrett Allen ($7,900): Really, the question at the big spot is what to do with Domantas Sabonis. The Indiana frontcourt isn't really impacted by their COVID issues, but Sabonis has put together three straight ceiling games on the back of an elevated 12.20 rebounds per 36 minutes. His 23.6% usage rate in that span was right in line with his season average. Allen is the best alternative; he provides similar upside on the glass with a heightened, 17.7% usage rate due to Cavs' missing pieces -- all at a much lower salary.

Myles Turner ($7,400): Turner is an entirely different story than Sabonis. His 20.4% usage rate in Indiana's last game was drastically higher than his season-long mark (17.8%), and it's because he's now the clear second option offensively amidst their backcourt troubles. He has monstrous double-double upside if he can improve upon his 44.4% mark from the field in that contest on Tuesday. Turner is easier to fit into a build with LeBron, as well.

Obi Toppin ($5,300): The 42.2 FanDuel points in his last game were really seen as a breakout for the former lotto pick, but he honestly didn't even live up to his offensive potential. He shot just 25.0% from three-point range and didn't break 20 points. For that reason, the elevated salary is still well worth this 45 minutes of court time that Obi saw on Sunday. With Julius Randle still out, the minutes should be fairly close to his last contest because Taj Gibson still was the pivot for most of the game.

(Editor's Note: Julius Randle was upgraded to questionable shortly after the publishing of this article. His status is worth monitoring to determine Toppin's viability on Tuesday.)

Others to Consider:
Evan Mobley ($7,500): Mobley is more versatile offensively (20.0% usage rate) than Allen at a lower salary. I'll be here, too.
Jakob Poeltl ($6,100): 30-plus FanDuel points in three straight games. This salary works for a budget pivot.
Jalen Smith ($5,800): He should be popular with both Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee out, but he faces similar minutes concerns that McGee had. Salary is no longer a total value.
Lamar Stevens ($4,100): Saw 31 minutes last game in place of Okoro, and he could start if Garland is out for conditioning purposes tonight.