NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 1/22/18

Jacob Gibbs  —  @jagibbs_23 Jan 22nd, 2018
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow

Khris Middleton, SG/SF, Milwaukee Bucks

DraftKings Salary: $8,700

Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, people are going to flock to Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe ($8,200), especially in this up-tempo matchup with the Phoenix Suns. Middleton may be the more popular option, coming off a triple-double, but that is no reason to fade him. He's clearly the biggest beneficiary of a sidelined Antetokounmpo, as he's seen his usage jump from 26% to 35% without the Greek Freak. His DraftKings points per minute have seen a sharp increase, too, jumping from 0.95 to 1.15.

At that level of efficiency, it would take Middleton nearly 38 minutes to reach the 43.5 DraftKings points he needs to hit five-times his salary-implied value. That isn't even taking into account what a juicy matchup this is, though, as Middleton faces a Suns squad that combines a breakneck pace of play with one of the NBA's worst defenses to allow a league-worst 112 points per game. He found himself in an almost identical spot two months ago, which was a game in which Middleton dropped 63.75 DraftKings points in an overtime win. He scored 40 real points in that game, as the Suns simply had no answer for him defensively.

While Middleton doesn't have the revenge narrative that Bledsoe does, he stands out as the preferable cash-game play of the two. Both are in play in tournaments, and we saw just how high Middleton's ceiling is without Giannis his last time out. Give him a long look in any format when beginning roster construction.


Jacob Gibbs is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jacob Gibbs also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jagibbs23. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Prev