Two teams have punched their tickets to the conference finals, and it’s probably not two teams that NBA fans expected. The fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers and sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves are both a stone’s throw away from the NBA Finals.
Yesterday, the third-seeded New York Knicks had a chance to join them and failed after being outscored by 25 point in the second half. Today, the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder can restore some sense of normalcy and join them. With only the 8:30 p.m. ET Game 6 in the Western Conference semifinals and a $400,000 Showdown contest at DraftKings on the docket for today, the focus is simple.
Here are three players who need to be in your lineups, whether as a Captain or a UTIL.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $400K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (OKC @ DEN)
C Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, $13,800
Picking between Jokić and the man likely to win MVP over him, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($12,400), was purely a toss-up. Jokić has bookended three mediocre performances, by his standards, with two mind-numbing masterpieces, although his 42-point, 22-rebound (83.5-FPT) Game 1 performance resulted in a win and his 44-point, 15-board (77.25-FPT) effort in Game 5 did not, mostly because his teammates shot one-for-15 in the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, has had one relatively poor performance in which he shot less than 40% from the field, when he recorded 18 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists (50.25 FPTS) in a Game 3 defeat.
Both of these players are as brilliant as they come, but ultimately, Jokić’s statistical ceiling is just a little bit higher. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored between 44 and 55 fantasy points in four out of the five matchups — more than reasonable production, to be fair — while Jokić has recorded 77.25 or more fantasy points twice, a number that Gilgeous-Alexander reached just once all season. Jokić’s dominance on the boards — he’s grabbed 15 or more rebounds in three of the five games so far — gives him an edge that Gilgeous-Alexander lacks, and the Thunder’s depth means that Jokić’s usage rate should be higher.
PF/C Aaron Gordon, Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, $8,000
With all due respect to the legend of playoff Jamal Murray ($9,600), who’s scored 27 or more points in two of the last three games, Gordon has established himself as the Nuggets second-most important player these playoffs. Not only have his clutch-time exploits single-handedly won the team games — he has two game-winning shots already these playoffs — his defense on Kawhi Leonard in the first round and now Jalen Williams ($9,200) and Chet Holmgren ($8,800) this series have been critical. He scored 22 points (43.5 FPTS) in Game 1 and added another 22 points (43 FPTS) in Game 3, Denver’s two wins. He’s also had two 15-plus-rebound efforts.
He’s been guarded in somewhat equal measure by Williams and by Holmgren, facing Holmgren for 127.3 partial possessions and Williams for 86.7, and he’s showcased the versatility of his game by beating them in different ways. Holmgren, with his quick feet and seven-foot-six wingspan, has held Gordon to seven-for-20 shooting, but he has dished out nine assists to only one turnover. Meanwhile, while Williams has been more adept at forcing turnovers, Gordon has been efficient from the field against him. So far this series, he ranks fourth on the team in usage rate, third in touches, third in potential assists, and second in rebound chances, so he can thrive in any role.
PG/SG Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets, $5,200
Caruso has continued to give Oklahoma City solid minutes off the bench, posting 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists (21.5 FPTS) during the Game 5 win. I almost went with his teammate Luguentz Dort ($4,400), whose unlikely flurry of threes in the fourth quarter propelled the Thunder to a comeback victory, but Dort’s shot had been extremely cold all series prior to the fourth quarter on Tuesday and whose defensive ceiling hasn’t been quite as high. Dort hasn’t recorded more than two combined steals/blocks in any game this series, and Caruso’s two-block, five-steal (45.75-FPT) performance in Game 1 stands out. Caruso’s usage rate is also higher, since he’s the initiator on the second unit while Dort plays with the starters, and he also spends more time guarding Russell Westbrook ($5,400), a slightly more turnover-prone player than Murray.
