3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 4/9/18

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

DraftKings Salary: $9,000

It is important to target games that are actually meaningful at this point in the year, because contests between tanking and resting teams can be very unpredictable. You won't find a game much more meaningful than tonight's matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets as Portland is playing for seeding and a loss would likely push Denver out of playoff contention. On a slate with plenty of potential blowouts, the 218-point over/under and 4.0-point spread in this one is quite appealing.

Damian Lillard highlights that list of targets as his price tag requires just 45 DraftKings points of him (5 points per every $1,000 in salary), and he is averaging 52.4 over his past five games. He has put up that type of production in spite of several pace-down matchups during that stretch, and he should have no issue replicating that level of production against a susceptible Nuggets defense. Denver has been a team to attack with point guards for years, and this season has been no different as they rank in the top-10 in most DraftKings points allowed to opposing point guards.

There may be other studs with higher ceilings on this slate, but there are few who offer the safety that Lillard does in this spot. He is a viable play in both cash games and tournament formats.