3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 2/13/19

Jusuf Nurkic, C, Portland Trail Blazers

DraftKings Price: $7,400

Well, we might as well stay focused on this game, as the fantasy potential is incredible tonight. You could honestly take your pick of studs in this game. Want Curry? Go for it. Lillard? You won't get any argument here. One player who offers the upside and a high potential return on value tonight, however, is Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic.

While Nurk may not offer the upside of one of guys like KD, Curry, or Dame, he's not that far behind. The Bosnian big man is putting up amazingly similar numbers to his first year in Portland, averaging 15.1 points, 10.2 boards, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game. You want to talk about consistency? His shooting percentages over the past four years are 50.7%, 50.8%, 50.5%, and 50.4%. If he can put up 50.6% next year, the NBA will reward him with their coveted straight shooter award. (Please seek help, my digressions--and certainly my bad puns--may be chronic conditions.)

All of that output amounts to 37.5 DraftKings points per game, which, at his currently $7,400 salary, is an implied value of just under 5.1 points per $1,000. That's OK, but nothing special. What is special, however, are his recent performances against the Warriors. He's scored 36.3 or more DraftKings points in four of his five games against them in red and black, including 47.0 and 47.5 points in his past two. Our models don't have him quite reaching those totals tonight, but his projected 39.9 points are pretty solid, nonetheless. While others pay up for Embiid, Towns, and Jokic this evening, look Nurk's way for a cheaper center stud option with a potentially better return per dollar.