NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 2/9/21

Even with value at center, Nikola Vucevic shouldn't get overlooked. Who else stands out in the context of this 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-salaried 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 a heavy salary to roster someone. Even with strong value plays in your lineup, getting a dud from a stud is likely going to leave your lineup lacking.

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

Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Salary: $8,700

I usually take a holistic approach to the studs, and that includes opportunity cost within each position. We have DeMarcus Cousins at center at a salary of just $6,000, but I don't think we should overlook Nikola Vucevic at all. He will be playing this one without Aaron Gordon and others.

Over a 162-minute sample without the Orlando Magic's relevant bodies on the court, Vucevic has a 34.3% usage rate and a per-minute average of 1.40 FanDuel points, according to RotoGrinders' CourtIQ tool. That would rank him third and seventh, respectively, in the NBA.

Though the Portland Trail Blazers do rank 8th against opposing centers when adjusted for opponents faced this season, they are just 29th in estimated defensive rating.

numberFire projects Vucevic for 47.0 FanDuel points, which is 5.40 per $1,000 in salary. That's easily the best rate for any player with a salary above $7,000.

James Harden, SG, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Salary: $11,000

With no Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets' studs get a boost, but there are more viable point guards than there are shooting guards, so I'm looking at James Harden.

We have seen some weird early returns for the Nets when Harden and Kyrie Irving share the floor without Durant: a 29.4% usage rate for Irving and a 19.2% usage rate for Harden. But in the two games Durant has missed altogether, Harden has a 22.3% usage rate overall. So it's a little better.

The Nets have a slate-best implied team total of 118.0 and are 6.5-point favorites on the Detroit Pistons, which isn't guaranteed blowout territory.

numberFire projects Harden to get to 50.2 FanDuel points over 38.3 minutes with 26.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 9.4 assists.

Jerami Grant, SF, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Salary: $7,800

I'm sticking with this game because a Harden-Irving-Pistons stack is very much in play and because Jerami Grant is a reasonably salaried option at a position without many high-end guarantees based on matchups.

Grant draws a very good matchup in that game with a 229.5-point total. In two games sans Durant and with Irving and Harden, Nets have allowed a defensive rating of 122.6.

Grant doesn't get enough credit, but his 25.8% usage rate is on par with Harden's (26.0%) and even Jimmy Butler's (25.8%; and he gets the New York Knicks' slogging pace and defense). Grant also generates a justifiable 1.10 FanDuel points per minute and is projected for a robust 35.1 minutes tonight. Along with that, his value projection is 4.88 FanDuel points per $1,000.

Grant just flashed 50-point upside albeit in double overtime last we saw him -- two days ago. He should be rested up and ready to cash in at this salary in a plus spot.