Update: The 76ers have had a some players test positive for COVID-19 and a few players were at risk of exposure so the team performed thorough contact tracing. Regardless, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are out with "injuries" after their COVID tests came back negative. The 76ers will field a legal eight-man active roster today, but they'll roll with a seven-man rotation.

Welcome back to the Fantasy Alarm NBA DFS Showdown Article for January 9th, 2021! We have a game between the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers. The betting odds for this game currently sit at Denver -6.5 and the total is sitting at 221. The Sixers are going to be dressing just nine players for this showdown due to health and safety protocols, so it will be quite the show. 

**Important Notes:

*Michael Porter Jr. – OUT

*Tobias Harris – OUT

*Shake Milton – OUT

*Seth Curry – OUT

*Furkan Korkmaz – OUT

*Mattise Thybulle – OUT

*Ben Simmons – OUT

*Joel Embiid - OUT

 

MVP/CAPT PICKS

1.) Nikola Jokic C (DEN) $16,800

Jokic comes in as easily the top play for this game. Jokic continues to smash teams left and right and is fresh off a 64-fantasy point outing in the Nuggets last game that went to OT against the Mavericks. Jokic has played over 30 minutes in each game so far this year, while recording 60 or more fantasy points in five of the eight games he has played in. He leads the team in usage rate at 29.1% and has triple-double potential every single game he plays in.

2.) Jamal Murray PG (DEN) $12,600

I think Murray can be a viable CPT/MVP on this slate today as I feel it’s going to be a lot of him and Jokic doing most of the heavy work early on, plus his price is very affordable. Murray played 46 big minutes in that OT game against the Mavericks and put up 21 actual, with four boards, nine dimes, and a steal in route to 42 fantasy points. Murray gets a superb match-up here with the Sixers, who are already allowing the seventh-MOST fantasy points to opposing PG’s on the season currently and will likely draw a backup reserve for a guard match. Murray has shown massive upside lately, going for 42, 48, and 52 fantasy points in three of his last four. Love the match-up here for him today, but of course we must be weary of the blow-out.

MID-TIER

1.) Monte Morris PG (DEN) $6,600

Monte is one of my more favorite mid-tier plays here as we know how badly the Sixers have fared against opposing wings so far this season. Morris continues to play well as the first reserve off the bench mainly for the Nuggets. He has played 25 or more minutes in five straight games, while also producing well with 22 or more fantasy points in three of those five. He could be in line for extended run in the event that this game happens to get out of hand in the favor of Dener early on  as well.

2.) Dwight Howard C (PHI) $5,800

Howard has alternated really nice fantasy point outings over his last five games with two games at 25 fantasy points in his last three played. Either way, the Sixers only have NINE players to dress for this game and Howard could potentially see 20+ minutes easily here. He has yet to top that number all season long, but dire times call for dire measures and this is a spot he could easily exploit with Isaiah Hartenstein being the direct backup to Nikola Jokic currently. Howard netted 25 fantasy points in his last game in just 15 mins on the floor with nine points (one point shy of a double-double), 12 boards, and one assist. He has value in this game.

3.) Danny Green SG/SF (PHI) $4,800

Green should be a staple in your lineups for this game. Green should see upwards of 30-35 minutes or more in this game with how thin the Sixers are, and he has played well as of late. Green has put up 22 or more fantasy points in four-straight games, while also seeing 26, 23, 30, and 32 minutes over that span to boot. He has been an excellent source of scoring, rebounds, and steals lately, while also throwing in a handful of dimes. Either way, he is very cheap for this showdown game, and he allows you to get some of the bigger names you will need.

DART THROWS

1.) P.J. Dozier SG (DEN) $3,600

As mentioned above, really going to be attacking the backcourt of the Sixers today and I like Dozier as a dart here. Dozier has played 20 or more minutes in four of his last six games, while putting up at least 12 or more fantasy points in all but one game. Yes, I know that doesn’t sound all that comforting, but we are looking at a potential blow-out here and Dozier is a high usage player when on the floor, and if he has a chance at seeing 25+ minutes, I really like him in this game for the match-up.

2.) Tyrese Maxey PG (PHI) $4,400

Maxey will easily be in play today with Milton being on the shelf with health and safety protocols. Maxey will see extended run off the bench in place of Shake and has played well lately as is. He is fresh off a 21-minute outing in the Sixers’ last game against the Nets where he saw extended run with the Sixers down quite a bit at halftime and managed to put up 16 actual, three boards, two dimes, one steal, and a block in route to 27 fantasy points. He has topped 15 fantasy points in four of his last five games and should have plenty of potential here today.