
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks: Rockets vs. Trail Blazers 1/14/25
Breaking down the best Draftkings picks for this evening's Rockets vs. Trail Blazers matchup.
Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
January 18, 2025 10:00 pm EDT
Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Houston Rockets 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.
*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 Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Alperen Sengun, Center, Houston Rockets $9,600
Center Alperen Sengun has been a standout performer for the Houston Rockets this season. Having stated that, how has Sengun played from a statistical perspective? Let’s analyze Sengun’s game data from the 2024 NBA regular season to reveal the significant impact that the talented young center has made on the team’s overall performance.
In the 40 games that Alperen Sengun has played for the Houston Rockets in the 2024 NBA regular season, Sengun is averaging 44.4 Draftkings points a game.
It is noteworthy that these two teams met earlier this season. Who prevailed? How did Alperen Sengun perform in the game. In the Houston Rockets dominating 116-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in November, Alperen Sengun certainly played at a high level. Let me be more specific. Sengun accumulated a robust 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in the Rockets win over the Portland Trail Blazers
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the Houston Rockets win over the Memphis Grizzlies just mentioned, Houston center Alperen Sengun tallied 38.8 Draftkings points.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups for this one game DFS slate.
In my view, Alperen Sengun appears to be the player most likely to accumulate the highest number of DraftKings points in tonight’s NBA regular season game. Consequently, I am selecting Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun as my captain for this single game DraftKings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
Shaedon Sharpe, Guard, Portland Trail Blazers $7,200
In addition to center Deandre Ayton, guard Shaedon Sharpe has been an essential part of the Portland Trail Blazers lineup this season.
In the 32 games that guard Shaedon Sharpe has played for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2024 NBA regular season, Simons has averaged a respectable 29.3 Draftkings points a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect Portland Trail Blazers point guard Shaedon Sharpe to continue his quality play in this evening’s NBA regular season game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Fred VanVleet, Point Guard (Houston Rockets) $8,600: Deandre Ayton, Center (Portland Trail Blazers) $7,000.