The Thunder are hosting the Nuggets for a win-or-go home Game 7 on Sunday and DraftKings is offering some huge Showdown contests for this Game 7. Below, I dive into three of my favorite DFS picks to consider for Sunday’s Game 7 Showdown slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $350K Game 7 Special
C, Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder, $13,800 ($20,700 CPT)
Jokic is a must-play for this Showdown slate and is the best option to roster at captain, regardless of his slate-high salary. Jokic is amassing 65.7 FPTS per game in 10 matchups with the Thunder this season and while Aaron Gordon (hamstring) is listed as questionable, the forward is unlikely to play. This morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania’s reported that Gordon is dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and that it’s becoming “physically improbable” for him to suit up.
With Gordon likely out, Jokic’s already huge role should reach new heights. With Gordon inactive this season, Jokic’s usage and rebounding rates increase 2.0 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively, and he generates 71.8 FPTS per game (23 games). Jokic should have a vintage performance in Game 7 and likely will lead this Showdown slate in FPTS by a solid margin.
PG, Russell Westbrook, Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder, $5,600 ($8,400 CPT)
With Gordon likely to be inactive, Westbrook should start in his place and is a no-brainer for this Showdown slate. Westbrook is producing 37 FPTS per game with Gordon out this season. With Gordon off the floor, Westbrook is scoring 1.2 FPTS per minute with a 25% usage rate and a 30.2% assist percentage.
Westbrook should see 30+ minutes with Gordon missing and with this expanded role, Westbrook has a ceiling north of 40 FPTS.
PG/SG, Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City vs. Denver Nuggets, $4,800 ($7,200 CPT)
The Thunder went out and traded for Caruso this past offseason for big moments like this. The veteran is a former NBA champion who is easily the most experienced player on this young Oklahoma City team and Caruso should be a strong spark off the bench for the Thunder in this Game 7.
Caruso has scored 21.5 and 22.5 FPTS in the last two games of this second round series vs. the Nuggets and he has scored 20+ FPTS in four of his last eight meetings with Denver. Caruso logged 27 minutes off the bench in Game 6 and he should approach 30 minutes again in Game 7. He is supplying 1.0 FPTS per minute this season and Caruso should fill up the stat with at least 20 FPTS on Sunday.
