FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 1/14/23

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.

Guards

Luka Doncic ($12,500): At his second highest salary this month, Doncic will face a Portland Trail Blazers' unit ranked 20th in defensive rating and 23rd in points allowed in the paint. In two previous meetings, the Mavericks' superstar has torched Portland, averaging 37.5 real-life points and 64.6 FanDuel points.

James Harden ($10,600): Since January 8th, Harden's FanDuel salary has moved up 3.9% to his second highest point this season after Philadelphia's versatile guard recorded two triple-doubles. In 205.2 minutes this month, Harden is producing 1.47 FanDuel points, 0.21 rebounds, and 0.33 assists per minute.

Ja Morant ($10,200): In a matchup versus an Indiana Pacers' team allowing point guards to record 22.4 real-life points and 46.2 FanDuel points per game, Morant is ranked second among his position with a 46.2 fantasy projection. If Dillon Brooks is unable to play on Saturday, Morant's fantasy output per minute increases by 0.10 to an eye-popping 1.54 mark.

LaMelo Ball ($9,700): Despite a challenging opportunity against a Boston Celtics' defense ranked tenth (45.7) in fantasy production allowed to point guards, Ball stands third among all guards with 45.5 expected FanDuel points at his second highest salary point this season. In the past month, the 21-year old is averaging 1.32 FanDuel points, 0.16 rebounds, and 0.25 assists per minute while his FanDuel salary has jumped by 21.2%.

Damian Lillard ($9,300): After scoring 50 real-life points in his last appearance, Lillard's FanDuel salary has only moved up by 1.0% versus a Dallas Mavericks' unit rated third in FanDuel points allowed to his position. Portland's leading scorer has averaged 40.5 fantasy points in his previous two encounters against Dallas.

Dejounte Murray ($8,200): Atlanta's guard ranks second among his positions in value with a 5.36 rating and a 44.0 fantasy projection after his salary moved down 5.7% to his lowest salary this month. With Atlanta's projected starting lineup on the floor, Murray is recording 1.09 FanDuel points, 0.16 rebounds, and 0.10 assists per minute.

Darius Garland ($7,900): Since his return last week, Garland has scored at least 20 real-life points while averaging 1.01 FanDuel points in a 139.2 minutes sample size. After Donovan Mitchell was listed as questionable, the 22-year old could see a 0.13 boost in his fantasy production to 1.17 FanDuel points if Mitchell were to sit.

D'Angelo Russell ($6,800): Even in a tough matchup versus a Cleveland Cavaliers' team rated second in fantasy production allowed to point guards, "D-Lo" ranks fourth in value at his positions with a 5.18 rating and a 35.2 fantasy projection at his lowest salary in the past month.

Buddy Hield ($6,700): In 269.4 minutes with Tyrese Haliburton off the floor this season, Hield's fantasy production increases by 0.13 to 1.07 FanDuel points per minute with a 21.6% usage rate.

Marcus Smart ($6,400): Despite a 12.2% salary jump, Smart ranks fifth overall in value with a 5.38 rating and a 34.6 FanDuel point projection against a Charlotte Hornets' squad rated 25th in opposing true shooting percentage and 27th in defensive rating.

Anfernee Simons ($6,000): At his lowest salary point this month, Simons would be an optimal choice at his positions with a 5.02 value rating and a 30.1 fantasy expectation while his production would increase by 0.13 to 1.02 FanDuel points per minute if Damian Lillard is ruled out.

Andrew Nembhard ($5,700): Indiana's rookie guard benefits with Haliburton off the floor after Nembhard's fantasy output increases by 0.19 to a 0.92 mark.

Derrick White ($5,600): The 28-year old sees a sneaky 0.10 boost to 0.96 FanDuel points per minute in a 344.2 minutes sample size with Jaylen Brown off the floor tthis season.

Forwards

Jayson Tatum ($10,800): In an increased offensive role versus a Hornets' unit ranked 19th in opposing three point percentage, Boston's stud forward is third overall with 51.5 expected FanDuel points. Tatum records 1.35 FanDuel points per minute and a 35.7% usage rate in 507.1 minutes with today's injuries.

Pascal Siakam ($9,800): Toronto's forward has seen a 3.1% salary jump in the past week while accounting for 1.23 FanDuel points, 0.17 rebounds, and 0.14 assists per minute.

Anthony Edwards ($8,400): Despite playing through recent hip soreness, "Ant-Man" is averaging 1.13 FanDuel points, 0.16 rebounds, and 0.13 assists per minute this month while his FanDuel salary has dropped by 8.6%.

Lauri Markkanen ($8,300): Even in a difficult spot against a Philadelphia 76ers team ranked fourth in defensive rating, Markkanen stands fourth among forwards with 38.6 expected FanDuel points. The 25-year old is having his best offensive month this season, averaging an eye-popping 29.8 real-life points per game on 18.5 shot attempts.

Jerami Grant ($7,000): At his lowest salary point during January, Portland's forward has an underrated matchup versus a Mavericks' defense giving up 23.4 real-life points and 45.3 FanDuel points per game to his position. Grant would see a 0.11 boost to 1.05 FanDuel points per minute if Lillard is inactive on Saturday night.

Robert Williams ($6,000): In 104.5 minutes this season with today's current inactives, "Time Lord" is averaging 0.95 FanDuel points, 0.33 rebounds, and 0.16 shot attempts per minute.

Bennedict Mathurin ($5,600): Even at his highest salary point this month, the Pacers' rookie is second among forwards in value with a 5.45 rating and a 30.5 fantasy projection. The 20-year old records 0.95 FanDuel points per minute after his fantasy average jumps by 0.08 with Saturday's current inactives.

Al Horford ($5,100): Boston's veteran sees a 0.13 increase to 0.95 FanDuel points in 92.1 minutes this season with Jaylen Brown off the floor this season.

Isaiah Jackson ($4,400): If Myles Turner is inactive on Saturday night, Indiana's second year big man is ranked as numberFire's top overall value option with a 7.57 rating and a 33.3 fantasy projection even at his highest FanDuel salary in January.

Centers

Joel Embiid ($11,600): In a mouth-watering opportunity versus a Jazz team allowing the second most fantasy points (58.8) to centers this season, Philadelphia's superstar is rated second overall with 54.1 expected FanDuel points at his highest salary this month. Embiid destroyed the Jazz in their last meeting, producing a season-high 103.2 FanDuel points and 59.0 real-life points.

Walker Kessler ($5,600): Utah's rookie center ranks second overall in value with a 5.91 rating and a 33.1 fantasy projection after the 21-year old averaged 1.24 FanDuel points, 0.35 rebounds, and 0.14 blocks per minute in his last two starts.