Since NBA DFS is easier to predict than baseball or football, it would likely get plenty of votes as the best sport to play on FanDuel. Basketball players usually stick to the same minutes and produce at roughly the same rate. Sounds easy, right? Trust me -- it's not!

As a result, NBA daily fantasy is highly reliant on a player's opportunity, so you'll need to ensure that you're up to date with key injuries. Our projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- update throughout the day to reflect current news. You can also turn to numberFire for player news updates as well as a matchup heat map and lineup optimizer to help give you an edge.

On top of all that, here at FanDuel Research, we'll come at you each day with this NBA DFS primer, which breaks down some of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's dive into today's main slate on FanDuel.

Betting lines via the NBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Projections and betting odds may change after this article is published.

NBA DFS Picks

Friday's main slate on FanDuel features 10 games. For a full breakdown, see numberFire's matchup heat map.

Top matchups:

• Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers (-5.5) | 235.0 total
• Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks (-15.5) | 229.0 total
• Golden State Warriors at Dallas Mavericks (-5.0) | 226.5 total
• Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics (-9.0) | 226.0 total
• Portland Trail Blazers at Washington Wizards (-2.5) | 224.5 total

Other games:

• San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans (-12.0) | 219.0 total
• Miami Heat (-3.0) at Houston Rockets | 215.5 total
• New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls (-1.5) | 212.5 total
• Detroit Pistons at Memphis Grizzlies (-1.0) | 212.5 total
• Orlando Magic (-12.0) at Charlotte Hornets | 205.5 total

Guards

Top Plays

Luka Doncic ($12,600) -- There's plenty of value on a 10-game slate this late into the season, so we can certainly look at Luka Doncic despite the monster salary. Luka continues to be one of the most reliable DFS options on a nightly basis. In 20 games since the All-Star break, Doncic has exceeded 50 FanDuel points (FPs) 19 times and averaged 62.0 FPPG. He cruised to 55.9 FPs despite failing to record a steal or block when Dallas and Golden State squared off earlier this week, so another 60-FP outing could easily be in the cards tonight.

Dalano Banton ($7,000) -- Dalano Banton has been the epitome of boom-or-bust the last six games. Despite exceeding 30 minutes in all six, he was held under 25 FPs in three but topped 50 FPs in the other three. I'm less inclined to risk rostering him at a $7K salary, but a matchup with Washington is too good to ignore. The Wizards have surrendered the fourth-most FPPG to PGs and the second-most to SGs on the year, per FantasyPros. They're down to 26th in defensive rating but still lead the league in pace since the All-Star break. There's big-time upside here.

Malachi Flynn ($5,400) -- Cade Cunningham is out again tonight. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in Malachi Flynn. We can't expect another 50-point outing from the fourth-year guard, but he can still provide a nice boost at this salary. In four games without Cade this month, Flynn has notched 20.9, 30.8, 30.3, and 69.7 FPs. Marcus Sasser ($5,100) is another option here, too. According to RotoGrinders CourtIQ, Sasser's averaged 32 minutes and 22.8 FPPG in the last four games sans Cade. He's numberFire's top value among guards, projected for 32.0 FPs (6.27 FPs per $1,000).

Others to Consider

Tyrese Haliburton ($9,800) -- Tyrese Haliburton is trending up (51.8 FPP last three games) and playing in a game with the slate's highest over/under. Lower salary than Luka but still has 60-FP upside.

Jordan Goodwin ($5,700) -- Jordan Goodwin has averaged 28.4 FPPG and exceeded 30 FPs six times in 10 games since the All-Star break. He has a plus matchup against a Detroit defense allowing the sixth-most FPPG to PGs on the year.

Wings

Top Plays

Jayson Tatum ($10,600) -- The only SF with a salary north of $9K, Jayson Tatum has averaged 50.4 FPPG and a 30.9% usage rate in 10 games without Jaylen Brown. With Brown out tonight, there's a lot to like with Tatum against Sacramento. The Kings have defended wings pretty well this season, but they've dipped outside the top 10 in defensive rating over the last 15 games. Tatum's usage is hard to ignore when his points prop is set at 30.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Deni Avdija ($7,700) -- With Kyle Kuzma out for the Wizards, expect Deni Avdija to take on a larger role against the injury-riddled Blazers. Deni's averaged 44.1 FPPG and commanded a 26.6% usage rate in four full games without Kuz and is up against a Portland team that's slipped to 25th in defensive rating and surrendered the third-most FPPG to SFs over the last 15 games. He's a rock-solid mid-range play with equal parts high floor and ceiling.

Maozinha Pereira ($3,700) -- Memphis could be without 12 players, and Maozinha Pereira cooked up 31.1 FPs in 28 minutes last week. His 29.3-FP numberFire projection makes him the top point per dollar value on the slate (7.91 FPs per $1,000). Gregory Jackson ($5,900) and Jake LaRavia ($5,100) make sense for the Grizzlies, too; they're the second and third-best values at SF, per our projections.

Others to Consider

DeMar DeRozan ($8,600) -- DeMar DeRozan has exceeded 40 FPs in seven of his last eight games. Tough matchup versus New York, but he did go for 28 actual and 43.6 FanDuel points the last time they met.

Trey Murphy ($6,700) -- Soft matchup with the Spurs makes Trey Murphy III a strong mid-range play. He's averaged 32.7 FPPG since Brandon Ingram went down.

Bigs

Top Plays

Victor Wembanyama ($11,900) -- Victor Wembanyama came so, so close to a quadruple double his last time out. 23 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 9 blocks still adds up to 81.0 FPs, so we DFS players can't complain. He did that against Denver and previously went for 79.5 FPs against New York, so matchups don't seem to matter for Wemby too much. He's a stellar play versus New Orleans -- against whom his points + rebounds + assists prop is way up at 42.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Deandre Ayton ($7,900) -- I expected a bit more from Deandre Ayton in a smash spot against Charlotte on Wednesday, but 44.2 FPs for a sub-$8K big is nothing to scoff at. Perhaps tonight is when the true ceiling game happens. Against the Wizards (28th in DRtg and the easiest fantasy matchup for Cs), Ayton is projected for 47.4 FPs, making him the third-best point per dollar value among centers (6.01 FPs per $1,000).

Jabari Walker ($5,700) -- A 4-for-17 shooting night didn't stop Jabari Walker from posting 46.4 FPs across 42 minutes on Wednesday night. That's what happens when you snag 22 rebounds. That was his second straight game cracking 40 minutes of action -- playing time that should come in handy against Washington tonight. I've talked at nauseam about the Wizards' defensive struggles, but it's worth adding that they're 28th in rebound rate since the break. Walker's rebounding prop is set at 10.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Others to Consider

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($12,200) -- Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable but worth a look if he suits up. He has averaged 66.6 FPPG over his last five and could feast against a Raptors side that's 29th in defensive rating the last 15 games. My only concern is that he hits the bench early in a blowout.

Trey Jemison ($3,900) -- Jaren Jackson Jr. is out. In his last two absences, Trey Jemison went for 34.2 and 28.7 FPs. This is a nice matchup versus a Detroit defense allowing the sixth-most FPPG to Cs over the last 15 games.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.