This series has been fantastic despite most of the games ending in blowouts. The adjustments and intensity have been top notch while both teams have had flurries of haymakers connecting.
Now we get a deciding Game 7 for all the marbles.
The Spurs have confounded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, limiting him to 19 and 15 points in Games 4 and 6, but he put up 32 points in Game 5.
Which SGA will we get for this one and what adjustments will be pulled out of both hats to counter the adjustments to the adjustments?
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Oklahoma City as a 3.5-point favorite over San Antonio, with the total set at 212.5 points.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Game 7 Special [$100K to 1st] (SAS at OAK)
Captain’s Picks
Jared McCain ($7,800 CP): With Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined, the Thunder need a secondary playmaker and shot taker, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been getting smothered. McCain has been that guy with a usage rate around 28% this series. The shooting efficiency has been rough, but most importantly, he’s not gun shy and the environment isn’t too big for him. It’s within the range of outcomes that he gets hot and puts up a ceiling game. It really comes down to hitting shots because there is no doubt that he’s going to hoist em up. In Game 3, he attempted 21 shots and finished with 24 points, good for 31 FPTS. An encouraging sign last game was the six assists and two steals. Role players often play better at home. This is McCain’s time to shine.
UTIL Plays
Stephon Castle ($8,800): The outside shooting is the big bugaboo for Castle, but he still hoists em up with no hesitation. He’s going to get plenty of good looks and has had games in which he’s tickled the twine, so there’s upside from a points perspective. Why I like Castle so much is because he’s tough as nails, can get to the paint, rebounds, dishes out dimes and rarely gets rattled. He played in tons of high-level games in college and I think he plays with a fury and responds to everything OKC throws at him. He’s put up at least 35 FPTS in five of the six games with two over 40 FPTS. The one game he “missed” was 29.8 FPTS.
Jaylin Williams ($3,000): Which Williams will we get in this one? He’s played fewer than 18 minutes in three games and gone over 21 minutes in the other three contests. He has three games with 10 or fewer FPTS, but has three over 13 FPTS, including a high of 32.2 FPTS. His greatest asset is the ability to make it rain from downtown, and I think that skill will be needed to combat the vice-like half court defense of the Spurs.
Victor Wembanyama ($13,000): Wembanyama has two games this series with 38 and 41.5 FPTS. In the other four contests, he went over 55 FPTS in each with three over 60 and a high of 84 FPTS. Even if he doesn’t match salary expectations, he’s going to put up raw points, but his ability to literally stuff the stat sheet in every statistical category makes the floor/ceiling combo appealing.
Fades
De’Aaron Fox ($7,800): Fox missed the first two games of this series due to an ankle injury. He re-aggravated the injury in Game 3, but played 31, 31, 33 and 26 minutes since. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been right, shooting 10-for-37 and not exhibiting the meep meep Roadrunner speed. High ankle sprains are tough to play with and linger for quite some time, so it’s been admirable that Fox has been playing, especially since he’s been able to stabilize the offense and help the Spurs not turn over the ball so much. That’s good for real life but not great for fantasy.
The Outcome
It’s crazy how far the pendulum has swung from game to game in this series, especially recently. Oklahoma City looked so inept in games four and six (credit to the Spurs) but have hummed and put up at least 122 points in the other four contests. Most of those were at home, and that’s where we are at for Game 7.
Final Score: Thunder 117, Spurs 111
