NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/3/19

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James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

Price: $13,000

$13,000 is not a threshold we see salaries cross often, and it's something we see even less for players not named Anthony Davis. James Harden has earned it though.

In the first five games of Chris Paul's absence, Harden has played at least 37 minutes each night, averaging 39.3 minutes per game. He has 60-plus FanDuel points in four of the five, averaging 63.4 per.

His numbers had already started to pick up before Paul went down, too, with 60-plus FanDuel points in four of the five games before that, averaging 66.4 per game. That gives him 64.9 FanDuel points in 39.0 minutes per game over his last 10 -- with 40.8 points, 8.9 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.

The absence of Eric Gordon gives him even more of a boost, as in minutes with both Paul and Gordon off the floor this year Harden has an absurd 46.3% usage rate and averages 1.68 FanDuel points per minute.

The Golden State Warriors make for a tough matchup, but getting a real shot at 40 minutes with 40% usage is absurd, and it gives Harden both the best floor and ceiling on the slate, and by a big margin.