Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Nuggets vs. Lakers 4/25/24

The Denver Nuggets travel to California for a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. Let’s take a look at this NBA game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers game let’s review the rules for Draftkings single game showdown contest.

Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules

You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.

The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this tonight’s Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.

Captain-LeBron James $11,400

Full transparency, I recognize that Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is a great play at captain tonight. However, with the playoff series traveling back to California, I am pivoting to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James as my captain for this one game slate.

There is no doubt in my mind that Lebron James has been the driving force for this Los Angeles Lakers offense this season. Having stated that, how has James been playing recently?

Since the beginning of April, the Los Angeles Lakers have played nine games (including playoffs). In those nine games just mentioned, LeBron James averaged a robust 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.7 blocks a game. Those are the type of fantasy numbers I need from the captain position.

In the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets three days ago, LeBron James posted some outstanding DFS numbers. More specifically, LeBron James accumulated 26 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in the Nuggets win over the Lakers.

I fully expect Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James to continue his quality play versus this Denver Nuggets team in Game 4 of the Western Conference playoffs later today.

Flex Plays

Jamal Murray $10,000

Talented Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray has certainly been a key contributor for this Denver Nuggets team in 2024. Let’s dive into a recent sample of Murray’s game statistics to shed light on my previous statement. In Jamal Murray’s last three games played (including playoffs), Murray is averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists a game.

Tonight, Jamal Murray draws a Los Angeles Lakers defense that is having issues with allowing fantasy points to the point guard position.

In the last 15 games played in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers are ranked a dreadful 28th in total Draftkings points (51.7) allowed a game to the point guard position.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jamal Murray will play well in Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs in Los Angeles this evening.

Additional players I like to play well (Draftkings price noted): Nikola Jokic $13,000: Anthony Davis $11,800: Michael Porter $7,800: Rui Hachimura $5,200.