3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/19/18

John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

DraftKings Salary: $9,700

We have a strange slate this Friday as there is not a single player with a price tag above $10,000. There are several injury situations that could open up some serious value, but with a slate full of appealing mid-range options, there may not be much of a need for stars-and-scrubs lineup construction.

With that said, John Wall is in a sweet spot here against the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has middle-of-the-pack numbers against point guards on the year, but they have no prayer of defending Wall with their current personnel. Ishmael Smith is a capable offensive replacement for Reggie Jackson but is completely overmatched physically in a defensive matchup against Wall. Detroit could also be without their best perimeter defender as Avery Bradley is 50-50 to suit up for this game. If he does sit, that would provide a small boost to both Wall and Bradley Beal.

Wall dropped a dud in his most recent game, but that was largely due to the blowout nature of that game. His efficiency (1.31 DraftKings points per minute) was actually up a bit from his season-long average, and he looked to be on pace for a big game before the it got out of hand. Prior to that, Wall had four straight 50-burgers, during which he averaged 56.5 DraftKings points in 39.8 minutes. The 1.5-point spread in this game is the smallest on the slate, so it should remain competitive. If that holds true, expect Wall to be back near 40 minutes of action, which would provide him an excellent opportunity to exceed value at this price tag.