DraftKings Price: $11,400
At first glance, you might be a bit apprehensive about rolling out James Harden against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks' top-ranked defense. After all, you can get The Greek Freak at a $100 discount on his home floor, while The Beard is coming off a down game of 41.75 DraftKings points his last time out. But that might just lead to lower ownership in a spot Harden could smash tonight.
In their only other matchup this year, Harden went for 70.8 DraftKings points as the Houston Rockets fell 116-109 on their home floor. Tonight, the Rockets are four-point underdogs on the road, however, their implied total is at 111.25. This should be a close, high-scoring game.
And before you go thinking that Giannis will shut out Harden, NBA Stats' matchup data tells us that Bucks' superstar guarded him on only two possessions in the two teams' previous meeting. Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon combined to guard him on 61 of 88 possessions, and Brogdon had the most success, holding him to four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Brogdon will remain sidelined with a foot injury though, so Harden should face less resistance.
Our projections expect Harden to finish as the night's top scorer with 58.1 DraftKings points though his upside is closer to the 80-point mark.