Wednesday's NBA showdown is a single game, PHI @ DET, on DraftKings with a $50,000 cap. The captain slot scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary, so the pick that fills it shapes everything else. The slate locks at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT).
The top end belongs to the stars. Cade Cunningham of DET costs $10,400 and has the highest ceiling among our model's top plays at 64.4, well clear of the field, with a DraftKings average of 40.1. On the PHI side, Tyrese Maxey is $10,200 with a 52.1 ceiling and a 40.0 average, and Joel Embiid is $10,000 with a 51.2 ceiling. LeBron James at $8,600 (50.8 ceiling, 37.2 average) and Jaylen Brown at $9,000 (49.4 ceiling, 39.3 average) round out the expensive group.
The value plays are where this slate can be won. Taurean Prince of DET is just $1,000 with a ceiling of 33.6, a big upside for the price even though his DraftKings average is only 3.0. Ausar Thompson of DET at $7,000 carries a 36.7 ceiling and a 27.0 average. VJ Edgecombe of PHI is $7,600 with a 37.4 ceiling and a 31.7 average. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Joe of DET and Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti of PHI all carry an OUT tag from DraftKings, so keep them off your lineups.
Our model's top lineup uses the full $50,000. It puts Cunningham in the captain slot at $15,600, then adds Paul Reed at $7,400, Thompson at $7,000, Kevin Huerter at $4,000, Embiid at $10,000 and Duncan Robinson at $6,000. It pairs the slate's highest ceiling in the captain spot with Embiid as the lone PHI star, and spends the rest on mid-priced depth.
Build your lineups and get them in before the 7:00 p.m. ET lock.
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