Draftkings Best NBA Showdown Picks: Clippers vs. Rockets

This evening, the NBA presents a a matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets. Let’s take a look at this game from a single game/showdown DFS perspective.

Before I discuss my Draftkings player picks for this evening’s game, let’s take a quick look at the rules for the Draftkings showdown contest.

Let’s shift our focus to the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest. 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 Draftkings 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.

Now let’s shift our focus to my DFS player picks for the Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets.

Draftkings Player Picks

MVP-Fred VanVleet $8,800

After the conclusion of last season the Houston Rockets recognized the need to bring a quality point guard to the roster during the off-season. The Rockets did just that in July of last year when the team signed Fred VanVleet to a contract. In my opinion, VanVleet has done a relatively good job of providing the Rockets with stability and production at the point guard position.

Let’s take a quick look at VanVleet’s statistics for the season to better shed light on his play in 2024. Through 61 games played, VanVleet has averaged 16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 8 rebounds a game.

It should also be mentioned that VanVleet will be facing a Los Angeles Clippers defense that has clearly had issues containing opposing point guards this season. The Clippers are currently ranked 26th in Draftkings points allowed to the point guard position. Let’s just say that I like VanVleet’s chances of finding success tonight.

Flex Plays

Alperen Sengun $10,000 

Alperen Sengun has certainly helped the Houston Rockets establish credibility and production in the paint this season. Sure, acquiring Fred Vanvleet was great. However, ensuring you have a center that can get it done on nightly basis is vital to any NBA team’s success.

How well has Sengun played in 2024? Through 61 games played, Sengun has averaged 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 blocks a game.

I see the Rockets offense finding success this evening. In my opinion, VanVleet and Sengun will be a major reason why the Houston Rockets are successful.

Norman Powell $6,200 

Earlier this month, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook suffered a wrist injury that required surgery. The injury will cause Westbrook to miss a significant period of time. Clippers guard Norman Powell will likely be the beneficiary of Westbrook’s unfortunate absence this evening.

In the Clippers first game without Westbrook on Sunday, Norman Powell accumulated 24 points and 3 assists in the Clippers 89-88 win over the Wizards. I fully expect that Powell will continue to see his role increase tonight.

Additional flex plays I like: Kawhi Leonard $10,600: Paul George $9,800: Bones Hyland $4,400.