For the Sunday NBA DFS Showdown slate, the Denver Nuggets visit the Golden State Warriors at 8:30 PM ET. The Nuggets hope to welcome back Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to the lineup and take one step closer to clinching the top spot in the West. The Warriors are desperately trying to stay above the play-in tournament line and are mostly healthy and playing well to end the season. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Denver Injuries

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - PROBABLE

Nikola Jokic - QUESTIONABLE

Jamal Murray - PROBABLE 

Zeke Nnaji - QUESTIONABLE

Michael Porter, Jr. - PROBABLE

Golden State Injuries

Andrew Wiggins – OUT

Andre Iguodala - OUT

 

MVP/CAPTAIN

Steph Curry (PG)

Steph Curry has been very good in his two games against Denver this year. He averages 44.3 fantasy points per game this season while shooting 51% from the floor against them including over 47% from three. We can expect more of the same tonight as Curry hasn’t scored under 43 fantasy points since March 18th and has hit on 15 of his 26 three-pointers in the last two games. This is a critical game for the Warriors at home which is where we expect Curry to play his best. 

Nikola Jokic (C)

The Nuggets have wanted to be cautious with their back-to-back MVP, but at some point, they are going to need to get Murray and Jokic back so they can win a couple of games and clinch the top spot in the conference. After sitting out two games, the thought is Jokic will be back against the Warriors which means he is likely the number one consideration for our MVP spots. He averages over 64 fantasy points in two games against them this season and with the Warriors’ lack of size underneath, he has shot 61% from the field against Golden State. 

Jamal Murray (PG) 

Murray was held out of Friday’s game with injury management issues for his troublesome knee but he is probable for tonight. He will look to pick up on a streak of eight straight games with at least 34 fantasy points including averaging over 40 the last three times he has played. In his one game against the Warriors this season, Murray burned them for 54 fantasy points in just 30 minutes on the court. He becomes an elite play if for some reason Jokic is held out again as his usage rate spikes in those situations. 

UTILITY 

Jordan Poole (PG/SG)

Poole went through a very rough stretch in early March where he scored more than 30 fantasy points just once across seven games. He couldn’t find his shot, his minutes dipped to around 24-26 per game, and Klay Thompson was going wild as well. But he has rediscovered his strong play over the last 10 days where he has played 29.5 minutes and scored 40.4 fantasy points per game in that span. What it comes down to is he is shooting well again. He is over 47% in the last four games and has shot 50% against the Nuggets in his two games against them this season. 

Draymond Green (PF/C)

Green put up over 38 fantasy points in just 26 minutes in his one game against Denver this season because he stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, three rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and two blocks. At just $7,000 on DK, he seems slightly underpriced there considering he is now routinely playing 33+ minutes and has scored over 30 fantasy points in five of his last six games. He has also been playing a huge facilitator role lately, putting up over 10 assists in three of his last four.  

Bruce Brown (PG/SF)

It doesn’t matter to Bruce Brown whether or not Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray play, he has been putting up big numbers no matter who suits up around him. In his last four games, Brown is playing 30 minutes per game and scoring exactly 30 fantasy points per night. That mirrors what he has done against Golden State this season (30 minutes per game, 29 fantasy points per game). The Warriors have dropped to 19th in defensive rating over the last 14 games so Brown could certainly keep shooting well against them. He averages 73% from the field against the Warriors this season. 

DART THROWS

Gary Payton II (SG/SF)

Since returning to the lineup three games ago after a long-term injury, Payton has put up two very solid games and one terrible one. In the two games he played well, he was on the court for 15 and 18 minutes and averaged 19.5 fantasy points in those two. In his last game against the Spurs on Friday, he finally started contributing up and down the box score with seven points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. At a low salary today, even 16-18 minutes should give him enough runway to provide value. 

Jeff Green (PF/C)

With Jokic hobbled and unable to play the last week, Jeff Green has really shouldered a big load. In the last 10 days, he averages 24.4 minutes per game and 14.3 fantasy points. That’s come with a pretty bad 37% field goal percentage, so any uptick in that area could get him 15+ fantasy points. If this game gets out of hand either way tonight, I don’t think the Nuggets will hesitate for one minute to rest Jokic and give Green more time on the floor.