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

Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

DraftKings Salary: $11,800

Russell Westbrook comes into this as easily the most expensive player on the slate. He needs 59 DraftKings points at this price to reach value, which he has only reached in three of his past 10 games. However, the most recent of those games came against the Phoenix Suns team that he faces tonight. He dropped 76.5 DraftKings points in that game, which brings his average to 68.8 on the year when facing Phoenix.

A head-to-head matchup with Elfrid Payton makes this an even more appealing spot for Westbrook, as he has absolutely dominated Payton in past meetings. He averaged an absurd 91.6 DraftKings points in two games against him last season, which brings his average to 80.4 in six games over the past three seasons.

Payton is a bad individual defender, but part of the reason Westbrook has found so much success against him is the uptempo matchups against the Orlando Magic in the past. Westbrook leads the NBA in transition buckets, so it should be no surprise that he has thrived against a high-paced Magic squad. With Payton now playing for Phoenix, the pace is turned up even further, as only two teams in the league have played at a quicker pace than the Suns.

There's definitely some blowout risk to consider with the Oklahoma City Thunder favored by 10 points, but three of the five games tonight have decent blowout risk. All things conisdered, Westbrook is a very appealing play if you can find the extra salary to pay up for him.