3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 12/13/19

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.

LeBron James, PG/SF, Los Angeles Lakers

DraftKings Price: $10,000

In a very quiet, un-King-like way, LeBron James is having an MVP caliber season in his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers. At age 34, he's averaging 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and a career-high 10.8 assists a game. He's knocking down 2.1 threes a game as well, which is also a personal-best.

All in all, James is putting up 55.5 DraftKings points per game -- 3.4 above teammate Anthony Davis, who is $100 more on this slate. Just last game he went off for 59.75 DK points on the back of a triple-double and in spite of an 11-for-24 shooting night.

Tonight's opponent, the Miami Heat, are no easy customer. Jimmy Butler and company have their defense ranked 10th in NBA.com's defensive rating, and they play at a below-average pace. But returning to one of his many former homes in Miami, with AD at his side, this is a spot where James could take your tournament lineup to the next level. We project him for 51.0 DK points at a return of 5.1 for every $1,000.

Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers

DraftKings Price: $9,600

At a slight discount to a guy like James, Joel Embiid is a great cornerstone at the center position. He has his season average up to 46.5 DK points a game, and just recently he agreed with some criticism directed at his play this year. Embiid acknowledged that he needs to have more fun but even more importantly go back to dominating on the floor. If you're the kind of person who needs a narrative, there's one for you.

Outside of that narrative, there's more reason to feel good about Embiid, and that's his game environment. At home against the New Orleans Pelicans, his Philadelphia 76ers are eight-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. There is no over/under at the time of this writing, but with the Pels operating at the league's fourth-fastest pace and all the offensive firepower on the court, you can assume it will be high.

Even with their 27th-ranked defense and tendency to offer more possessions, surprisingly the Pels aren't all that bad against centers. They are in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points against, according to Fantasy Pros, but JoJo is just a different animal at Wells Fargo. There, he's shooting 6.6% higher from the floor with merely 0.1 more DK points per game but 0.16 more points per minute over 29.0 minutes of work.

Embiid is focused and ready to go off in this one. We agree, projecting him for 49.5 DK points in 31.6 minutes of work.

Note: Embiid is on the second night of a back-to-back.

Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, Utah Jazz

DraftKings Price: $8,100

Two days ago, we went to Donovan Mitchell at what was a bargain-bin price ($7,400) for him at the time. All he proceeded to do was drop 30 points and 47.25 DK points en route to more than 6.3-times value. And despite the price hike, he's a stud play Friday when the Utah Jazz welcome in the Golden State Warriors.

For the year, Mitchell is averaging 24.9 points, along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.2 steals. He's filling out the box score to the result of 39.3 DK points a night in 34.4 minutes. In fact, he hasn't played fewer than 30 minutes going back to October 26. Nor has he failed to take 15-plus shots more than once this season. His floor is high, and it's accompanied by a 50-point ceiling in such a smash spot.

These aren't your father (more like older brother's) Warriors. The young, re-building Dubs are without Draymond Green among others, and their defense sits 25th in defensive rating, allowing 113.0 points per 100 possessions and 114.2 points per game. That's helped shooting guards to average 49.3 DK points per game, or the second-most in the Association.

Tonight, Mitchell is projected for 39.5 DK points in 34.7 minutes of work.

Brett Oswalt is 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.