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

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

DraftKings Salary: $9,400

Damian Lillard's matchup and game script is almost as good as James', as he gets a home matchup against a Jimmy Butler-less Minnesota Timberwolves squad. The Portland Trail Blazers' implied team total of 111.75 points is 6.5 points above their season scoring average and just one point behind Cleveland's for highest on the slate.

While Butler likely wouldn't have spent a ton of time defending Lillard individually, his absence still has a large impact on Minnesota's defense as a whole. According to NBAwowy.com, Minnesota has allowed 1.089 points per possession with Butler on the court, as opposed to 1.217 with him off. While that may not seem like a huge change, at Minnesota's pace of 98 possessions per game, they'd allow 106.7 points per game while allowing 1.089 points per possession, as opposed to 119.3 points per game at 1.217 points allowed per possession. If looking for a more direct beneficiary of Butler's absence, look no further than C.J. McCollum ($6,900), who comes at a significant discount from Lillard and has a much better matchup with Butler off the court.

Lillard has been in excellent form recently, averaging 54.6 DraftKings points in six games over the past three weeks. He has three games of 60-plus DraftKings points during that span, so his upside is through the roof in a projected shootout against the Wolves.