FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 2/26/23

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

Damian Lillard ($10,500): At his highest salary this season, Portland's leading scorer is ranked second overall with a 55.2 fantasy projection against a Houston Rockets allowing point guards to score 28.1 real-life points and 54.9 FanDuel points per game. In 144.6 minutes with today's inactives, "Dame D.O.L.L.A" is averaging 1.70 FanDuel points per minute with an eye-popping 42.6% usage rate.

Donovan Mitchell ($9,500): Since the start of February, Mitchell's FanDuel salary has increased by 14.4% while averaging 1.20 FanDuel points per minute and a 30.4% usage rate. In an underrated spot versus a Toronto Raptors' unit ranked 17th (41.7) in fantasy production allowed to his position, "Spida" is fourth among guards with 40.0 expected FanDuel points.

Anthony Edwards ($9,400): With Sunday's current rotation, Edwards' fantasy output sees a 0.11 boost to 1.29 FanDuel points with a 35.7% usage rate. "Ant Man" is second among guards with a 45.8 fantasy projection against a Golden State Warriors' team ranked 20th in defensive rating.

De'Aaron Fox ($9,400): After recording 78.0 FanDuel points in Friday's double overtime victory, Fox's salary has moved to his highest point in 2023. Sacramento's point guard is sixth overall with 41.7 expected FanDuel points versus an Oklahoma City Thunder defense allowing 25.2 real-life points and 48.1 fantasy points per game to his position.

Klay Thompson ($8,200): At his highest salary this season, the 33-year old has an optimal spot to continue his recent scoring hot streak against a Minnesota Timberwolves' team ranked 22nd in opposing three point shooting percentage. In 558.5 minutes with Sunday's inactives, Thompson's production increases by 0.06 to 1.04 FanDuel points per minute with a 28.1% usage rate.

Jordan Poole ($8,000): After back-to-back disappointing performances, Poole's FanDuel salary has moved down by 3.6% to his fourth highest point during 2023. The fourth-year guard is averaging 1.05 FanDuel points per minute and a 33.9% usage rate with Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry off the floor this season.

Josh Giddey ($8,000): Despite recording 19.3 FanDuel points in his last outing, Giddey's salary jumped by 6.6% to his highest this season after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out again. Oklahoma City's versatile playmaker is sixth among guards with a 38.9 fantasy projection versus a Sacramento Kings' team ranked 25th in defensive rating.

Jalen Williams ($6,100): Even at his second highest salary this month, the Thunder's rookie is sixth among guards in value with a 5.05 rating and a 30.8 fantasy projection. Wliliams sees a 0.15 boost to 0.99 FanDuel points per minute with a 22.0% usage rate in 247.1 minutes this season with Sunday's projected rotation.

Mike Conley ($5,600): At his lowest salary point during February, Utah's veteran is third among point guards in value with a 5.47 rating and a 30.6 fantasy expectation against a Golden State Warriors ranked 27th in FanDuel points (50.5) allowed to his position.

Donte DiVincenzo ($5,300): The 26-year old produces 0.85 FanDuel points and a 15.4% usage rate in 770.3 minutes with today's inactives. In 15 starts this season, DiVincenzo is averaging 10.6 real-life points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 33.1 minutes.

Isaiah Joe ($5,300): Despite a 20.4% salary spike, Oklahoma City's three-point specialist still rates as an optimal value play with a 5.55 rating and a 29.4 fantasy projection versus a Kings' defense ranked 29th in opposing three point shooting percentage.

TyTy Washington Jr. ($4,600): If Houston's rookie remains in Sunday's starting lineup, Washington is averaging 0.76 FanDuel points per minute with Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. off the floor this season.

Forwards

Kawhi Leonard ($10,300): At his highest salary this season, "The Claw" is fifth overall with 42.2 expected FanDuel points versus a Denver Nuggets' team ranked eighth in fantasy production (39.3 FanDuel points) allowed per game to his position. The 31-year old has accounted for 1.27 FanDuel points and a 26.9% usage rate in his most recent 263.4 minutes this month.

Domantas Sabonis ($9,600): In a favorable spot against a Thunder team allowing 54.9 FanDuel points per game to his position, Sacramento's big man is third overall with a 46.8 fantasy projection after he recorded a triple-double worth 48.6 FanDuel points in their last meeting.

Pascal Siakam ($9,400): Despite producing a monster 61.1 fantasy performance in his last game, Siakam's salary did not move from his third highest point during February. In three earlier games against a tough Cleveland Cavaliers' team ranked third defensive rating, the 28-year old is averaging 22.3 real-life points and 43.7 FanDuel points on 18.7 shot attempts.

Paul George ($9,000): After a 4.6% salary jump to his highest point during February, the Clippers' veteran is ninth overall with 39.2 expected FanDuel points versus a Nuggets' unit ranked 13th in defensive rating.

Evan Mobley ($7,400): The 21-year old is having his best offensive month this season, averaging 19.3 real-life points on 14.6 shot attempts per game while producing 1.15 FanDuel points per minute.

Jerami Grant ($6,300): In a potential increased offensive role with two starters ruled out on Sunday, Grant stands first among forwards in value with a 5.59 rating and a 35.2 fantasy projection versus a Houston squad ranked 29th in defensive rating.

Kenyon Martin Jr. ($6,000): Houston's third-year forward accounts for 0.91 FanDuel points per minute after his production increases by 0.06 in 429.5 minutes with Sunday's injuries.

Luguentz Dort ($5,900): The Thunder's defensive leader sees a noticeable 0.18 jump in his fantasy production to 0.98 FanDuel points per minute while ranking first among his team in usage (26.3%) with Oklahoma City's projected rotation.

Jabari Smith ($5,600): At his second lowest salary this month, the Rockets' first round pick is eighth among forwards in value with a 5.14 rating and a 28.8 fantasy projection against a Portland Trail Blazers ranked 20th (45.0) in FanDuel points allowed to the four position.

Kyle Anderson ($5,500): Despite recording a 15.4% usage rate in February, "Slow-Mo" has been extremely productive when on the floor, averaging 1.07 FanDuel points, 0.23 rebounds, and 0.16 assists per minute.

Matisse Thybulle ($4,200): In his first three appearances with the Trail Blazers, Thybulle averaged 0.82 FanDuel points, 0.13 rebounds, and 0.08 steals per minute while logging 27.8 minutes per start.

Centers

Nikola Jokic ($11,600): After a month-low 32.1 fantasy performance on Saturday, Jokic's FanDuel salary has moved down to his lowest point during February against a Los Angeles Clippers' defense giving up 53.5 fantasy points per game to centers. The Nuggets' two-time MVP winner is numberFire's top option with a 59.0 fantasy projection despite averaging 42.1 in this particular matchup.

Alperen Sengun ($7,300): Since the start of February, Sengun's salary has dropped by 12.0% to his lowest this month while producing 1.05 FanDuel points per minute during this time period. Houston's center is first among his position in value with a 5.58 rating and a 40.8 fantasy projection.