3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 5/3/21

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.

All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.

Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Salary: $9,700

Inconsistency has plagued Stephen Curry over his most recent stretch of games, as he has totaled fewer than 44 FanDuel points in four of his last six. That said, he should go off tonight.

Curry and the Golden State Warriors will be traveling to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans in what is bound to be an explosive matchup. According to numberFire's Matchup Heatmap, the over/under for this game is 237.5, which is second-highest on the slate. The spread is a tight two points, and that certainly doesn't hurt anyone's outlook.

Per numberFire's DvP tool, the Pels have ceded the fourth-most fantasy points to point guards per 48 minutes this season -- that includes the fourth-most real-life points, three-pointers made, and steals, as well as the third-most assists.

Our algorithm has Steph projected for 52.9 FanDuel points tonight, which makes him the top point-per-dollar play among all players with a salary above $6,300.

DeMar DeRozan, SG, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Salary: $8,900

While Curry should be the chalk at the point guard position, DeMar DeRozan should be anything but that at shooting guard.

DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs will be taking on the Utah Jazz in what might seem to most people as a matchup to avoid -- it isn't. Over their last 15 games, no team in the league has surrendered more fantasy points to opposing shooting guards than Utah. That includes allowing the most real-life points and rebounds and the fourth-most steals to the position during that stretch, according to FantasyPros.

The Jazz will still be down Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley for this contest, while the Spurs could be without Dejounte Murray in addition to Derrick White. All of that bodes well for a DeRozan feast.

Over his last four games, the veteran has been on fire, garnering three performances with more than 50 FanDuel points, including a 61-point outing in his last game against the Boston Celtics on Friday.

I expect DeRozan to continue his red-hot play tonight.

Domantas Sabonis, PF, Indiana Pacers

FanDuel Salary: $9,500

Power forward is relatively deep tonight, and that could result in Domantas Sabonis being overlooked. Let's take advantage of that.

The draw between the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers currently sports an over/under of 246, which is 8.5 points higher than any other game on tonight's slate. Though Indiana's implied total of 121 does come in second to Washington, it is still good enough for second-best of the 16 teams suiting up tonight.

Among the 16 in action on tonight's slate, the Wizards and Pacers rank first and third, respectively, in pace. That's a boon for Sabonis' fantasy outlook.

On Saturday, in his return from a six-game absence, the Big Man rode a triple-double to a whopping 67.8 FanDuel points in just 29.5 minutes of action.

On the surface, the Wizards look like they're becoming a matchup to avoid for power forwards. After all, they do rank third against the position in their last 15 games. However, the level of competition they've faced during that stretch is nothing to write home about, and Sabonis did drop 58.2 fantasy points on them at the end of March. I'm all in.