FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Sunday 2/14/21

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 NBA is very reliant on 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

In terms of injuries, there is thankfully not a large amount of fresh news, but there are still some moving pieces in the Association. The Sacramento Kings could be without De'Aaron Fox, who is questionable with a knee injury, and they could also be sans Marvin Bagley III, who is also a question mark with his calf injury. The Denver Nuggets could be without Jamal Murray in their Western Conference Finals rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers, as Murray emerged from Friday's game with an ankle sprain.

Most of the remaining question marks have previously been out, and their Sunday status is yet to be confirmed. Mason Plumlee is at risk of a third straight missed game for the Detroit Pistons with his elbow injury. PJ Washington is unsure to return for the Charlotte Hornets as he looks to clear COVID-19 protocols. The Orlando Magic could also be without some of their best players, as well, with Cole Anthony, James Ennis, and Evan Fournier all listed questionable for Sunday's contest.

Point Guard

Luka Doncic ($11,300): Luka is doing Luka things again. The Dallas Mavericks' star point guard has flashed his astronomical upside by scoring more than 59 FanDuel points in three of the last five games, and he faces a Portland Trail Blazers team that currently posts the third-worst defensive rating in the NBA. Doncic has been taking on heavy minutes, as he is averaging 37.75 over his last four contest -- a playoff total, really -- as the Mavs have struggled to find second options behind him. Averaging 1.67 FanDuel points per minute over the past week, everything lines up for huge upside for Doncic tonight.

Tyrese Haliburton ($6,100): The Sacramento Kings' rookie will obviously see a huge boost if De'Aaron Fox sits again, but Haliburton may not even need Fox to sit to be worth using as he has been balling recently. Haliburton's clip of 1.03 FanDuel points per minute is third on the Kings among their current rotation players, behind only Fox and Hassan Whiteside. Haliburton has eclipsed 32 FanDuel points three times in six contests in February -- with Fox playing a majority of those -- largely thanks to absurd 52.9% shooting from deep. Yeah, that is decent.

Other Notable Plays: Kyle Lowry ($7,600), Darius Garland ($5,800), Monte Morris ($4,100; if Murray sits)

Shooting Guard

DeMar DeRozan ($7,600): This salary is interesting for DeRozan given that he has cracked 40 FanDuel points in four of his past five games, and for cash and single-entry tournaments, using him makes the position simpler to digest. DeRozan also will get the benefit of taking on the Hornets on Sunday. They have have allowed the most FanDuel points per game to opposing shooting guards. In the month of February, DeRozan has slipped to second on the team usage rate (23.7%) behind Keldon Johnson as well as second on the team in FanDuel points per minute (1.12) behind Dejounte Murray. But unlike Johnson and Murray, DeRozan appears to be one of the few San Antonio Spurs not subject to a random benching from time to time.

Collin Sexton ($6,300): It is totally viable to pursue value in the second shooting guard slot instead of going with Sexton, but Sexton is at least an interesting option in tournaments given that, at $6,300, he has had the upside to break 36 FanDuel points on eight occasions this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost six in a row and are just not playing well -- perhaps due to playing two centers together in 2021. But Sexton is still second on the team behind Andre Drummond in usage (24.5%) for the month of February, and he is shooting the ball efficiently, so hopefully Cleveland's blowout tendencies subside soon.

Other Notable Plays: Buddy Hield ($6,700), Anthony Edwards ($6,000), Grayson Allen ($4,900)

Small Forward

Kawhi Leonard ($10,200): Kawhi's role without Paul George is so good that, even when missing time in the locker-room during Friday's game, he still broke 50 FanDuel points. That effort marked back-to-back contests of 50-plus FanDuel points, and Leonard's team highs in usage (33.8%) and FanDuel points per minute (1.41) in the past week without George likely indicate that Leonard's monstrous workload is likely to stay. Worth monitoring on Kawhi, however, is that this is a front end of a back-to-back for the Los Angeles Clippers. With how much has been placed on Kawhi's shoulders of late, the Clippers may choose to rest their star against the lowly Cavs.

Kenrich Williams ($5,500): The fasted-paced game of the day is between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks, and chasing that pace will all come down to the competitiveness of the Thunder's backcourt without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Theo Maledon. Oklahoma City has been hovering around the league minimum eight players on the roster for nearly two weeks, so there is a chance that Kenrich Williams -- and others -- would play huge minutes even in a blowout. Williams has come through on his opportunity and has scored more than 34 FanDuel points in each of the last two games. He is one of OKC's better offensive options at the moment.

Other Notable Plays: Khris Middleton ($8,000), Mikal Bridges ($5,500), Josh Richardson ($4,900)

Power Forward

Anthony Davis ($9,800): Power forward does not have its usual strength for it being a nine-game slate, but AD is still the stud to target. Perhaps it is part logical fallacy and part actual upside, but Davis always seems like a great value whenever he's got a salary lower than $10,000 considering he has eclipsed 50 FanDuel points eight times this campaign. Denver has given up the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to power forwards. It is worth noting that Davis is technically questionable with his lingering Achilles injury, but he did play Friday through the same concern.

Blake Griffin ($5,200): One of the big questions in fantasy basketball this season is "what happened to Blake Griffin?" and the answer might be Mason Plumlee. With the frontcourt to himself sans Plumlee, Griffin's minutes have finally stabilized, as he is averaging 33 per game over the past three contests, but his production has not quite followed to this point. Still, at a mark of 0.82 FanDuel points per minute and seeing big minutes, Griffin has appeal at this salary. At a weaker than normal position, he is worth consideration for his talent and upside.

Other Notable Plays: Kristaps Porzingis ($8,000), Darius Bazley ($6,100), Miles Bridges ($5,400)

Center

Jonas Valanciunas ($7,100): The Memphis Grizzlies are potentially going to be missing Brandon Clarke for the fifth straight game due to a calf injury, and that has been good news for the DFS outlook of Valanciunas. JV has always generated a solid FanDuel-points-per-minute number, and he leads Memphis in that category in February (1.29). But he has had his minutes capped at times depending on matchup. Without Clarke as an alternative, Memphis plays Valanciunas more, and that has allowed him to break 34 FanDuel points in four straight games -- including a 68-FanDuel-point outburst in that span. If he once again has the Memphis frontcourt to himself, he is a high-floor option with upside.

Other Notable Plays: Nikola Vucevic ($9,800), Richaun Holmes ($6,400)

Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.