Denver Nuggets @ Portland Trail Blazers

It’s the big versus small battle on Showdown tonight as Nikola Jokic goes head to head with Damian Lillard in Portland. Both teams have plenty of firepower and also a number of intriguing value plays to help build rosters tonight. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

 

Denver Nuggets injuries:

Collin Gillespie - OUT

Portland Trail Blazers injuries:

Gary Payton II – OUT

Justise Winslow – QUESTIONABLE 

Trendon Watford - QUESTIONABLE

MVP/CAPTAIN

Nikola Jokic (C)

There isn’t a DFS salary high enough for when Jokic gets rolling as he did on Saturday night against the Thunder. Even with only 10 shots, he finished with 66 fantasy points thanks to his 16 rebounds, 13 assists, one block, and one steal. But the best part about that game is that, since it was a close affair, Jokic played 39 minutes. This game comes in with a spread under five points, so look for another huge performance in the box score and in minutes on the floor tonight. He is the no-brainer selection for the MVP in most of your lineups. 

Damian Lillard (PG)

Damian Lillard is simply on fire right now shooting the basketball. He has finished both his last two games with 41 actual points thanks to 27-for-50 shooting plus back-to-back games with over 41% from three. The poor performance in the first game is long gone now and Lillard is back to looking like his All-NBA form. The Nuggets are also bottom 10 in defensive rating and top 10 in pace to start the year. 

Josh Hart (SG/SF)

If you are looking to pay down in the MVP spot tonight, Hart is about $6,000 less than Lillard and about half the salary of Jokic. Hart has been electric in two of his first three games and is averaging 38 minutes per night on the floor. We know Hart is one of the best rebounding guards/small forwards in the game (he averages 10 per game so far), but he is also now handing out assists. He is over four per game to go along with his usual scoring, rebounding, and steals. Add it all up and you get almost 35 fantasy points per game at a salary where he can 4x even a 1.5 MVP salary. 

UTILITY 

Jusuf Nurkic (C)

If Nikola Jokic is going to be on the floor for 35+ minutes tonight, you can be assured the Blazers are going to have to counter with their own hulking Eastern European center. Nurkic will be asked to check the back-to-back MVP all night long, and we have already seen once this year that he has the ability to put up a massive double-double when he logs a lot of minutes. Against a tough Phoenix squad, Nurkic put up 20 points and 17 rebounds. So far this this season, the Nuggets are allowing 26 points and 15 rebounds per game to the center position. 

Anfernee Simons (SG)

At this time last year, Anfernee Simons was relatively unknown, waiting for minutes to open up behind Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Dennis Smith, Jr. Fast forward to today and he is the starting shooting guard for Portland, averaging 38 minutes per night on the young season, and signed a four-year $100 million+ deal. His last game against the Lakers was abysmal, but Simons still holding his own, putting up 30 fantasy points per game before last night’s disaster. But even if that game concerns you, his salary did drop $800 since then, so we are getting a 25% usage player at a steep discount.

Michael Porter, Jr. (SF/PF)

With Jamal Murray still rounding into form, Porter is stepping up as a Robin to Jokic’s Batman and is steadily improving with each game. He has seen his fantasy points climb from 26 to 36 over three games and he now has a usage rate over 20% to go along with the second-best net rating on the team. A cheaper play than Aaron Gordon and Jusuf Nurkic tonight, I really like his upside in this mid-range ($7,200 on DK). 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG)

The Nuggets player with the best offensive rating behind Jokic isn’t Murray, or Porter, or even Aaron Gordon. It’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and his 33 minutes plus 27 fantasy points per game. Less than a week ago, KCP started the season with a $4,600 salary. He is already up to $6,000 on DK so some of the value play aspect of his game is lost. But he should still strongly contribute with his massive minutes on the floor and with Portland in the bottom-five in points allowed to shooting guards this year. 

DART THROWS

Justise Winslow (SF/PF)

Monitor the injury reports because Winslow was added this afternoon with an ankle injury. But if he suits up, he has the kind of all-around game, defensive presence, and minutes ceiling that could help shoot him way past value at his $4,400 salary on DK. I have no idea why his salary dropped $800 since last night, especially with two games over 23 fantasy points already under his belt. 

Bones Hyland (PG/SG)

The reason why I have been hesitant to recommend Jamal Murray in these Showdown slates is because he already has one DNP and hasn’t crossed more than 28 minutes in either of the two games he has played. That leaves minutes available at the PG spot for Bones Hyland. Hyland has some of that boom/bust potential we need to accept with the punt plays in Showdown. He has a game with 20+ fantasy points this year but also a game with six. He is consistently on the floor for 15-18 minutes, and he won’t shoot 0-for-5 again like he did on Saturday. 

 

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