There are nine NBA games tonight, and, once again, a lack of value is making it extremely difficult to prioritize the most expensive players in DFS. As a result, I am going to focus on the most expensive players that we can reasonably build around tonight. If you happen to have the money to fit in the true studs, then, by all means, do so. Using Stokastic’s NBA DFS projections, let’s break down the player pool to find the NBA DFS high-priced studs, including Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns, for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
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NBA DFS Studs: Trae Young & Karl-Anthony Towns
Stud No. 1 – Trae Young: Atlanta Hawks at San Antonio Spurs
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $9,700/ FanDuel: $9,600
- Stokastic’s Point Projections: DraftKings: 50.9/ FanDuel: 47.8
- Stokastic’s Ownership Projections: DraftKings: 18.8%/ FanDuel: 21.1%
This game has the highest total on the slate at 248.5 points, which is 10 points higher than the next-closest game. We’ve got two fast-paced teams that don’t play much defense in this spot. Atlanta has played at the third-fastest pace this season while the Spurs rank fourth. San Antonio ranks 27th in defensive rating and the Hawks rank 25th.
Trae Young has averaged 1.35 DraftKings points per minute and 35.7 minutes per game in the 16 games that he has played with Dejounte Murray active this season. He has also seen an uptick in production without Jalen Johnson on the floor, averaging 1.27 DraftKings points per minute alongside Johnson compared to 1.42 DraftKings points per minute without him. He has a 34.9 percent usage rate and 45.7 percent assist rate without Johnson on the floor compared to a 27.3 percent usage rate and 39.4 percent assist rate alongside Johnson.
Stud No. 2 – Karl-Anthony Towns: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Utah Jazz
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,800/ FanDuel: $8,700
- Stokastic’s Point Projections: DraftKings: 46.1/ FanDuel: 44.4
- Stokastic’s Ownership Projections: DraftKings: 24.0%/ FanDuel: 27.6%
Anthony Edwards was not present at shootaround and is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game. Towns should see the biggest bump in usage and production as Minnesota doesn’t have many alternatives when it comes to who the offense will be run through. Edwards has a 31.8 percent usage rate this season, so there will be plenty of additional opportunities available. Towns has a 23.4 percent usage rate and has produced 1.13 DraftKings points per minute in the 440 minutes that he has shared the floor with Edwards this season. In 126 minutes without Edwards on the floor, Towns has produced 1.43 DraftKings points per minute with a 36.6 percent usage rate.
Stud No. 3 – Victor Wenbanyama: San Antonio Spurs vs Atlanta Hawks
- DFS Salary: DraftKings: $8,700/ FanDuel: $9,000
- Stokastic’s Point Projections: DraftKings: 46.0/ FanDuel: 45.7
- Stokastic’s Ownership Projections: DraftKings: 11.1%/ FanDuel: 14.8%
Wenbanyama is questionable tonight, but, assuming he plays, he will benefit from the same excellent game environment as Trae Young. Wembanyama has been excellent so far in his rookie season, producing 1.40 DraftKings points per minute with a 29.8 percent usage rate, 13.8 percent assist rate and 17.6 percent rebounding rate. He has also blocked 4.1 shots per 100 possessions, and we should have an abundance of possessions in this game. As things currently stand, Wembanyama is one of my favorite GPP plays, as he projects similarly to Towns but is expected to have half the ownership.
There are nine games tonight and we are still waiting on plenty of injury news. Be sure to check out Stokastic’s Deeper Dive and Live Before Lock shows.
