3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 12/11/18

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

Price: $11,500

The top-priced player on Tuesday's tiny three-game slate, James Harden is well worth paying up for, and he sits as our top-projected fantasy option for the day.

Harden ranks fifth in the NBA with 51.4 FanDuel points per game this season, which is 5.2 per game more than anybody else on the slate is averaging.

This is a statistical "down" year by his lofty standards, but he's still averaging a league-leading 30.0 points to go with 8.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds and a combined 2.7 blocks and steals per game. His 36.1 minutes per game are also up from last year's clip of 35.4, and his 36.9% usage rate is both a league-leading and career-high mark.

He's had only one true fantasy dud this season, with 18.2 FanDuel points two games ago, but his other 21 games have all seen him finish with at least 40 FanDuel points. He's also showing his usual elite upside, with three games of more than 70 across his last 10 outings, which includes the second-highest single-game fantasy score (81.1 FanDuel points) from any player this season.

The Portland Trail Blazers rank a middling 19th in defensive rating, and this matchup has a reasonable 219.5-point over/under. Portland allows the slate's most (and league's seventh-most) fantasy points per minute to opposing shooting guards, and Harden continues to offer an appealing mix of safety and upside.