Tonight's featured NBA Showdown is a Western Conference matchup featuring the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings. A trio of injuries on the Sacramento side should thrust Russell Westbrook into a featured role as he hosts his former team at Golden 1 Center. Nikola Jokic and company enter play as sizable 10.5-point favorites, but there's plenty to like in this high-total contest. 

 

Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings Total & Spread

  • Total: 239.5
  • Spread: DEN -10.5

 

 

 

Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings Injury Updates

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Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings Projected Starting Lineups

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DFS Captain / MVP Picks

Nikola Jokic, DEN 

(DK CPT - $20,700, UTIL - $13,800 / FD CPT - $27,700, UTIL - $17,800)

Joker is the top fantasy point producer in the league and gets an absolute dream matchup tonight against the Kings. The Kings play at the 8th-fastest pace in the league and rank just 26th in defensive efficiency. They also allow the 3rd-most points in the paint, where Jokic does more than half of his scoring damage. And since Sabonis went down with an injury, the Kings have allowed the most points in the paint. 

Russell Westbrook, SAC 

(DK CPT - $13,500, UTIL - $9,000 / FD CPT - $16,800, UTIL - $11,200)

Russell Westbrook revenge - Part III. Russ has already exploded on the Nuggets twice this season, going for 26-12-6 in the first meeting and following it up with 14-8-11 in the second. He also happens to be coming off one of his best outings of the season, with a 24-12-14 performance against Indiana. Oh yeah, and now Zach LaVine is out. Westbrook has a wide open path to torch his former team once again. 

Jamal Murray, DEN 

(DK CPT - $14,700, UTIL - $9,800 / FD CPT - $20,700, UTIL - $13,800)

It's hard to compete with the spots Jokic and Westbrook find themselves in tonight, but Murray has been quietly excellent for the Nuggets all season. He exploded for 52 actual points against the Pacers just over a week ago, demonstrating that he, too, has a massive ceiling. Those two fellas above are going to soak up a ton of the ownership in the top lineup spot tonight, and Murray makes for an excellent pivot if looking to go a little off the board. 

 

 

 

DFS Utility Picks

DeMar DeRozan, SAC 

(DK CPT - $11,100, UTIL - $7,400 / FD CPT - $13,800, UTIL - $9,200)

DeRozan hasn't shown much of a ceiling this season, but the floor is rock solid with LaVine now joining Sabonis and Schroder on the sidelines. DeRozan is locked in for 35-ish minutes in a close game, and he should be able to find plenty of usage in this version of the Sacramento rotation. 

Nique Clifford, SAC 

(DK CPT - $5,100, UTIL - $3,400 / FD CPT - $3,900, UTIL - $2,600)

Sacramento has already announced that the rookie will start for the injured Zach LaVine. One of Clifford's best games of the season came in a start back on 11/5 against Golden State, when he posted 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 32 minutes. He is too cheap for his starting role and should be a core option for one of your UTIL slots. 

Tim Hardaway, DEN 

(DK CPT - $6,000, UTIL - $4,000 / FD CPT - $6,000, UTIL - $4,000)

THJ remains a consistent performer off the Denver bench who will get a handful of three-point attempts up in any given game. If he has a hot shooting night, he can quickly become a useful UTIL option at his price. Unfortunately, he doesn't offer much in the way of peripheral stats, so we need that shooting to come through. 

Cameron Johnson, DEN 

(DK CPT - $9,300, UTIL - $6,200 / FD CPT - $7,200, UTIL - $4,800)

Johnson offers a little more than THJ in terms of peripheral stats, but he also needs good shooting form to be a useful UTIL option at his slightly higher price tag. Besides the three-point ability, Johnson is also locked in for massive playing time, with an average of 35.6 minutes per game since Braun went down with an injury.  

Jonas Valanciunas, DEN 

(DK CPT - $4,800, UTIL - $3,200 / FD CPT - $5,400, UTIL - $3,600)

JoVal is probably going to play less than 15 minutes, but he remains one of the best FP/min players in the league. He legitimately has a chance to be the third-highest scorer on Denver behind Jokic and Murray despite the limited playing time. He also comes with a cheap salary that allows you to fit any of the three stars into the top lineup spot. 

 

 

 

DFS Dart Throws

  • Keegan Murray, SAC (DK CPT - $12,000, UTIL - $8,000 / FD CPT - $15,000, UTIL - $10,000)
  • Maxime Raynaud, SAC (DK CPT - $9,600, UTIL - $6,400 / FD CPT - $7,500, UTIL - $5,000)
  • Peyton Watson, DEN (DK CPT - $10,200, UTIL - $6,800 / FD CPT - $10,200, UTIL - $6,800)
  • Malik Monk, SAC (DK CPT - $8,400, UTIL - $5,600 / FD CPT - $6,300, UTIL - $4,200)