3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 12/28/17

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

Price: $12,500

For James Harden fans and those who like to play him in fantasy, Christmas definitely came early this year. Since December 20th, the bearded one has been on an absolute tear. Before putting up 29 points, 14 assists and 67.6 FanDuel points in Monday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden had accounted for back-to-back games of 51 points (on 54.5% shooting) and 68-plus FanDuel points. Sheesh!

Despite a tougher matchup versus the Boston Celtics, there's no reason to expect the Beard to slow down. Not only is Harden scorching hot, but he's been playing big minutes (41.1 over his last three) and putting up better numbers with Chris Paul sidelined. Tonight, we should be banking on more of the same as Paul's listed as out for a third straight game.

According to NBAWowy, Harden's seen his usage jump from 33.1% with Paul to 36.8% without him, all the while tallying 0.25 more FanDuel points per minute (1.56) when CP3 is off the floor. It gets better (or worse if you're a Houston fan). Luc Mbah a Moute and Clint Capela are both out with injuries, and when Paul joins them on the bench, Harden's used a ridiculous 40.5% of his team's possessions.

The size, length and versatility of the Celtics has helped them to the league's number-one defensive rating to this point in the season, but Jaylen Brown's absence gives them one less defender to throw at Harden. Instead, look for Boston coach Brad Stevens to deploy some combination of Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier -- all of whom have their downsides when it comes to defending one of the best, most crafty ball-handlers in the league.

At 6'4" and 6'2", respectively, Smart and Rozier will concede the height advantage. On the other hand, Tatum is a lengthy 6'8", but this is his first time facing Harden. Tatum will have to avoid fouling the league's leader in free throw attempts (326), which is a tall task for anyone, let alone a 19-year-old rookie.