3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 10/26/21

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 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.

Which top players should be the focal points of your lineups today?

Luka Doncic, G, Dallas Mavericks ($10,900)

The spread might be the only thing to stop Luka Doncic tonight.

Luka's Mavericks are 10.5-point home favorites to the lowly Rockets, but that matchup is pristine for a ballhandler as talented as Doncic. Houston is a young team that plays fast (third in pace in the NBA), and other than a thrashing of the inferior Thunder, Houston has been largely uncompetitive entering fourth quarters (average deficit of 22.5 points in the other two games).

Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 30-point efforts in short evenings against the Rockets, and Doncic will have every opportunity. He predictably leads the Mavs in usage (31.8%) and per-minute fantasy production (1.31 FanDuel points).

The top of the player pool is a little light, so it is hard to turn down the steady Doncic in a friendly environment.

Julius Randle, F, New York Knicks ($9,700)

With all the chatter of offseason acquisitions, MSG is still Julius Randle's house.

Randle has dominated to open the season for the New York Knicks. His usage (32.6%) and FanDuel points per minute (1.52) marks are even higher than last season with "less" talent around the All-Star. As a result, he has dropped two 60-burgers in three games on FanDuel, and Philadelphia could be without the reinforcements to stop him.

Both Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond are questionable for tonight's contest, and without them, the 76ers likely play very small. That only helps Randle, whom cast as the five with Mitchell Robinson on the bench this season sees an increase of 5.5 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Even with Philly's centers good to go, Randle is the clear top option from New York tonight in a game with a modest 217.5 total.

Russell Westbrook, G, Los Angeles Lakers ($9,100)

After Russell Westbrook's total stinker one week ago on opening night, it was hard to imagine him being a recommended play at the same salary.

However, Westbrook has rebounded into a role with the Lakers that somewhat mirrors his previous seasons. Westbrook has flirted with a triple-double in back-to-back games, posting season highs in assists (13) and rebounds (11) in consecutive contests. Although he has yet to put all three categories together in one game, and he is shooting 34.9% from the field thus far, the framework of a 20-point triple-double is there.

At this salary, that ceiling is just far too high to pass up. Westbrook's median projection may keep others at bay in most formats, but his 99th-percentile outcome is a definite tournament winner.

Amongst the three Lakers' stars, Westbrook has the friendliest salary in a pecking order that has varied greatly from game to game thus far.