3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 12/27/17

LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Price: $11,500

Given the continued absence of Stephen Curry, a lot of people are going to flock to Kevin Durant as the elite small forward play tonight. But, if you ask our models, LeBron James is the better play, period. Factor in the $200 discount and it's James all day, in both cash and tournaments.

For tournaments, it's likely that James goes under-owned. He put up a stinker with just 29.2 FanDuel points against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, and he's the ho-hum option among all the high-priced hoopers on Wednesday. But the narrative and the matchup tell us that he's poised to go off.

We all know that James is a self-motivator at the highest level. He finds reasons to get up for games and, after Monday's loss to the Warriors, expect him to be ready to get back to he and the Cleveland Cavaliers' winning ways versus the Sacramento Kings. Averaging 37.4 minutes a game, James has turned around and played 38.2 minutes following losses with two 40-plus minute games of that variety this season.

It wasn't following a loss, but last time the Cavs faced off against the Kings, James was forced to log over 41 minutes in a six-point home win. In that one, he went for 32 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists on his way to 66.7 FanDuel points. Tonight, on the road, things could be surprisingly close (9.5-point spread), and if it's a repeat of the two teams' previous matchup James could return five-times value and more.