NBA Draftkings – Showdown Breakdown: OKC vs. Portland
By Shaun Evans
NBA Draftkings – The Showdown Breakdown
Welcome to my first edition of the “Showdown Breakdown” for NBA Draftkings! For some odd reason the NBA only scheduled two games tonight so it makes for a “boring” slate to attack at every tier and basically would be repetitive. Draftkings has opted to focus on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trailblazers match-up as their “main” slate for the Showdown.
I will basically be going through who to choose as the Captain for the most part. But will also be going through who is chalk and who isn’t. Then we’ll break it down with the Captain and who we should roll with as the supporting cast.
As usual, the scoring is basically the same besides the Captain Position, they’ll get a 1.5x multiplier but will also cost more in the salary department. The salary pricing is also a little different as guys we are used to seeing around the $7k mark will be dropped down to $5k and guys who are usually priced at $8k will be brought up to around $10k.
Predicting ownership is very hard to do though and usually I like to shoot with the “lower” priced guys as my captain due to them usually being low owned. The “chalk” also isn’t as bad when it comes to a showdown because there are only a limited amount of lineups we can do. So lets dive into this showdown and get it broken down! Good luck and cash out!
NBA Draftkings – The Chalk Eaters
Projecting Ownership: 60% and Up
Salary: Captain: $19,800 | Util: $13,200
As a captain, Russell Westbrook is extremely overpriced and can ruin your entire structure build but as a “util” player, he’s at a decent price. He will be chalk though as a util player but as a Captain? Probably not since he would make it extremely difficult to roster any one else.
Salary: Captain: $18,000 | Util: $12,000
Paul George is coming in to his second game back off of an injury and with it being a showdown slate, he’ll be following Russell Westbrook in high ownership also as a Util player. He doesn’t help at all with salary build as a captain either. He would take up majority of your salary.
Salary: Captain: $15,900 | Util: $10,600
Now Damian Lillard could make things a little easier when building a line-up as a captain. Will he be highly owned as a captain? I believe he would push near 30-40% if played in that spot. But as a “util” player? I believe he will still be highly owned due to his ceiling. but he makes constructing a lineup even easier.
Salary: Captain: $13,800 | Util: $9,200
Now Nurkic is a wildcard for this range of ownership when predicting the 60% range. He is currently a good price for captain and “util” and his match-up may cause more people to roll with him as Steven Adams may struggle to stop him. Nurkic is the borderline for the “too high” ownership but he could easily be a little less owned also.
These are the four highest priced players but they will most likely be the highest owned also. Now as we get lower in the list, we will see some higher ownership also.
Final Slide will have more in-depth stats
NBA Draftkings – Who Goes Low Owned
Projecting Ownership: 25-30% and Down
Salary: Captain: $6,900 | Util: $4,600
Aminu comes in to tonight with a string of “okay” performances but is also coming off of a bad game versus the Memphis Grizzlies which will push people off of him as a captain and “util” player. Now I believe Aminu could push that 30% ownership but I doubt it gets too high.
Moe Harkless
Salary: Captain: $8,100 | Salary: $5,400
Moe Harkless goes so low owned every single slate that I expect him to actually be owned pretty well tonight because that is how things work in this DFS world. Harkless knows a thing or two about returning value that if he is below 20% then I will be mind blown completely. As a Captain, Harkless could be a great play because you can still build a great lineup around him.
Salary: Captain: $10,200 | Util: $6,800
Jerami Grant pushes that salary line where I’m somewhat turned off of actually using him in the Captain position but he can still make a decent play as a “util” player. He has a pretty tough match-up facing the Portland Trailblazers though which could throw him under the radar. You can still build a great line-up though with him at either position which is a positive though.
Salary: Captain: $3,600 | Util: $2,400
This play can go absolutely unnoticed and be a huge benefit to us when building a line-up. Nader is a true play for Captain and “Util” tonight. If you are an avid NFL fan then you may remember the Week 3 NFL Showdown slate featuring the Cleveland Browns. The user who took that slate down actually had Baker Mayfield in their lineup even though he wasn’t a starter yet. That ownership was 1% and Mayfield came in late and dominated. That could potentially be Nader except he won’t be a dominating type factor but an unnoticed play.
Next slide will have more in-depth stats for the players we should target.
NBA Draftkings: Who To Target
Moe Harkless
Salary: Captain: $8,100 | Salary: $5,400
Moe Harkless will be my main focus tonight as he is a very consistent and “cheap” play on almost any slate that he is on. Will he be low owned like he usually is? No but that does not stop me from throwing him in to the “Captain” position.
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Harkless has scored 27.5, 36.5, 28, 24.5, and 36 fantasy points in his last five games. He is averaging 17.7 fantasy points per game and .80 fantasy points per minute. He is also averaging 22 minutes per game. The Oklahoma City Thunder also allow small forwards to average 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assist per game, plus give up 42.32 fantasy points to the position.
Salary: Captain: $13,800 | Util: $9,200
Now Jusuf Nurkic will ultimately be chalk tonight but he has a good match-up. But Nurkic has also just had one good game since kicking off the second half of the season, scoring 60.25 fantasy points versus the Charlotte Hornets. In 13 games when facing Steven Adams, Nurkic is averaging 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assist versus him.
The Thunder do give up 54.35 fantasy points to the center position. They also allow centers to average 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assist. Nurkic also put up a double double versus the Thunder on February 11th, scoring 9 points and 12 rebounds. He isn’t the focus point of my build but Nurkic will find his way in the line-up
Abdel Nader
Salary: Captain: $3,600 | Util: $2,400
As a captain or as a “util” player, Abdel Nader will save a good amount of salary for you tonight and should also be super low owned. The man is only averaging 10 minutes per game but has put up 11.25, 14.75, 24, and 10.25 fantasy points in his last four games. He pushed 20+ minutes in two of those games also. But he could also see an uptick in usage if Paul George gets rested just due to this not being a great “NBA” night.
The Portland Trailblazers actually give up 41.89 fantasy points to the small forward position. They also allow small forwards to average 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assist per game. Now Nader only played 12 minutes in the February 11th meeting and only put up a lonely 3 rebounds in it. But with this being a showdown slate, you need a risk play like Nader to get the upper hand.
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Now when building a line-up tonight, if you play these three players, you will most likely be able to fit in Russell Westbrook, Paul George, or Damian Lillard also. You wil most likely be able to play two of them with Abdel Nadar in your lineup and Moe Harkless as the Captain.
Other players that weren’t mention but should be played also are: Dennis Schroder, Enes Kanter, Steven Adams, and CJ McCollum.