NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 12/13/18

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James Harden, PG/SG, Houston Rockets

DraftKings Price: $10,900

With just four games on the slate tonight, it's not surprising to see just two players with salaries about $10,000: LeBron James and James Harden. James has been the much more dynamic player over the past week, topping 60 DraftKings points in three out of his past four games. Harden, on the other hand, has failed to top 40 DraftKings points twice in the same span, including an uncharacteristically bad 23.0 DraftKings point effort against the Utah Jazz.

Despite this, recent history tells us that it's Harden -- not James -- who is more likely to get things done tonight.has scored at least 51 DraftKings points in eight of his past nine games against the Los Angeles Lakers, including four games with 60 or more. James, on the other hand, has failed to crack 50 DraftKings points in six straight games against the Houston Rockets.

The teams' respective fantasy defenses suggest this could continue. The Rockets are giving up the seventh-fewest DraftKings points per game to opposing small forwards, while the Lakers are giving up the second-most DraftKings points to opposing shooting guards, according to FantasyPros.

Our models have them projected within 1.3 DraftKings points of each other this evening, so it could very well be that the choice between the two doesn't make a ton of difference in your final scores. However, if you want the safety of a player who has consistently performed well when these two teams have met in the recent past, Harden's your guy.