3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/9/18

Aaron Gordon, PF, Orlando Magic

Price: $8,300

We sometimes have to stretch the definition of "stud" on a slate this short, but as the third-most expensive active player on Tuesday, Aaron Gordon fits the bill.

Gordon is having the best year of his young NBA career, as he's on track to post career highs in points (19.2), rebounds (8.1), and assists (2.0) per game. He's benefiting from a bump in playing time, but his 23.2% usage rate would also be a career high, while his 13.1% rebound rate is on pace to be his second-highest mark.

He gets a bit of a boost from the absence of Nikola Vucevic (hand), too -- his usage rate jumps from 21.0% with Vuc on the floor to 27.4% when he's off. Gordon has also seen a jump of 5.5 points and 0.4 rebounds per game in five contests with Vucevic on the shelf.

On a slate that doesn't have many good matchups, the Dallas Mavericks' weakness in the frontcourt is one of the more promising units to attack. The Mavs rank bottom-10 in defensive rating and last in rebound rate, while allowing above-average fantasy production to both power forwards and centers.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.