FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Tuesday 3/29/22

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

Several stars could be off Tuesday's five-gamer, per the official NBA injury report.

I'd be most concerned for LeBron James (ankle), who was visibly in pain after spraining his ankle in the Lakers' loss on Sunday. Worth noting, Anthony Davis is back to a doubtful status for L.A., but he likely won't face Dallas.

The Jazz could be shorthanded on Tuesday; Rudy Gobert (hip) and Bojan Bogdanovic (leg) are questionable. The Clippers may finally get back Paul George on the other side after George has been practicing fully with his torn elbow from earlier this season.

Jerami Grant (hip) was officially shut down for the season on Monday by Detroit. Isaiah Livers (concussion) will also be absent against the Nets. Brooklyn is at relative full health considering the Ben Simmons saga continues.

The Wizards haven't officially shut down Kyle Kuzma (knee), but he won't be available Tuesday. That same condition describes Lonzo Ball (knee) on the Chicago side of this tilt.

The Bucks and 76ers are at full health entering their high-powered showdown.

Guards

Russell Westbrook ($8,100): Even with multiple solid options at the top of guard, Westbrook has to take priority if LeBron does sit as expected. Westbrook has a 33.6% usage rate with LeBron and A.D. off the floor that he's turned into an incredibly-solid 1.36 FanDuel points per minute. Importantly, he's also playing better recently (at least 40 FanDuel points in four of his last five), and that significantly reduces the paths to failure in this marquee role -- should it come to fruition.

Tomas Satoransky ($3,600): A near-minimum salary starter tops the projections' value score marks at guard today -- and for good reason. Satoransky has slid into the starting five for the Wizards as their point guard, and in his limited return stint thus far, he's posted 0.81 FanDuel points per minute. Tuesday's studs are tremendous, so have not one but two minimum salary guards seeing 30-plus minutes (Ayo Dosunmu being the other) helps considerably.

Others to Consider:
Luka Doncic ($10,500): Playing poorly recently, and there's a blowout risk if LeBron can't play. He's still Luka, though.
Donovan Mitchell ($8,200): Feels under-salaried battling a Clippers squad that's bottom-10 in defensive rating this month.
Ayo Dosunmu ($3,600): Not doing a lot per minute at the moment, but he's seeing a ton of them with talent.

Wings

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,400): Even if you just look at raw point totals, "The Greek Freak" is a phenomenal play with at least 55 FanDuel points in four straight games. He's an other-worldly type of play considering he's done most of that damage while being kept short of 30 minutes due to blowing out the other squad. Milwaukee is a 1.5-point road underdog on Tuesday, so with no blowout and a 232.0-point total, Giannis could explode.

Dorian Finney-Smith ($4,500): On March 1st, Finney-Smith posted 34.1 FanDuel points in 39 minutes against the Lakers. That's not a guarantee to happen again, but it should indicate that he's pretty significantly under-salaried in this spot. Spencer Dinwiddie's recent emergence has taken from all Mavs -- including Luka -- but long-term, DFS should outpace this salary. He's posted at least 29 FanDuel points in three of his last six full games of work.

Others to Consider:
Paul George ($9,300): If he goes, it basically kills the rest of the Clippers. Luckily, he's lower-salaried himself for game stacks.
DeMar DeRozan ($7,900): 37 points at MSG last night. Does that mark the end of the shooting slump that's tanked his production?
Tobias Harris ($5,900): He's closer to a value piece in the best environment of the night. He likely doesn't pay off big if Joel Embiid does, though.

Bigs

Joel Embiid ($11,200): Embiid torched the Bucks for 42 points and 14 boards back in February, but that was before James Harden's arrival, and Harden has nibbled away at both Embiid's floor and his upside since he got there. Still, Embiid is a player averaging 1.58 FanDuel points per minute in March with Harden, and the Sixers (28th in pace) will see a massive uptick in possessions against Milwaukee (8th in pace). That's a great play when you take the names out of it.

Marvin Bagley III ($6,300): Just what the world needed -- another reason to make fun of Sacramento. Bagley was castoff for essentially nothing to Detroit, but he's responded with 0.99 FanDuel points per minute across varying roles in the Pistons' frontcourt. Now, with Grant out for the season, he's locked into a full-time role with a solid usage rate (22.9%) this past week. There's blowout risk here with a 14-point spread, but Bagley could also play a decent bit in that event.

Others to Consider:
Kristaps Porzingis ($8,800): If you're mini-stacking this one in tournaments, K.P. absolutely could lead the entire slate in scoring. Fun option.
Isaiah Stewart ($5,200): 37 minutes last game for "Beef Stew". He'll sail past this salary if that happens again.
Carmelo Anthony ($4,100): Not really a big, but it's a weak slate for center, and he'll be a great power forward option if LeBron sits.