NBA

3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 3/9/20

On a limited three-game slate, Trae Young is a go-to for those paying up at point guard. Which other stars are worth a look?

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.

Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks

DraftKings Price: $10,300

Monday's odd three-game slate is scarce on must-have plays, but Trae Young is one of the few. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo in play due to injury, the Atlanta Hawks' young point guard is tops on the board in both price and DraftKings points per game (51.1). He is 3.4 clear of the next player and has put together 34 games (of 58) with no fewer than 50 DK points.

Young's floor and ceiling are unmatched, particularly in this home game against the Charlotte Hornets. In his one game against them, the first-time All-Star scored 30 en route to 52.0 DK points in 35 minutes. But beyond that, Young has been great in Atlanta all year. He's shooting roughly the same percentage from the floor -- however, he's shooting 2.9% better from three with 3.5 more points on a 34.8% usage rate at home.

In a game with a 225 over/under at FanDuel Sportsbook, we project Young for a slate-high 48.7 DK points on the night.

Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets

DraftKings Price: $9,500

Elsewhere, the Toronto Raptors square off with the Utah Jazz, while the Denver Nuggets host the Freak-less Milwaukee Bucks at altitude. By play style and total, Denver/Milwaukee takes precedent. And at the top of your list of players to target is one Nikola Jokic.

We know the Bucks are the NBA's best defense per 100 possessions, but according to NBA.com's on/off stats, they fall from a 96.5 rating with Giannis to 104.1 without. Naturally, Denver is favored by two in search of a bounce-back win following Saturday's loss in Cleveland.

Returning home, the Joker sports some of the more noticeable road/home splits, averaging a double-double with 53.9% shooting and 1.5 steals a game in Denver. All in all, that has helped him to 4.1 more fantasy points per game, including 49.6 (on 64.6% shooting) in his last five at Pepsi Center. We see him keeping it rolling to the tune of 50.0 DK points.

Khris Middleton, SF, Milwaukee Bucks

DraftKings Price: $7,600

In that same game, the road underdogs are barely that, even in the absence of Giannis. That keeps them right in the mix for DFS purposes, as Khris Middleton figures to take over as lead dog on the offensive end. At least that's been the case so far this season.

Per NBA Wowy, in the 600-plus minutes Middleton has played sans Giannis, he's taken a 32.8% usage rate and converted it into 1.47 DK points per minute. That's a near-elite mark and 0.34 greater than his season average beside the reigning MVP. So his price doesn't quite capture the level of production we can expect.

That is supported by what would look to be a bad matchup but is actually a favorable one of late. Following a first half that saw the Nuggets rank 10th in defensive efficiency, they have since dropped to 13th overall thanks to the NBA's fourth-worst rating (117.0) in eight games since the break. Six of their eight opponents have scored at least 112 points, making Middleton a candidate for the highest-owned option of the night.



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__14. 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.