It’s hard to overstate how impactful Nikola Jokic has been this season, but the Nuggets will be forced to play without their superstar on Friday night. The former MVP has been ruled out due to personal reasons.
Who will step up in his massive absence? Let’s dive in.
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PF Peyton Watson, Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans, $4,600
Honestly, Watson might have been viable in DFS tonight even if Jokic was available. The forward has been logging huge minutes in recent games for Denver, culminating in 39.4 minutes against the Mavericks on Sunday. Watson’s had plenty of time to rest since that victory, and he’ll be looking to secure his fifth consecutive performance with at least 25.0 FPTS. Since being inserted into the team’s starting lineup back on November 6, Watson is producing 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest with an eye-popping .695 true shooting rate. That efficiency will surely go down without Jokic there to set-up open looks, but the addition of overall volume is more than enough to make Watson tantalizing — especially in a matchup with a Pelicans team that owns the West’s worst defensive rating (118.7).
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
