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

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Price: $9,700

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been shaky on the defensive end all season. They rank only 24th with a 108.3 defensive rating, and that weakness gets a lot worse with Jimmy Butler out.

The team's defensive rating gets a slight bump with Butler on the floor (to 108.1), but in the 1,019 minutes he has been off the court this season, they boast an egregious 116.9 mark. For context, the Sacramento Kings' 110.3 is the league's worst mark over the whole season. The Wolves already give up big fantasy numbers to guards, and without Butler, this becomes a dreamy matchup.

Damian Lillard doesn't tend to be as efficient or consistent as most fantasy studs, but his consistency does get a boost from the playing time he has been getting lately -- he's been on the court for at least 38 minutes in three of his last five contests, averaging 48.9 FanDuel points in 37.5 minutes per game.

That already represents about 5.0 fantasy points per $1,000 of salary on today's price tag. Bringing that solid performance into this terrific matchup is a combination that makes him appealing in all formats.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.