NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 2/11/16
With tonight being the last night of basketball before the All-Star break, there are only two games on the menu.
With such a short slate, we can expect lower-scoring fantasy contests than normal, which makes a big performance from your studs that much more valuable, and something that you really can't afford to miss out on.
I'm going to break down two of the best high-priced options available for tonight.
Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
FanDuel Price: $11,000
Russell Westbrook has been dominant over the last month, nearly averaging a triple-double with 20.7 points, 11.3 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game. He has a 29.1 percent Usage Rate and is averaging 48.8 FanDuel points per game in that span, good for fourth in the NBA.
He's sporting a 51.0 percent Assist Rate over the last month, the second highest in the league, and he also ranks top-five with 2.1 steals per game. Few players can match the peripheral numbers that Westbrook puts up, and even fewer combine it with his scoring ability.
He's up against a Pelicans team tonight that ranks 24th with a 108.6 Defensive Efficiency. They also rank 24th in Offensive Rebound Rate, while Westbrook does the majority of his rebounding on the defensive glass, meaning he's a big time threat for a triple-double tonight.
Oddsmakers give Oklahoma City by far the highest implied total of the night at 115.5, so there should be plenty of scoring to go around for the Thunder offense, and with Westbrook's high scoring and assist rate, he's going to play a big part in that.
John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards
FanDuel Price: $10,400
John Wall has been playing some of his best basketball of the season lately. He's averaging 21.1 points, 10.7 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game over the last month, putting up 45.8 fantasy points per game. He also has 50-plus fantasy points in three of his last four games. He's continuing to evolve as a player, and he's sporting career-highs in both three-point attempts and three-point percentage on the season, while also tying his career best 46.3 percent Assist Rate.
He's up against the Milwaukee Bucks today, and they're an absolute mess defensively. Their 109.3 Defensive Efficiency is the second worst in the league, and they're below the league average in almost every defensive stat you can find. Unsurprisingly, that has translated well to fantasy scoring for their opponents and should mean big things for Wall.
The Bucks are allowing the sixth most three-pointers per game, while giving up the seventh-highest three-point percentage. They're also allowing the fourth most assists per game, and a league-high 63.9 percent of the baskets they're giving up have been assisted. They're also turning the ball over at the fifth-highest rate in the league.
Wall is a big time fantasy scorer, with the sixth most FanDuel points per game over the last month, and he's well positioned to do some serious damage once again tonight against the Bucks.
