3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/16/18

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

DraftKings Salary: $9,300

We have a bit of a bizarre four-game slate on our hands this Tuesday, as there aren't a ton of obvious values that will allow us to pay up for some of the more appealing studs. As such, there may be more balanced lineups as people attack the mid-price range heavily. If choosing to pay up, you will be hard-pressed to find a stud in a better spot than Damian Lillard against the Phoenix Suns.

No team has a higher implied team total than Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers, but with that comes considerable blowout risk. Portland is favored by 10 points at home against a lackluster Suns squad, and we've already seen Portland beat this team by 48 points previously this season. While that blowout risk is concerning, Lillard was still able to put up 50.75 DraftKings points in 29 minutes in said 48-point win, so the upside is there for him to exceed value (5 points per every $1,000 in salary), even in a blowout.

If the game remains competitive, Lillard has a very real chance of being the highest-scoring player on the slate. Phoenix combines the league's third-quickest pace of play with 28th-ranked defensive efficiency to create one of the league's most fantasy-friendly environments for opposing point guards. Lillard has topped 49 DraftKings points in both meetings with the Suns this season, and a repeat performance would not be surprising here.

It is also worth noting that if you roster Lillard with the hopes of this game remaining competitive, it makes a lot of sense from a game theory perspective to bring it back with some Devin Booker ($8,000) exposure. If this game is going to stay close, it is almost entirely dependent on Booker putting up a big outing. As a standalone play, Booker isn't one of the top studs on the slate, but he is a very intriguing tournament pairing with Lillard.