Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Pelicans vs. Thunder 11/13/24

The NBA presents a regular season matchup featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans 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.

*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s New Orleans Pelicans vs. Oklahoma City Thunder matchup.

Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks

Captain-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder $12,600

Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the in the backcourt that the Oklahoma City Thunder needed to advance to the NBA playoffs last season. Let’s take a look at Gilgeous-Alexander’s game data from the 2023 NBA regular season to better shed light on my previous statement.

In the 75 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2023 NBA regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a robust 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks a game.

Now that we have determined how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in 2023, let’s shift our attention to this season. In the 11 games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 27.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks a game.

Two days ago, in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s impressive 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander certainly played at a high level. More specifically, Gilgeous-Alexander compiled a whopping 45 points, three rebounds, nine assists, five steals, and two blocks in the Thunder’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Thunder’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Gilgeous-Alexander accumulated a massive 77.8 Draftkings points.

In my opinion, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this evening’s NBA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.

Flex Plays

Brandon Ingram, Forward, New Orleans Pelicans $11,600

In the 11 games that Brandon Ingram has played for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2024 NBA regular season, Ingram is averaging a robust 40.1 Draftkings points a game.

More recently, in the Brooklyn Nets 107-105 win over the New Orleans Pelicans two days ago, Brandon Ingram played exceptionally well. Ingram tallied 24 points, five rebounds, nine assists, and one steal in the Brooklyn Nets victory over the Pelicans.

Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Nets win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Brandon Ingram tallied 44.8 Draftkings points.

Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Brandon Boston Jr., Guard (New Orleans Pelicans) $8,800: Yves Missi, Center (New Orleans Pelicans) $6,400.