Monday's NBA showdown is a single game, ATL @ HOU, and it locks at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT) on Mon 10/26. The captain slot scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary, with a $50,000 cap, so the captain choice shapes everything else.
Alperen Sengun (HOU) heads our model's rankings at $9,400, with a ceiling of 67.6 and a DraftKings average of 45.3. That is the highest ceiling on the board. Jalen Johnson (ATL) carries the biggest average at 53.3 and a 62.2 ceiling, but he costs $10,400, the steepest price here. Amen Thompson (HOU) sits between them at $8,000 with a 62.0 ceiling and a 42.6 average, which makes him a strong value for the production.
On the value side, Fred VanVleet (HOU) at $6,800 has a ceiling of 48.4 and an average of 33.4. Reed Sheppard (HOU) at $6,000 is the cheapest of our top-ranked plays, with a 41.0 ceiling and a 28.3 average. Dyson Daniels (ATL) at $7,200 offers a 56.8 ceiling and a 39.1 average, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (ATL) at $7,400 has a 55.6 ceiling. Kevin Durant (HOU) costs $8,400 with a 55.7 ceiling and a 38.3 average.
Roster news matters in a one-game slate. DraftKings lists Steven Adams (HOU), Mouhamed Gueye (ATL) and Henri Veesaar (ATL) as OUT, and Marcus Smart (HOU) carries a Q tag. We have no ownership figures for this slate, so we can't say where the crowd will lean.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,300 of the $50,000 cap. Alperen Sengun is the captain at $14,100, joined by Amen Thompson at $8,000, Fred VanVleet at $6,800, Aaron Wiggins at $5,800, Dyson Daniels at $7,200 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker at $7,400. It leans on Houston but keeps two Atlanta guards for balance.
Lineups lock at 8:30 p.m. ET on Mon 10/26, so set your captain before then.
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