3 NBA FanDuel Studs to Target on 10/25/17

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

Price: $11,600

The Houston Rockets are going to be pretty thin tonight -- they were already without Chris Paul (knee), and now Trevor Ariza (foot) also won't be able to suit up.

Ariza's not a high-usage guy by any stretch, but he's playing a team-high 35.3 minutes per game. These injuries mean James Harden will likely be called on to play as many minutes as he can handle.

The new-look Philadelphia 76ers aren't quite as strong a fantasy matchup as they have been in years past, but they are playing at a top-10 pace while sitting in the middle of the pack in defensive rating. So they certainly aren't a negative matchup.

Harden's 34.5% usage rate and 45.9% assist rate are in line with his marks from last season, and although his production is down a bit, that's coming with a .561 true shooting percentage. That's a mark we can count on improving significantly moving forward -- he posted a .613 last year, has a .606 career average, and hasn't posted a mark as low as this since his 2009-10 rookie season.