NBA

NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 3/8/22

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?

Kevin Durant, SF/PF, Brooklyn Nets ($10,300)

The top game on Tuesday's slate is the defense-optional affair between the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets.

The only two players inside of it with a salary above $8,500 are Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, so it's an easy matchup to get access to. However, when spending up in this one, Durant is the clear top option over his teammate.

On Sunday in Boston, Durant had a whopping 34.6% usage rate, compared to just 22.6% for Irving. The gap likely won't be that large moving forward, but it does mirror their overall trend in Brooklyn. Durant (29.4%) has had the edge over Irving (26.3%) when the two share the floor together, and K.D. adds far more in rebounds than Irving does in other categories.

That said, this environment is so solid that you can put both -- and any option from the game -- on the table. The 239.0-point total in Charlotte is the highest on the slate, these are both top-11 teams in terms of pace, and they're both bottom-10 teams in defensive rating since January 1st.

With a lot of points projected in this game, using one of the top scorers in league history isn't a bad choice by any means.

Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies ($9,900)

Two quiet games for Ja Morant might keep him off the grid slightly in a solid game environment of his own.

Morant hasn't scored 25 points in either of the last two games, but that's mostly an indictment of his recent shooting. Ja is shooting just 43.9% in March after shooting at least 49.8% in each of his previous three months. Regression should turn his shot around before long.

Back at home, a date with the Pelicans presents a solid chance to get it rolling once more. The 231.5-point total in Memphis is the second-highest of the day, and New Orleans allows the ninth-most points per game to point guards (23.9).

Since February 1st, Morant sits at a 36.0% usage rate, and his next highest qualifying teammate owns a 24.9% clip. Even with a cold shot, Morant's role isn't under fire from another high-volume scorer. He also doesn't face a 14.5-point spread like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does.

For those key reasons, Morant stands out as the top guard of the day on this smaller slate.