3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/8/18

Kevin Durant, SF, Golden State Warriors

Price: $9,800

Like Howard, Kevin Durant's numbers have been a bit underwhelming lately. He's still seeing his usual workload, though, with better than 34 minutes in each of his last three games. That averages out to 34.1 per game with a 29.4% usage rate in six contests since the All-Star break. His dip in production has come from a lull in efficiency, averaging 1.19 FanDuel points per minute in that stretch, compared to 1.36 on the year.

A drop in efficiency over such a small sample is rarely of much concern long-term. It has served to keep his salary nice and low, leaving him priced well below his ceiling in the event of a return to form. Despite his usage rate since the All-Star break being consistent with his 29.3% season average, his assist rate has dropped from 24.5% to 18.6%. He is also averaging only 1.7 combined blocks and steals per game over his last six, compared to 2.7 on the season.

A matchup with the San Antonio Spurs certainly adds some risk to playing Durant, though the Spurs' small-ball lineups have actually been fairly mediocre as far as defensive efficiency goes. Pau Gasol has been ruled out for tonight, and with Pau off the floor this year, they have only managed a 106.8 defensive rating. That would rank only 19th in the NBA on the season, making this a better matchup than it seems on the surface.

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.