Sunday's NBA showdown is a one-game slate, IND @ BKN, and it locks at 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT). The format uses a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary under a $50,000 cap, so roster construction matters as much as player picks.
The biggest name on our model's board is Tyrese Haliburton of IND. He costs $10,200 in the UTIL slot and carries a ceiling of 63.3, the highest on the list by a wide margin. His DraftKings average is 42.5, so the ceiling sits well above what he typically delivers. Jalen Slawson, also of IND, is next with a 39.6 ceiling at $2,400, which puts a big number on a small salary.
The value plays are what our model likes most at the bottom of the pricing scale. Kobe Brown (IND), Ben Saraf (BKN), Josh Minott (BKN) and Chaney Johnson (BKN) all cost $1,000, with ceilings between 32.2 and 33.8. Saraf's 33.8 is the best of that group, and Johnson's DraftKings average of 19.4 is the highest of the four. Nolan Traore (BKN) at $2,600 has a 32.3 ceiling, and Drake Powell (BKN) at $1,800 tops out at 23.0. Mikel Brown Jr. (BKN), T.J. McConnell (IND), Tyler Bilodeau (BKN), Johnny Furphy (IND) and Ben Sheppard (IND) all carry an OUT tag on DraftKings, so keep them off your rosters.
No ownership figures are available for this slate, so we can't say where the crowd will land.
Our model's top lineup uses $48,900 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Haliburton in the captain slot at $15,300, then fills the UTIL spots with Quenton Jackson at $4,000, Julius Randle at $9,000, Slawson at $2,400, Pascal Siakam at $9,400 and Michael Porter Jr. at $8,800. Slawson is the cheap piece that makes the salary work.
Lock is Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET.
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