The Rockets extended their first-round playoff series to a Friday night Game 6 by winning on Wednesday in Houston. The Warriors will look to win and move on to the second round, while the Rockets will look to force a Game 7 on Sunday. The single-game showdown is featured in tonight’s NBA DFS contests, so let’s take a look at three NBA must-starts to include in your showdown builds for Friday.
The game tips off at 9 p.m. ET, and DraftKings Sportsbook has the Warriors as five-point home favorites.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $400K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (HOU @ GSW)
PF Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets, $10,600
Butler missed Game 3 of the series after playing eight minutes in Game 2 before leaving with a pelvic contusion. He returned in Game 4 with a massive performance that earned him 44.75 fantasy points in 40 minutes. “Playoff Jimmy” also looked the part with a huge Game 1, dropping 52.75 fantasy points in 42 minutes in Houston.
He only played 25 minutes in Game 5 as the Warriors fell behind early and limited their starters’ minutes.
In a close-out game, though, Butler should be fired up and ready to go at home in order to avoid having to go to Houston for a Game 7. He’s only the third-most expensive option in the pool, which makes him one of my top NBA DFS picks for either a flex spot or a Captain’s Pick play since he has the potential of going off across the board.
PG Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, $7,600
Although he didn’t post great numbers for Houston down the stretch and even early in this series, VanVleet stepped up with huge games for the Rockets in Game 4 and Game 5.
He played 40+ minutes in each of the first four games of the series before only needing to play 33 minutes in Game 5’s blowout win. He has at least 26 fantasy points in each of the last four games and contributes enough non-scoring numbers to be productive whether he’s piling up points or not.
In his last two games, he scored 25 and 26 points and posted 39.5 and 33.75 fantasy points. During the regular season, Jalen Green carried more of the offense, but in the playoffs, VanVleet has seen his field goal attempts and usage increase.
VanVleet has both a high ceiling and a high floor for this salary and is one of my NBA DFS picks since he’s not priced up among the other high-usage players.
PF Dillon Brooks, Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, $6,200
Neither team has been especially consistent with their rotation in this series with a variety of game scripts. As a result, getting consistent minutes and value from any player under $7,000 in this showdown has been a challenge.
Brooks has been one exception, chipping in double-digit points in each of the five games in the series and producing over 20 fantasy points in each contest. He had 11 points in a series-high 36 minutes in Game 4 at Golden State and followed that up with a series-high 24 points and 28.75 fantasy points in Game 5.
His intensity and role as an agitator can impact the game in many ways, but his workload make him one of the best non-star plays on the board, meaning he can help stretch your salary as one of Friday’s NBA must-starts.
