NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 10/30/19

Kevin Love should eat against the Bulls' lackluster rebounding. Which other high-dollar players can you lock in this evening?

While building a daily fantasy basketball lineup, it's important to make sure you find the right studs to anchor your team. As the most expensive players in your lineup, they need big-time production to match their high price tag.

You may find it hard to fit some of these guys in while staying under the salary cap, but you can check out our projections to find value players for your rosters. Let's take a look at the top high-priced DraftKings plays of the day.

Russell Westbrook, PG, Houston Rockets

Draftkings Price: $9,600

For the Houston Rockets' star-studded duo, it's not about if James Harden or Russell Westbrook will go off. It's about which one (or both) will be the top dog that night. And as is the case with many DFS decisions, you might just want to favor the cheaper of the two, and on Wednesday that's still Brodie.

After being priced up above $10,000 and upwards of $12,000 on the regular last year, Westbrook's price has yet to exceed $9,400 through three games. Tonight, it's up by only $200 despite three straight games of at least 50 DraftKings points. In the first two, he went off for one double-double and one triple-double with 62.0 and 65.0 DK points, respectively.

Per NBA.com, the former MVP has a 27% usage rate that's noticeably lower than last year's 30.1% mark, but he has maintained a 46.0% assist rate with 9.7 assists per game. And as for his rebounding numbers, Westbrook's 12.7 would be a career-high by quite a bit.

The matchup against the Washington Wizards is just about as good as it gets. While there is a tiny bit of blowout potential (in the form of an eight-point spread), Washington just allowed 124 points to the San Antonio Spurs, and they rank 21st against the point guard spot. Building around Westbrook would be a wise decision at this price as we project him for 53.7 DK points.

Kevin Love, PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers

DraftKings Price: $8,200

He's not quite Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love, but this year's version is the one we became accustomed to filling up the stat sheet in season-long and DFS circles. Now healthy, the Cleveland Cavaliers' best player is averaging 45.1 DK points with an identical 15.7 points and rebounds on a per-game basis. He's also first on the team at 4.7 assists while using only 19.3% of the team's offensive possessions.

High usage or not, Love has been as solid as they come through three games. Before posting a double-double and 39 DK points against the lengthy Milwaukee Bucks, he had 40.5 and 55.75 DK points with back-to-back games with 10-plus points and 10 or more boards. His ceiling is in the 50s, and on anything close to a normal night, he won't fall below 35 given the Cavs' demand for his experience on the floor alongside the young backcourt.

What's really intriguing about this one is Love's favorable matchup at home against the Chicago Bulls. Not only has Love averaged more rebounds at home over the last two years, but Chicago is dead last in rebounding rate (45.8%), and their 102.88 pace is actually faster than the Cavs' current mark of 102.17.

Love should take advantage even if this game does have one of the lower over/unders out there (215). After all, the one-point spread should boost his minutes past our projected 31.5, which currently have him pegged for 35.4 DK points. But that 1.5-point double-double bonus looms.

Devin Booker, PG/SG, Phoenix Suns

DraftKings Price: $7,900

After tallying precisely zero assists and 27.25 DK points his last time out, Devin Booker has watched his price fall from $8,700 and $8,500 in the previous two games. This is a great buy-low window on the Phoenix Suns' shooting guard.

Last game, the Suns faced the Utah Jazz, who -- per usual -- are first in defensive rating and among the four slowest teams in the NBA. But tonight, the Golden State Warriors present a pace-up game on the road with Stephen Curry and crew averaging 107 possessions per game (sixth) through a trio of games. Their league-worst (yes, you read that correctly) 120 defensive rating has them allowing 119.1 points per game.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook, this game has a high 228.5 over/under, which provides even the underdog Suns with a 111.75 implied total. It's a game environment in which Booker should eat in a big way.

Matched up against the likes of D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Poole, he should have no problem reaching his projected production of 41.0 DK points -- 5.2 times value.



Brett Oswalt i
s not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.