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The Houston Rockets have watched their 2-0 lead evaporate into a series tie with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. So we’ve got ourselves a series, which has been rare in the early goings of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. But not so fast. Russell Westbrook is expected to return to the lineup Saturday for Game 5. Let’s take a look at some DraftKings Showdown picks for the contest, which locks at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Set your DraftKings lineup here.
Captain’s Pick
James Harden ($18,600)
This has to be the James Harden game, right? He hasn’t scored over 37 points in a game all series. He’s shot the ball miserably from 3-point range (17-of-52) and hasn’t been getting to the line at all. That may be a result of the refereeing being very, ahhh, loose through the first round. I think Harden wants this game more than any other game he’s wanted in a while. The distributing came back in Game 4 with 15 dimes, so a 40-point triple-double seems in play for Game 5. Even with Russ back, I think that should only help Harden and the Rockets overall.
Fade of the Game
Robert Covington ($6,800)
Why would we pay this much for RoCo at this point? He hasn’t had over 30 fantasy points in a game all series. He shot the ball well in Game 4, but other than that hasn’t been aggressive on offense. Covington is going to take the shots he gets and that’s it. Nothing else really pops off the sheet and the Thunder have figured the Rockets out a bit. For me, it’s pay up for Harden and a few OKC studs and then we’re paying way down.
Value Picks
Steven Adams ($6,200) — A good example of why we don’t want RoCo is because we can get Adams at $600 cheaper. Adams has missed a double-double in three straight games, but only by a basket or a few rebounds. He’s a little overpriced but I trust his ceiling more than Covington. If the knee injury doesn’t hold him back, I like Adams to get to a double-double in this contest.
P.J. Tucker ($4,600) — I don’t normally like playing Tucker because he’s not a very good offensive player. The thing is, none of that matters in DFS. Tucker is going to see between 35-40 minutes due to the Rockets’ lack of depth. He’s going to chuck some open looks courtesy of Harden. Tucker has 24 boards over the past three games, which gives him a good floor at this price.