The Western Conference Finals could end tonight as the Oklahoma City Thunder close in on their spot atop the basketball landscape. Thanks to an epic Game 4 in which both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($12,400) and Jalen Williams ($9,800) had the best playoff performances of their careers, Oklahoma City survived strong performances by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo ($5,000) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($3,400) to take a 3-1 lead.
The Timberwolves will seek to stay alive on the road tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET in the first elimination game they have faced so far these playoffs. DraftKings is offering a DFS Showdown contest for the big game with a $500,000 prize pool. Here are two players you should consider captaining tonight.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (MIN @ OKC)
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, $18,600 CP
Gilgeous-Alexander proved why he was named NBA MVP with a Game 4 masterpiece, dropping 40 points, snagging nine boards, and dishing out 10 assists (68.25 FPTS). He wasn’t ultra-efficient — he made just 13 of his 30 shots — but he consistently drew contact, attempting 14 or more free throws for the third time this series. Gilgeous-Alexander’s penchant for getting to the free throw line should be sustainable, given that Minnesota has committed the eighth-most fouls per game among the 16 playoff participants, although the fewest of any remaining team. He also has recorded at least one steal in three of the four games, and even in the first two rounds, the Timberwolves have been one of these playoffs’ most turnover-prone teams.
Plus, given that he’s second among all conference finals participants in usage rate, narrowly behind the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, his volume should make him a valuable fantasy play regardless of his exorbitant salary. His shot diet has also been extremely efficient, even if his actual conversion has not, so if the pendulum of shooting variance swings, it should be in his favor. The Thunder are an extremely deep squad and different players are capable of stepping up on any given night, but Gilgeous-Alexander is a guarantee regardless.
SF/PF Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder, $10,800
Los Angeles Lakers fans certainly weren’t shocked by his Game 4 performance: 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block, and four steals (40.5 FPTS). McDaniels hasn’t had a super consistent game-to-game role — he’s scored exactly 22 points twice and 10 or fewer twice this series — but part of that has to do with the fact that Games 1 and 3 were both blowouts and the fact that he fouled out in Game 1 after several 50-50 calls. As the primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander, there’s always a risk that McDaniels fouls out, but his defensive prowess makes him the team’s X-factor, and his salary is much lower than Anthony Edwards ($17,100 CP)‘ or Julius Randle ($14,400 CP)‘s.
On offense, he’s mostly gotten the better of Gilgeous-Alexander while getting somewhat stymied by Chet Holmgren ($12,900 CP), and his numbers would look even better against Gilgeous-Alexander if he hadn’t missed five of his seven three-point attempts. He’s had a well-balanced shot diet so far this series, attempting nine shots from the restricted area, 10 from floater range, four from the midrange, 12 from the corners, and nine from above the break, and he’s made seven of his nine shots at the rim, using his strength advantage vis-a-vis Holmgren. His efficiency isn’t exactly new, though; during the regular season, he made more than 70% of his restricted-area shots and is only making wide-open threes at a clip 5.2 percentage points better than he did during the regular season.
