Best lineup strategy for Nuggets vs. Celtics NBA Showdown

The Boston Celtics are set to host the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden in an interconference matchup on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET. The home team is looking to rebound from an embarrassing loss while the visitors have managed to secure wins despite being extremely undermanned because of injuries. We’ve broken down some key plays for Showdown contests on DraftKings centered around the matchup.

Captain’s Picks

The Celtics’ lack of rim protection has continued to haunt them in 2021, and they’re about to come face to face with arguably the best center in today’s game. Nikola Jokic ($18,900) has a significant size advantage over Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson and is far too skilled on offense for either to have a chance at containing him in the paint or on the perimeter. He easily has the highest floor and ceiling of any player in this game, and I think there’s a good chance he’ll go over 60 DKFP for the sixth time in his last 11 games.

Jayson Tatum ($15,900) is in the middle of a shooting slump and scored a season-low 6 points in his last game. While I don’t expect him to be that bad again, I like Jaylen Brown ($14,400) as a quality pivot from the Duke product. The two wings have almost identical stats. If you think you’ve found an edge with a flex play but can’t afford it with Tatum in the captain’s spot, switch him out for Brown.

FLEX Plays

Paul Millsap’s knee injury on Sunday opened the door for Zeke Nnanji ($2,200) to notch a career-high 23.75 DKFP off the bench. The rookie out of Arizona has jumped Isaiah Hartenstein on the depth chart, so only JaMychal Green ($4,800) is in front of him in the frontcourt rotation. Nnanji has been extremely efficient as a scorer and is shooting 56% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. He could return more value than any other player if he gets more than 20 minutes for the second time this season.

Fades

Kemba Walker ($8,000) scored more than 20 points in two straight games for the first time all season on Sunday, but he’s still not quite himself this season. I expect his ownership to be on the lower side because of all the value created by injuries in this game, but I’d fade him for cash games. He could provide significant leverage for GPPS, though.

The Outcome

The Celtics are looking to rebound from an unexpected blowout loss and have health and home-court advantage on their side. Boston isn't at full strength, but the Nuggets’ lack of wing depth could lead to their demise. The Celtics have two of the best three-level wing scorers in the league.

Final score: Celtics win 117-110