Houston Rockets & Denver Nuggets
Over/Under: 221.5
Spread: DEN -14
Jae’Sean Tate and the Rockets take on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in a late-night showdown!
Injuries:
*Christian Wood – Doubtful (knee)
*John Wall – Out
*Kevin Porter Jr – Out
*Will Barton – Questionable (hamstring)
*Eric Gordon – Out
*Sterling Brown – Out
*Monte Morris – Out
*Avery Bradley – Questionable (illness)
*DJ Augustin - Out
*Jamal Murray - Out
CPT/MVP
1.)Nikola Jokic DEN ($19,500)
Both of these teams played last night, so they enter on equal footing from that regard. From a health perspective, while both teams are missing key pieces, Houston is in considerably worse shape. That also means there is value on top of value tonight (along with some question marks) which makes it quite easy, and I’d say also necessary to fit Jokic. For those keeping score, his price went up $300 after last night when Jokic was actually disappointing with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists. However, I’m not about to argue with his track record.
2.)Jae’Sean Tate HOU ($11,400)
We have to present alternate options, and the price difference from Jokic to Tate is startling. With Christian Wood most likely not suiting up tonight, that brings us to Tate who very well could be Houston’s number one option tonight. What we saw from Tate last night doesn’t make a very good case for him as he scored just eight points in 36 minutes of play while taking nine shots. Tate did have seven assists so it was a solid DFS performance, but we are banking on him taking 19 shots like he did two games ago. Ultimately, someone has to shoot for the Rockets and he also contributes with some rebounds and assists. Tate has recently come close to 40 DK points on multiple occasions so the upside is there.
3.)Aaron Gordon DEN ($10,500)
Gordon had his best offensive performance in his last 10 games against the Warriors last night as he scored 17 points in 27 minutes of play. With Will Barton likely sidelined tonight, and Denver is already missing Monte Morris and Jamal Murray , the Nuggets will likely rely even more so on Gordon for offensive production.
MID-TIER
1.)Michael Porter Jr DEN ($9,800)
The argument very could have been made to include Porter above, but that omission was done both based on price, and the thought process of pairing him with Jokic. There is some upside here, Porter did lead Denver with 26 points last night, but his cost does lessen the impact of that upside. If you are looking to save money at the captain spot, then go all the way tonight as Porter also brings one of the best floors on this slate as he will likely finish with between 30 and 40 fantasy points.
2.)Kelly Olynyk HOU ($8,400)
For better or worse, and I can’t believe this is really a thing, the Rockets are going to lean on Olynyk offensively. That was on display last night as Olynyk put up 23 points in 34 minutes of play. It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise as that was the third time in his last four that Olynyk scored either 23 or 24 points. What is even more impressive is that eight rebounds he is averaging over his last four games which includes 10 last night.
3.)PJ Dozier DEN ($4,400)
Remember what I said about saving money tonight? Well Dozier is a mid-tier option as far as I’m concerned as he will be starting for Denver and I feel about his role. In his last five games, Dozier has played between 24 and 30 minutes while finishing with between 18.5 and 30.5 DK points in that stretch. Last night, Dozier put up nine points while adding five assists and three steals along with two rebounds. With Denver favored by such a hefty total, they are going to need players to get them there, and Dozier should be a main contributor.
DART THROWS
1.) Armoni Brooks HOU ($4,200)
It is not common that this section starts off with a starting point guard, but here we are. Brooks played 30 minutes last night which is right in line with his workload as of late. However, before you get too excited, he has averaged about 20 fantasy points in his last four games. The volume is there offensive, but Brooks struggles to be efficient shooting eight of 31 from the field in his last three games. If a few more of those shots fall, we certainly will be looking differently at Brooks who has also shown some ability on the boards (10 rebounds two games ago).
2.) Shaq Harrison DEN ($1,000)
We had Harrison last night as the ultimate dart throw, and let’s go back to him tonight as he will be the first perimeter player off the bench for Denver. He played 18 minutes on Friday, so that part was correct, but Harrison didn’t exactly make us feel great about that with four points, two rebounds, and two steals. Perhaps more shots will be available tonight in a Denver blowout?
3.) KJ Martin Jr HOU ($3,600)
Houston isn’t exactly flush with depth these days, so let’s target their de-facto sixth man tonight. Martin plays around 20 to 25 minutes per game, but he generally doesn’t stray from about 15 or so DK points thanks to limited upside. Tonight though, we are just targeting the playing time.