Draftkings Best Showdown Picks: Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers

The Denver Nuggets travel to Oregon for a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. Let’s take a look at this NBA game from a DFS perspective.

Prior to discussing the Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers 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 tonight’s Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers matchup.

Draftkings Player Picks

Captain-Nikola Jokic $12,800

How important is talented Denver center Nikola Jokic to the Nuggets team? Let’s look at Jokic’s player statistics for this season to get the answer to that question. Through 70 games played, Jokic has averaged 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 1.3 steals a game. The data just presented indicates that Jokic is the key to this Nuggets team.

Additionally, I like the fact that Jokic will be facing a Portland Trail Blazers defense that has struggled defending the center position recently. In the last 30 games played in the NBA, the Trail Blazers are ranked a rather low 26th in total Draftkings points allowed a game (60.58) to the center position.

Now the Trail Blazers draw the best center in the NBA. Let’s just say I like Jokic’s chances for success this evening. Having stated that, Jokic is a lock as my captain for this one game DFS slate.

Flex Plays

Scoot Henderson $6,600

Full disclosure, the official injury report for both the Nuggets and Trail Blazers has multiple key players listed as questionable for this evening’s game, including Portland guard Anfernee Simons.

I personally don’t see Simons playing tonight. Why is this relevant to Scoot Henderson? It’s important because if Simons is indeed out, I expect Scoot Henderson to see an exponential increase in playing time this evening.

Let’s take a look at Henderson’s recent statistical data to get a better idea of his recent performance on the basketball court. In his last five games played, Henderson has averaged 37.62 Draftkings points a game.

Michael Porter $7,600

Denver point guard Jamal Murray injured his ankle in the Nuggets 113-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday. The Nuggets have listed Murray as questionable on the team’s official injury report for tonight’s game with Portland.

Murray’s likely absence this evening will open the door for other Nuggets players to contribute offensively. I think Denver forward Michael Porter will be the most likely Denver player to see more shot attempts, etc.

Through 70 games played in 2024, Porter has averaged an impressive 31.5 Draftkings points a game.

Additional flex plays I like this evening: Deandre Ayton $9,400: Aaron Gordon $7,000: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $4,400: Peyton Watson $3,000.