3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/10/20

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 today.

Bam Adebayo, PF, Miami Heat ($7,900)

What is easy to notice on Monday's slate when hunting studs is that we do not have many. The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers have absolutely nothing to play for, and could decide to pull their studs at any time, which makes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James untouchable except in tournaments. To make matters worse, the Dallas Mavericks have already ruled out Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic.

Of the studs we know are going to play, Bam Adebayo is the most expensive that severely piques my interest. Jimmy Butler is returning for the Miami Heat, which intuitively means Adebayo may have his usage rate hurt, but that is not the case. Adebayo has a 21.8% usage rate in general, and that only jumps to 22.2% without Butler. It should also keep Kelly Olynyk off the floor more, which raises his rebounds per 36 minutes rate from 10.55 with Olynyk, to 10.95 without his fellow seven-footer. Adebayo will be looking for his second double-double inside the bubble against the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Deandre Ayton, C, Phoenix Suns ($7,700)

The Phoenix Suns are trying their absolute hardest to crash the party for the eight-seed in the Western Conference, and as a result, all of their starters get a full green light in fantasy. The former number-one overall pick will be licking his lips against a wounded Oklahoma City Thunder squad that could once again be without both of their centers Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel.

Ayton will be popular due to the Thunder's injuries, but perhaps a full-effort Nikola Jokic should also absorb some of that ownership. Ayton's matchup is just far superior to Jokic's, as Jokic faces the Lakers and Anthony Davis, who have allowed the second-fewest FanDuel points to opposing centers, whereas Ayton will be posting up Mike Muscala.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder ($7,100)

The Thunder see a significant pace increase against Phoenix, as well are missing significant contributors Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder, so there is value to be had amongst Oklahoma City's rotation. I am prioritizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Chris Paul in the backcourt, and not just because the former is $400 cheaper. Oklahoma City is being somewhat boxed in on seeding, as the Utah Jazz have been resting players to try and play Denver, so their only remaining incentive would be to pass the Houston Rockets for the four-seed, which would be irrelevant for non-existent homecourt in Orlando.

The veteran Paul would be a high-probability rest candidate should the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to "shadow rest" people, as it should be dubbed. For instance, a healthy Danilo Gallinari sat the entire second half on Friday. The second-year player Gilgeous-Alexander is less likely to be victim of surprise rest than his backcourt mate.

Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. 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.