3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 12/14/17

Kristaps Porzingis, PF/C, New York Knicks

DraftKings Salary: $9,600

While James might be the league's best scorer at the rim, Kristaps Porzingis is the mid-range king. No player has scored more points from 10-19 feet than Porzingis, who utilizes his length and an effective turnaround fade to get his shot off with regularity at that range. That lines up quite well for tonight's matchup, because in addition to being a horrendous defense as a whole, the Brooklyn Nets have allowed more points from that 10-19 foot range than any other team.

Brooklyn also ranks dead last in DraftKings points allowed per game to opposing power forwards, thanks in large part to their small-ball style of play. They allowed Porzingis to pile up 49.75 DraftKings points in just 29 minutes the last time they faced the New York Knicks, and they simply do not have an answer for him on their roster. Their undersized group of power forwards don't have the length to challenge his shot, while the likes of Jarrett Allen or Tyler Zeller don't have the quickness to track him on the perimeter. If not for a blowout in their last meeting, Porzingis very well might have hung 60 DraftKings points on Brooklyn, and that was a game that Tim Hardaway Jr. was healthy for.

Porzingis has seen his usage rate bumped all the way to 37.8% without Hardaway this year, and he is coming off of back to back 50-plus DraftKings point performances. He should benefit from and advantageous matchup and game script, as this is arguably the best game to target on the slate. Don't let the price spike keep you off of him -- the Unicorn is a terrific play in any format today.