3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Wednesday 3/9/22

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?

Giannis Antetokoumpo, PF/SF, Milwaukee Bucks ($11,900)

There are two games with totals over 238.0 points, and three marquee stars are inside of those games.

One of those two is in Milwaukee. 238.5 points is the current forecast from oddsmakers as the Bucks meet the Hawks, and there is only a five-point spread in this one. That brings Giannis Antetokounmpo into the mix at any salary.

I -- foolishly -- wasn't keen on Giannis thanks to a 14-point spread on Tuesday. That assumption was correct; he only played 27 minutes. Still, he posted 69.8 FanDuel points in that limited period. Antetokounmpo's is the league's most productive fantasy player (1.87 FanDuel points per minute) since February 1st.

The Bucks have been at full strength amongst their key starters for months, but Antetokounmpo's production has been getting better. Double-digit rebounds in eight of his last nine games will do that.

With Atlanta's 113.4 defensive rating (fifth-worst in the NBA) not to be feared, the light is bright green on the game's brightest star at present.

Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets ($11,500)

The highest total of the day is in Sacramento. 240.0 points are on the menu as the Denver Nuggets travel to town.

As always, we know the Denver attack is led by Nikola Jokic. He leads the NBA in scoring touches per game (20.3), and Jokic's 30.4% usage rate escalates 4.6 percentage points when Will Barton is off the floor this season. Barton is questionable after missing Monday's game with an ankle injury.

Jokic has eclipsed 65 FanDuel points in both outings against the Kings since January 1st, and with his role largely unchanged, he's in a great spot to do it again on this slate.

Unlike last night, there really aren't any can't-miss value centers that would make Jokic less of a priority compared to Giannis.

Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks ($9,500)

From an exposure perspective, no one personally could possibly have suffered the pair of recent duds by Trae Young any greater than yours truly.

Still, holding no grudges, he's an excellent addition to a game stack with Giannis in Milwaukee's projected shootout. Even with the duds included, Young has posted 1.27 FanDuel points per minute from a 33.4% usage rate since February 1st. His salary sliding downward only helps matters.

Young posted 30 points and 11 assists on MLK Day in this same matchup, and it's going to be a good one for fantasy as always. Atlanta (19th in pace) should see a lift in possessions against Milwaukee (8th in pace), and many of their starters are viable in this one as a result.

Young headlines an odd point-guard spot on Wednesday's 12-game slate. Dejounte Murray sees a stingy Raptors defense, pace is a concern for Luka Doncic with two bottom-10 squads in Dallas, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander always faces blowout concerns with his shorthanded Oklahoma City squad. Tournaments will be won and lost in this area, but Young is the standout choice, personally.