3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 10/27/22
Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.
A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense as a whole is shut down.
A high-salaried NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.
While this consistency puts us in a good position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying up for someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, paying up and getting a dud is likely going to leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.
Which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today?
Luka Doncic, G, Mavericks ($12,000)
It feels impossible to fade Luka Doncic at present.
With Jalen Brunson tearing it up in New York, it's easy to see how deficient this roster is of offensive talent besides Luka. There's a reason Doncic has a seemingly fictional 40.6% usage rate, which leads the NBA amongst qualifiers.
He's scored at least 35 points in both full workloads he's seen this year, and in a blowout against Memphis, it was just 32. That's a monstrous floor of points from a guy who also is averaging 9.44 rebounds per 36 minutes, and he's also added seven blocks plus steals in the past two games.
Doncic's Mavericks are squaring off with the unrested Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, and the Nets aren't likely to be the ones to contain him. Brooklyn's 119.5 defensive rating is second-worst in the NBA at present.
In anything resembling a competitive game with this offensive role, Doncic should be coasting beyond 50 FanDuel points. That's an enormous floor to just work into your lineup and go from there.
Kevin Durant, SF/PF, Nets ($9,700)
Kevin Durant's night in Milwaukee wasn't bad. It just felt terrible to watch.
Durant shot just 10-for-23 from the field, so he wasn't really making good on his gaudy 37.5% usage rate. Compared to Giannis Antetokounmpo mowing through people on the other side, I can personally attest it was a deflating experience. He's still a great play opposite Doncic today.
There's room for growth here. Durant's six boards were a season-high, but he's still behind his rebounding pace last season (7.07 rebounds per 36 minutes). Plus, Durant was taking FanDuel points out of his ledger with a season-high five turnovers.
The Mavs are a tough matchup, posting the league's slowest pace and 12th-best defensive rating. Rostering Durant on this four-game slate is a play that this game with Luka stays tight and delivers on its modest 225.5-point total -- which is more than possible.
Paul George, SG/SF, Clippers ($9,000)
Paul George must be feeling better.
He's been upgraded to questionable tonight for the Clippers' game in Oklahoma City. Given they were blown out by the Thunder on Tuesday without him, that's got to be good news.
I also have good news for his fantasy prospects -- both Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris will sit tonight, per the injury report. Without those two on the floor this season, George has an absurd 59.4% usage rate and has posted 1.43 FanDuel points per minute.
That's only a 22-minute sample, though, so George won't keep that hefty of a role. Still, he's going to be a centerpiece of the L.A. offense given Norman Powell will likely return to the bench with PG13's return.
The young (and tanking?) Thunder are allowing the sixth-most FanDuel points to opposing small forwards. This is a great matchup, and George is in a great spot should he return tonight.
