Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walked into Phoenix and kept doing what he had done for most of the first two games, averaging 31.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.5 blocks against the Suns while putting up 58.3 DraftKings points in Game 2. The Thunder visited the Suns for Game 3 in a four-game NBA playoff slate, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s road split mattered because he shot 5.4 percent better away from home this season.
Anthony Edwards had already shown he could travel, topping 49 DraftKings points in each of the first two road games before falling to 27.8 in Game 3, even as his team won. Jalen Johnson was the biggest box-score hammer of the slate, finishing Game 3 with 24 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block for 56.0 DraftKings points. Paolo Banchero stayed steady as well, topping 39 DraftKings points in each of the last two games while averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals, and Chet Holmgren cleared 33 DraftKings points in each of his last two outings while drawing seven free throws over that span.
That production comes with the usual playoff squeeze. Isaiah Joe was listed as doubtful because of a personal reason, Jalen Williams was out with a hamstring injury, Grayson Allen was questionable with a hamstring injury, Jordan Goodwin was questionable with a calf injury, Mark Williams was out with a foot injury, Aaron Gordon was questionable with a calf injury and Peyton Watson was out with a hamstring injury. The injury list matters because DFS value can swing quickly when minutes shift, and this slate also leaned on matchup numbers: the Nuggets gave up the league’s eighth-most points per game to opposing shooting guards, the Knicks allowed the league’s third-most threes per game to opposing power forwards and the Pistons gave up the league’s most blocks per game to opposing power forwards.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, carried a 2-1 lead over the Nuggets, which kept the pressure on every possession and made every secondary scorer matter more than usual. In a postseason slate built around stars, the edge often goes to the player who keeps producing when the matchup tightens, and that is where the strongest DraftKings cases sat.