Monday's NBA showdown is a single game, DEN @ HOU, on DraftKings with a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary and a $50,000 cap. The slate locks at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT).
The top end of our model's ranking starts with Nikola Jokic at $12,800. He carries a ceiling of 74.0 and a DraftKings average of 48.8, though he also carries a Q tag. Alperen Sengun is next at $10,000 with a 60.7 ceiling and a 43.5 average. Jamal Murray ($9,400, ceiling 50.9, average 39.6) is also tagged Q, while Kevin Durant at $8,400 has a 50.5 ceiling and a 36.6 average. Several other DEN players carry Q tags, including Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, DeMar DeRozan and Cameron Johnson, so the DEN side is worth a look before lock.
The value end of the board is where a showdown lineup gets its flexibility. Oscar Tshiebwe and Bryce Hopkins each cost $1,000. Tshiebwe has a ceiling of 34.3 and Hopkins a ceiling of 20.1. Spencer Jones at $3,000 offers a ceiling of 46.6 against a 10.1 average, and Marvin Bagley III at $2,400 has a ceiling of 31.5 and an 11.6 average. Those salaries leave room to pay up elsewhere. Steven Adams (HOU) and Julian Strawther (DEN) are both tagged OUT.
The fact sheet doesn't include ownership figures for this slate, so we won't guess where the crowd will land.
Our model's top lineup uses $48,200 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Alperen Sengun at captain for $15,000, then fills the UTIL spots with Kevin Durant at $8,400, Jabari Smith Jr. at $8,000, Amen Thompson at $7,800, Tari Eason at $6,000 and Spencer Jones at $3,000. It leans heavily on the HOU side, with Jones as the lone DEN piece and the cheap salary that makes the build fit.
Lock is Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Follow @numeric_dfs on X.