NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 11/22/22

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?

Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, Kings ($9,500)

Tuesday's slate is brutal at the top. Some stars are returning to play, and it will inhibit those who feasted in their place. Other stars are out of the lineup entirely.

Thankfully, neither of those things applies to Domantas Sabonis, and he's the clear top stud on this slate.

Sabonis' Kings are traveling to face the Memphis Grizzlies, and this game's 232-point total blows the over/unders of the other three games on the slate out of the water. That lofty total is posted with Ja Morant (ankle) listed as questionable, so this should be a good one for fantasy no matter what.

In basically his default situation, Sabonis has been a true stud. He's posted 46.6 FanDuel points per 36 minutes, but at times, those minutes have been the drawback. Those issues seem firmly behind him, though, as he's logged at least 31 minutes in each of Sacramento's last nine games.

Domas' lowly production recently (33.1 FanDuel points per game in his past two) could keep him far less popular than he deserves to be in the supreme game environment of the day, and he pairs well with Ja if Morant suits up.

Kyrie Irving, PG/SG, Nets ($8,800)

How poor is this slate at the top? Kyrie Irving isn't just viable at guard; he might be optimal.

Irving returned from his infamous suspension on Sunday and played 26 minutes. With a day off and practice in between, he should ramp up closer to 30-plus minutes tonight. Really, that just squashes the appeal of Kevin Durant to the point where I'd rather turn to Irving.

Durant (32.6% usage rate overall) just doesn't have that much of a better role than Kyrie (30.8%) does, and their salaries are super far apart. Durant is $11,000 -- primarily due to the heavy lifting he did without Irving.

K.D. had a median salary of $9,900 when Irving was active earlier this season, and Kyrie's median was $9,400. Those salaries matched their roles far closer than these tags do, so if I can only have one Brooklyn star, it's going to be Kyrie -- even with the added risk of him returning just a short time ago.

Our projections are really down on Devin Booker and De'Aaron Fox today at salaries they haven't matched regularly with production, so Irving might be the lone top guy at guard if Morant doesn't play.

Tobias Harris, SF/PF, 76ers ($8,500)

Is Tobias Harris a star? He certainly will be on today's slate.

The Philadelphia 76ers will face the aforementioned Nets, but they'll be down several -- if not all -- key pieces. James Harden (foot), Tyrese Maxey (foot), and Joel Embiid (foot) will all miss this one for the same reason, and Philly's team podiatrist must be walking on eggshells.

Harris is probable to return from a hip strain, and they'll need him right away. He'll likely start next to Shake Milton, P.J. Tucker, De'Anthony Melton, and Paul Reed. Woof.

With just four total minutes of all of Embiid, Harden, and Maxey being off the floor season, we don't have a massive sample with Harris in this role. However, we can assume he'll be extremely busy.

Harris is a high-floor option on this slate and should draw some popularity, but given Durant's situation and LeBron James' ongoing groin injury, he may be the top wing by default.