FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Monday 5/2/22

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

Monday's injury report might set a record in length for a two-game playoff slate.

Unfortunately, the major news is Joel Embiid will be sidelined for the 76ers due to an orbital bone fracture. Notably, his backup, Charles Bassey, was upgraded to questionable.

The Heat side of that one is seemingly a chaotic mess, but most of their questionable players should go as they did versus the Hawks. Kyle Lowry (hamstring) is out, but Jimmy Butler (knee), Tyler Herro (illness), Max Strus (hamstring), P.J. Tucker (calf), Caleb Martin (ankle), and Markieff Morris (illness) are all listed as question marks.

Fortunately, sans their long-term injuries, both the Suns and Mavericks enter their series at full health.

Guards

Luka Doncic ($11,000): If the Mavs are going to compete in this series, it'll be on the heels of a massive series from Luka. Doncic logged 42 minutes in his first full game back from injury, and he posted 55.3 FanDuel points. At an identical salary to his last game against Utah, Doncic should have a better series for fantasy purposes. The Suns (9th in pace) play much faster than the Jazz (22nd) did.

Victor Oladipo ($5,000): Oladipo's clutch Game 5 was a firm arrival to the Miami rotation. On top of being a solid shooter (41.7% from three this season), Oladipo is also a shot creator who can be leaned on as Jimmy Butler nurses a knee injury that kept him out of the Heat's last contest. Even though he likely doesn't start, he'll likely chew into Duncan Robinson's and Max Strus' roles as the superior talent.

Others to Consider:
Devin Booker ($8,800): His 32 minutes in Game 6 versus New Orleans was a good sign. Just needs his efficiency and shot volume to catch up after several days off.
Gabe Vincent ($4,700): If Butler is out, feel free to still attack Vincent, Strus, and Robinson. I'd likely ignore all three if Butler plays.

Wings

James Harden ($9,800): The weight of the proverbial world is now on Harden's shoulders, and it'll be a brutal ask. Against a defense that limited Trae Young to 29.0% from the field in five games, he'll have to haul the Sixers' offense. Still, Harden averaged 1.45 FanDuel points per minute on a whopping 36.1% usage rate when Embiid was off the floor this season, but don't expect that production in full to stick here.

Tyler Herro ($5,600): Herro is one of few with a value score projected north of 5.00 on this slate, per numberFire's model. With Herro in what is basically a full-time role, that's impossible to ignore in a mid-range abyss at small forward. Herro (24.6% usage rate this postseason) has a significantly lower salary than Dorian Finney-Smith (12.6%), so the choice there is fairly simple unless you feel like praying to the blocks-plus-steals gods.

Others to Consider:
Tobias Harris ($8,000): Sneaky way to target the Embiid injury -- especially if Miami covers Harden as they did Trae.
P.J. Tucker ($4,500): Significant role choice is between Tucker and Danny Green, but Green may lose minutes to an unshackled Matisse Thybulle with the shift to Florida.

Bigs

Bam Adebayo ($7,400): Until Embiid returns, the versatile Adebayo should feast in this series. The Sixers' collection of big men will include Paul Reed, Paul Millsap, and Charles Bassey, who hasn't played since February 15th. They just don't have anyone that can match Adebayo's size on the glass, and he should see a gigantic improvement beyond the 9.2 rebounds per 36 minutes he posted in the last series.

Paul Reed ($4,100): On this slate, Reed is a 100% -- or near that -- type of option in tournaments. He played well in the Toronto series (1.08 FanDuel points per minute) spelling Embiid off the bench, and he's likely in line for a full role with Embiid down. There is no better combination of floor and upside anywhere in the $4,000 range on this slate. Only Millsap entering the starting lineup -- despite 105 total minutes with the Sixers -- would derail my confidence in Reed.

Others to Consider:
Deandre Ayton ($8,100): Dallas has size issues, too. Ayton is just like Bam; you can't matchup him off the floor. Could be a monster in this series.
Maxi Kleber ($4,000): Given Ayton will be on the floor, so should a Dallas big man. That timeshare at center is skewing towards Kleber now and not Dwight Powell.