3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 11/4/22

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 Antetokounmpo, PF/SF, Bucks ($12,000)

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a monster.

He has scored at least 58.9 FanDuel points in every game but one, and he's surpassed the 60.0-point mark -- what he needs tonight to hit value (5.0 points per $1,000 in salary) -- in four of his last five games, with spike outings of 72.3 and 72.4 FanDuel points. Giannis is averaging 33.6 points, 12.7 boards, 5.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game.

He should be able to keep rolling tonight in a date with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game is showing a 227.0-point total and 3.0-point spread, and the T-Wolves are permitting the second-most FanDuel points per game to power forwards (52.4). It's also a pace-up spot for the Milwaukee Bucks as Minnesota is playing at the fourth-fastest pace.

It's all systems go for the slate's highest-salaried player.

LeBron James, SF/PF, Lakers ($9,500)

LeBron James' salary is $700 less than it was in his last game, and it's a great opportunity for us to jump back in.

James is still seeing big minutes this season -- at least 34 in every contest -- and he's pacing the Los Angeles Lakers with a 30.1% usage rate, which is 5.4 points clear of anyone else's on LA. He's taken at least 21 shots in five straight games, and we know what LeBron does in the rebounding and assist departments. Plus, the Lakers are playing at the league's fastest pace.

In short, it's pretty much business as usual with James, and he's actually due for some positive regression from three. He went 0 for 7 from deep in his last game and is shooting only 22.6% from beyond the arc. DARKO has him as an expected 34.4% three-point shooter.

In a matchup with the Utah Jazz in which there's just a 2.5-point spread, James should get his full allotment of minutes, and we project him for 47.4 FanDuel points. I think there's room for more.

Kevin Durant, SF/PF, Nets ($10,400)

This is pretty simple -- the Brooklyn Nets are going to be without Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons and Seth Curry.

Give me all the Kevin Durant.

With those three off the court this season, KD owns a 40.3% usage rate, per RotoGrinders' Court IQ. He should get all the usage he can handle in a date with the Washington Wizards, a team that is surrendering the 10th-most FanDuel points per game to small forwards (44.0).

Our model has Durant scoring 53.4 FanDuel points (5.13 per $1,000). He's one of the slate's elite plays.