3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/1/18

Aaron Gordon, PF, Orlando Magic

Price: $7,900

On a night with only one player above $10,000 and a few injuries to other high-priced stars, we need to extend the search for studs into a slightly cheaper range. Aaron Gordon fits the bill. After missing seven of eight games, Gordon has played the last two for the Orlando Magic. More importantly, he has been thrown right back into the fire, playing at least 30 minutes in each game, including a 39-point effort in 35 minutes against the Miami Heat.

As many predicted, Gordon has busted out and is having a career season. He is averaging career highs across the board, propelling his FanDuel output to 35.4 points per game, an incredible 10.9-point increase from last season. One of the biggest reasons for his success is the addition of a deadly outside shot. He is shooting 41.3% from three-point range in the 2017-18 season, an increase of 11.7 percentage points from his previous career high.

Gordon has become a leader on the Magic, something that is even more evident when Nikola Vucevic is on the sideline. Gordon has always performed better from a fantasy standpoint without Vuc on the court, but the disparity has increased every season. In the last two seasons, Gordon is averaging four more FanDuel points per game without Vucevic on the court than with him.

Tonight, Gordon faces a Brooklyn Nets defense that is giving up 49.14 FanDuel points to opposing power forwards, second most in the league, according to FantasyPros. When the two teams met earlier this season, Gordon lit up the Nets for a season-high 41 points, adding 14 boards in the process. The offense will flow through him again, which is especially enticing as the game has a total of 217. Gordon should be the first player to lock into cash game lineups tonight, and he offers some of the highest upside on the slate.