3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 10/28/22
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?
Nikola Jokic, C, Nuggets ($11,500)
At the top, we have Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,800). They're well clear of the field in terms of salary. You can make a strong case for both superstars, which is something you can say on a nightly basis for these two. I'm siding with Nikola Jokic.
The Denver Nuggets have the night's top implied total (118.75 points) in a date with the Utah Jazz. Utah has been feistier than expected early on, but that's not a bad thing for Jokic tonight as it lowers the blowout risk. Denver is just an 8.5-point favorite.
Jokic went off last time out, totaling 69.1 FanDuel points. That was his second game of 60-plus FanDuel points across his past three outings.
Utah is allowing the most assists per night to centers, and Jokic can go nuts in this spot. We project him for 55.6 FanDuel points.
Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Timberwolves ($8,400)
Karl-Anthony Towns' salary is down $900 from his opening-night clip of $9,300. I think this is the perfect spot to buy in.
KAT is taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. LA's defense has been good, but they're playing at the league's second-fastest pace. With the Minnesota Timberwolves playing at the fourth-fastest pace, we should get a superb game environment, and that's reflected in a slate-leading 229.5-point total.
Towns' 24.7% usage rate is down a touch from last year's 27.2% mark, and he's yet to post a true ceiling game this season. But he could do that in this fast-paced matchup, and he's been solid in his last two contests, producing 42.3 and 43.7 FanDuel points.
We have him doing something similar tonight as our model projects him to total 42.7 FanDuel points (5.09 per $1,000).
Trae Young, PG, Hawks ($9,400)
We just saw Trae Young go for 49.6 FanDuel points against the Detroit Pistons, and he gets them again tonight.
Young has been a consistent producer thus far, scoring between 46.5 and 49.6 FanDuel in three of his four games. The one exception was a still-solid night of 43.3 FanDuel points. Young is doing this despite some putrid shooting as he's made only 34.8% from the field and 22.9% from three. A year ago, he shot 46.0% overall and 38.2 from beyond the arc.
He's bound to start making more shots, and Young is still getting his looks even with Dejounte Murray in the fold. Young's 33.5% usage rate is right in line with last season's 33.3% clip.
The Pistons sport the third-worst defensive rating and are surrendering the third-most FanDuel points per game to point guards (59.4). Young has a sky-high ceiling in this matchup and could be a slate-winning piece if he starts sinking shots. We forecast him to score 44.7 FanDuel points.
