Best lineup strategy for Thunder vs Rockets NBA Simulation Showdown

Well, this one would have been a nice one to actually watch on TV. DraftKings is offering a simulated basketball contest Wednesday afternoon for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets rivalry. Chris Paul, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all taking the hypothetical court. Here’s a link to the contest and definitely be sure to check out the rules before entering a lineup.

Captain’s Picks

James Harden ($18,900) is the highest priced player to nobody’s surprise. He’s had some monster performances this season, but we’ve also seen him struggle with outside shooting quite a bit. Since the New Year 2020, Harden has seven games below 20 points. Of course, you’re more than likely to hit a game of over 30 points. Russell Westbrook ($16,800) seems like a safer play given how well he had been playing before the league went on break. There’s less variance with his box scores than Harden, though his ceiling is a bit more capped. This is a pretty top-heavy contest, so we could dip down and use somebody dirt cheap in the Captain’s slot to save salary to cram in 3-4 studs.

FLEX Options

If we’re fitting in Westbrook ($11,200) and Harden ($12,600) then we’re going to need some sub-$5K value. PJ Tucker ($4,400) has been that guy all season long. Sure, there’s a chance we roll a box score in which he goes 0-3 from the floor, but that also might include around 10 rebounds. The floor is safe enough given the amount of minutes he generally plays each games. Odds are you’ll roll a Tucker box score that helps us get value at this price. Nerlens Noel ($2,400) would be the other cheap option on the Thunder side. Considering his rebounding upside, Noel has a safe enough floor at this price. You could chase the Great White Buffalo that is Eric Gordon’s ($6,400) 50-point game. That would return huge value at this UTIL price.