3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/17/19

Kawhi Leonard, SF, Toronto Raptors

Price: $10,500

Editor's note: Leonard has since been ruled out Thursday for rest purposes.

This may be the second half of a back-to-back for the Toronto Raptors, but that might actually work to the benefit of their players -- at least from a fantasy standpoint.

The Phoenix Suns are having a rough year, ranking only 28th in the NBA in both defensive rating and net rating, and the blowout risk is very real in this spot. But, likely thanks to having played on the road last night, the Raps are "only" 13-point favorites.

With the awful defensive rating, the Suns are allowing opponents the NBA's 6th-most points and 6th-most assists while also giving up the 10th-most rebounds and 2nd-most steals per game.

Kawhi Leonard can fill up all those areas, averaging 27.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game on the year. He's got at least 60 FanDuel points in three of his last five games, averaging 58.2 per game in that stretch, and the Suns aren't likely to slow him down tonight.

If Leonard ends up resting, because of the easy matchup and the back-to-back, then Kyle Lowry ($8,000) becomes a terrific play. Lowry averages 46.2 FanDuel points per game with a 23.7% usage rate when Kawhi sits, compared 32.8 per game and a 17.3% usage when he plays.

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.