Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers (-7.5)

Game Total: 215.5

Game 1 went as expected with the Lakers winning by 12 lead by their top players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis .  James finished Game 1 with 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds over 31 minutes. Davis really carried the team, scoring 37 points with 10 boards and four assists. On the flip side the Nuggets top players Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray finished with 21 points apiece. Michael Porter chipped in with 14 and 10 while the Lakers got additional contributions from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope , Danny Green and Rajon Rondo .

Players are ranked in order of preference, if a player is not listed that does not mean they are considered a fade.

MVP/CPT

  1. Jamal Murray PG DEN – Sticking with Murray as my top captain play due to the value you get on the price tag. We have seen him explode in games during the playoffs and he is the cheapest of the primary four scorers in this series. He didn’t come through in Game 1 but he is too good of a shooter to not go off in at least one of these games.
  2. LeBron James , SF LAL – I know it was AD that had the monster Game 1 but LeBron still nearly had a triple-double while only playing 31 minutes. PLUS, he was just snubbed of the MVP award and seemed pretty ticked off about it. I think we get an F.U. game from James tonight.
  3. Rajon Rondo , PG LAL – Rondo got off to a slow start in Game 1 but still finished with a near double-double with nine points and seven rebounds. Rondo only managed one rebound in this one which is a rarity for a guard the grabs between four-to-five a game.

Mid-Tier

  1. Michael Porter SF DEN – He was a dart throw play in Game 1 and he still certainly fits in the dart throw profile but I liked what I saw out of Porter in Game 1 and the Nuggets staff would benefit from having him on the floor given his offensive upside. He is very boom or bust but those who played him in Game 1 benefited.
  2. Jerami Grant PF DEN – Grant played a ton of minutes and while the fantasy production wasn’t anything special the fact that he saw 37 minutes and took 11 shots puts him on my radar. I still think Paul Millsap will have at least one game in this series but Grant had it going in Game 1.
  3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope , SG LAL – KCP was also in the dart throw section in Game 1 and he came through for us in a big way, scoring 18 points and finishing with 26 FP. The 10 shots was a nice surprise but he had it going early. He should be locked in for 25-to-30 minutes.

Dart Throw

  1. Danny Green , SG LAL – The only real difference between Danny Green and KCP is the minutes. Both are three-and-D wings that play around 25 minutes a night. In Game 1 we saw KCP hit his shots and Green not so much. If it flips in Game 2 then he will be valuable.
  2. Paul Millsap , PF DEN – One of these games I feel Millsap will come through. He can get blocks and steals while offering low-end double-double upside.