FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Wednesday 4/20/22

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

The Raptors' season may continue to end in a giant "what if".

Wednesday's injury report has Scottie Barnes (ankle) listed doubtful to play for Toronto. Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) suited up on Monday but logged just 10 minutes. He's a giant risk tonight in daily fantasy.

The visiting 76ers will be without Matisse Thybulle due to Canada's current COVID-19 vaccination policy for entry.

The other two games are as clean as a whistle. Bobby Portis (calf) is listed probable for Milwaukee as the only current traffic.

Guards

Fred VanVleet ($7,800): Toronto, by far, is the best daily fantasy target of the day. Their season is on the line tonight to avoid a 3-0 deficit and they're already playing just five guys meaningful minutes due to the injuries to Barnes and Trent Jr. VanVleet took a whopping 23 shots on Monday, but only 7 went down. He still eclipsed requisite FanDuel value at this salary. That gives you a lens into his floor where he's playing as much as humanly possible.

Alex Caruso ($4,400): Caruso is one of three starters seeing major minutes below $5,000. Caruso only averaged 0.81 FanDuel points per minute this season, and his scoring role will be even more muted during the postseason, but being on the court provides upside for rebounds, steals, and blocks. Chicago (17th in pace in the regular season) will continue to benefit from an uptick in possessions against Milwaukee (7th in pace).

Others to Consider:
Zach LaVine ($7,700): Just 2-for-10 from three in Game 1. With his minutes total solid (36), he can fill it up with a better night shooting.
Jrue Holiday ($7,400): With where their salaries fell, it seems like a better night to angle for a ceiling game from Holiday or Khris Middleton than chase Giannis Antetokounmpo at his lofty mark.

Wings

Kevin Durant ($10,800): The Nets' star needed a salary reduction. It was simply too high entering Boston after an electric play-in game where the total was boosted by five blocks plus steals. Though much of the talk was around his poor performance scoring, Durant's rebounds (4) and assists (3) in Game 1 were well below what we saw in the play-in -- where he scored only 25 points. A monster scoring game with regression in those categories could bust the slate open.

Khris Middleton ($6,800): Middleton is one of numberFire's top overall projected players of the day, and it's because this salary is crazy on a talented scorer that carried the Bucks in several playoff games a season ago. Middleton averaged 1.11 FanDuel points per minute this season, and he saw 39 minutes in Game 1. He'll smash this mark if the sniper can improve upon one-for-seven shooting from three-point range.

Others to Consider:
OG Anunoby ($6,100): Any Toronto option works. His 26-point scoring uproar was paired with just a lone rebound to keep his salary in place.
Danny Green ($4,100): Already saw 32 minutes in Game 2, and now, Thybulle can't play. A low-upside play, but he'll be on the floor.

Bigs

Pascal Siakam ($9,000): From a fantasy perspective, Siakam didn't see a decrease in FanDuel points per minute with either Chris Boucher or Precious Achiuwa on the floor at center. He still grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 2, and his salary is dropping. However, Siakam's 42.5% field-goal rate in this series is dreadful considering just three attempts came from outside. Like VanVleet, Nick Nurse will push him as much as humanly possible with the Raptors needing a win to realistically stay alive.

Precious Achiuwa ($4,200): The fourth and fifth Raptors seeing key minutes are Boucher and Achiuwa. The starting lineup could be key; Boucher (0.92 FanDuel points per minute) has undoubtedly out-produced Achuiwa (0.65) in this series, and Nurse may turn to him due to Achuiwa's ineffectiveness. However, if Gary Trent is cleared early in the day Wednesday, Boucher may fall off the radar entirely at his $5,000 salary. We'll have to see how the news breaks.

Others to Consider:
Joel Embiid ($10,400): Another reason I can't get to Giannis? These are totally fair salaries on Embiid and James Harden when I know I'll be stacking the Toronto side.
Brook Lopez ($5,300): Logged 32 minutes in Game 1 and Portis has a slight calf injury. Could definitely be a sneaky way to fill center.