Happy Wednesday! We have Western Conference battle between the Nuggets and Clippers as our featured NBA Showdown tonight. Nikola Jokic and James Harden own the spotlight, but Jamal Murray and Ivica Zubac will undoubetdly play significant roles as well. The Clippers will be without Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac again, while the Nuggets look to be fully healthy. Let's dive in! 

Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Total & Spread

  • Total: 224.5
  • Spread: DEN -3.5

Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Injury Updates

Nuggets

  • Aaron Gordon - PROBABLE
  • Jamal Murray - PROBABLE

Clippers 

Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Projected Starting Lineups

Nuggets

Clippers 

 

 

 

DFS Captain / MVP Picks

Nikola Jokic, DEN

(DK CPT - $21,900, UTIL - $14,600 / FD CPT - $26,700, UTIL - $17,800)

Jokic has gone 68+ fantasy points in four of his last five games and remains one of the bet fantasy producers in the league. He's going to have the highest ceiling on most full slates he's on, and that is certainly the case here on the single game slate. Maybe Harden's recent monster performance will help spread the ownership, but Jokic should pretty be the highest owned Captain. 

James Harden, LAC 

(DK CPT - $16,500, UTIL - $11,000 / FD CPT - $19,800, UTIL - $13,200)

Harden went full vintage on us last game, with a 35-point triple-double against the Hawks. He's playing monster minutes and has one of the best roles in basketball with Kawhi Leonard out. If there's anyone who can outscore Joker straight up, Harden would be the guy. 

Ivica Zubac, LAC 

(DK CPT - $13,500, UTIL - $9,000 / FD CPT - $15,300, UTIL - $10,200)

Zubac has flashed a couple monster ceiling games with Kawhi Leonard out. He just posted a 20 points-15 rebound performance last week, and 20-20 is probably within the range of outcomes. There should be a floor of 30 minutes as long as Jokic doesn't get him in foul trouble, with upside for 35. Anything other than Jokic/Harden at Captain is going to be contrarian, and he's a really safe Util play. 

Jamal Murray, DEN

(DK CPT - $14,400, UTIL - $9,600 / FD CPT - $17,400, UTIL - $11,600)

It’s been an awesome start to the 2025 campaign for Jamal Murray, who heads into this game expected to play. Murray’s usage rate sits at the exact same number as Nikola Jokic at 26.7% and he’s averaging north of 1.2 FP/min. Murray hasn’t looked this good at the beginning of the season in some time.

 

 

DFS Utility Picks

John Collins, LAC 

(DK CPT - $9,900, UTIL - $6,600 / FD CPT - $10,800, UTIL - $7,200)

Collins started and played 31 minutes last game. The role has been growing consistently since Leonard's injury and he now seems to be locked into a full starter's workload. Collins has averaged nearly a fantasy point per minute and is one of the best per/$ plays in the mid-range. 

Derrick Jones, LAC 

(DK CPT - $6,900, UTIL - $4,600 / FD CPT - $5,100, UTIL - $3,400)

Jones is locked into starters minutes, but he is a poor per-minute producer. Value is necessary to get up to Jokic and Harden, and Jones provides that. 

Jonas Valanciunas, DEN 

(DK CPT - $3,600, UTIL - $2,400 / FD CPT - $4,500, UTIL - $3,000)

The polar opposite of the Jones/Dunn type value plays that will be on the court for significant time. JoVal is a massive per-minute producer, but will likely only see the floor for 15 minutes maximum. 

Kris Dunn, LAC 

(DK CPT - $7,200, UTIL - $4,800 / FD CPT - $7,200, UTIL - $4,800)

Another starter that has a good chance to play 30+ minutes, but is also a very low per-minute producer. Finding the value play that pops to go along with a couple studs that smash is the key to the slate. 

 

 

 

DFS Dart Throws

  • Bruce Brown, DEN (DK CPT - $4,800, UTIL - $3,200 / FD CPT - $4,200, UTIL - $2,800)
  • Nicolas Batum, LAC (DK CPT - $5,100, UTIL - $3,400 / FD CPT - $3,600, UTIL - $2,400)
  • Kobe Brown, LAC (DK CPT - $3,000, UTIL - $2,000 / FD CPT - $2,100, UTIL - $1,400)
  • Aaron Gordon, DEN (DK CPT - $11,400, UTIL - $7,600 / FD CPT - $13,200, UTIL - $8,800)
  • Christian Braun, DEN (DK CPT - $10,800, UTIL - $7,200 / FD CPT - $9,600, UTIL - $6,400)
  • Brook Lopez, LAC (DK CPT - $3,900, UTIL - $2,600 / FD CPT - $2,700, UTIL - $1,800)