3 NBA DraftKings Studs to Target on 2/10/21

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 salaries.

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-salaried DraftKings plays of the day.

James Harden, PG/SG, Brooklyn Nets

DraftKings Salary: $10,400

As most of you probably know already, Kevin Durant is set to be out until at least Friday as he remains in the league's health and safety protocols. That should lead to more usage and shots for both Kyrie Irving and James Harden, but with Harden's ability to flirt with a triple-double on a nightly basis, he's a threat to be Wednesday's top-scorer.

Since playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Beard's Tuesday night performance won't be included, but his splits without KD are more than worth noting. According to NBA Wowy, he has averaged 1.43 DraftKings points per minute on a 25.8% usage rate, 45.2% assist rate, and 67.9% true shooting percentage. That will have definitely increased even further after Harden went for 62 DraftKings points in his 39.4 minutes last night.

This evening's matchup with Indiana Pacers isn't a soft one, but it doesn't make Harden a fade at his high salary. Though he'll have to deal with Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner down low, FantasyPros' positional data shows Indiana has allowed middle-of-the-road figures -- 47.4 and 43.9 DraftKings points per game -- to point guards and shooting guards, respectively. Fade him at your own risk.

Kawhi Leonard, SF, Los Angeles Clippers

DraftKings Salary: $9,400

The Nets aren't the only team missing a star forward tonight. The Los Angeles Clippers are set to be without Paul George for a third straight game due to foot injury, which sends us directly to Kawhi Leonard as he should shoulder the load offensively.

NBA Wowy's on/off splits tell the whole story, too. While Kawhi has produced 1.30 DK points per minute with George on the floor with him, he has upped that to 1.36 on a 1.5% increase in usage (over a 290-minute sample). In other words, he's an even better option than he typically is, so why not go there, particularly in such a great matchup.

The Clips will be in Minnesota to take on a Timberwolves squad that, according to NBA.com, ranks 23rd in defensive rating and averages a whole four more possessions a game. For that reason, Kawhi might just be the best point-per-dollar play on the board.

Devin Booker, SG, Phoenix Suns

DraftKings Salary: $8,100

To a lesser extent, the Chris Paul injury could have a substantial impact on this slate and how much you prioritize Devin Booker. He too benefited from his co-star's absence in the last game, going for 36 points on 27 shots and chipping in elsewhere for a grand total of 54.75 DraftKings points. Booker used 29.8% of his team's possessions in route to a win over Cleveland.

That's just a snapshot of what Booker can do when he is the only top dog directing the Suns' offense. Not only was that evident from his play last season, but his 31.0% usage rate elevates to 33.1% when Paul's been off the floor this season. Most notably, his assist rate increases nearly 7%, which adds to the ceiling he brings with his high-efficiency scoring.

Booker's going up against Milwaukee, but they will be without the services of Jrue Holiday and could be really susceptible to a high-scoring game, as they're already allowed 111.4 points per game to this point. However, in the event Paul is active, pivot to Russell Westbrook at $300 more but for the same -- if not more -- upside.

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 BRO14THEKID. 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.