NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/13/20

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl Jan 13th, 2020
In a fantastic matchup against Cleveland, does Anthony Davis get the slight edge over LeBron James tonight? Who else should you pay up for on Monday's slate?

Basketball is the most consistent sport for daily fantasy purposes.

A top slugger in baseball will have his fair share of 0-for-4 days, and an elite fantasy football player is at risk of having games where his team's offense as a whole is shut down. A high-priced NBA stud is generally going to get his, though. With so many possessions in a game providing opportunities to produce, top fantasy basketball options will be posting high scores just about every night.

While this consistency puts us in a good position to identify top plays, it also means you can't afford to miss when you're paying up for someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, paying up and getting a dud is likely going to leave your lineup drawing pretty close to dead.

Let's get right into it and look at which top players should be the focal points of your lineups tonight.

Anthony Davis, PF, Los Angeles Lakers ($10,900)

As is usually the case when one is in play, both of the Los Angeles Lakers' star forwards are in action today. There's some legitimate blowout risk, as the Lakers are 13.5-point favorites, but both Anthony Davis and LeBron James are efficient enough to make up for that, each averaging 1.51 FanDuel points per minute on the year.

Davis is averaging slightly more minutes per game than the King, though, and the difference in upside is what really sets them apart tonight. Davis has eclipsed 70 FanDuel points four times in 35 games this season (including twice in his last three), while the King has done so only once in 37 games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers own the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA and allow above-average fantasy efficiency to both forward spots. If you're stomaching the blowout risk here, then you're going to want slate-altering upside in exchange. That's Davis' territory.

Hassan Whiteside, C, Portland Trail Blazers ($10,000)

An even dreamier matchup, Hassan Whiteside gets a Charlotte Hornets squad that has allowed the NBA's most fantasy points per minute to opposing centers.

The Hornets check in at 27th in total rebound rate and 27th in defensive rating, allowing the third-most rebounds per 100 possessions, and it's no surprise that board-dominant centers have made the most of this matchup.

Likely returning from illness tonight, Whiteside has topped 50 FanDuel points in three of his last six games, and he checks in at fourth in the NBA with an average of 14.0 rebounds per game.

Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers ($8,500)

Doubling down on this Hornets' matchup, they're also surrendering the third-highest effective field goal percentage, and in addition to their poor defensive rating, they're giving up the most assists per 100 possessions.

Damian Lillard is averaging 26.7 points and a career-best 7.6 assists per game this season, adding in 4.1 boards to average a career-best 44.3 FanDuel points per game.

That average already leaves him a little underpriced at $8.5k, and this matchup pushes Dame over the edge as a top play.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his 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.