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The Brooklyn Nets (18-25) and Detroit Pistons (17-29) will face off in the second matchup in Saturday’s five-game NBA slate at 7:00 p.m. ET Tuesday. Both sides are vying for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn has a slight lead, but is losing ground fast despite the recent return of Kyrie Irving. We broke down the ideal lineup strategy for Saturday’s Showdown contest featuring the Nets and Pistons.
Captain’s picks
Pistons center Andre Drummond ($16,500) has been a walking double-double all year and shouldn’t be be affected by the mouth laceration that’s caused him to miss his team’s last two games. He only trails the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo in double-doubles this season and is on track to be the NBA’s leading rebounder for the fourth time in five seasons. Two of Brooklyn’s centers — DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton — are listed as questionable. This means Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince could be in for a rough night on the boards.
Derrick Rose ($13,800) has scored at least 20 points in 11 straight games and is a better captain’s pick than Kyrie Irving ($15,900) here in my opinion. The 39.4 DKFP Rose has averaged in his last five appearances is nearly identical to the 40.5 Irving has tallied per contest since returning from a lengthy shoulder injury. Rose doesn’t break the bank and will give you enough flexibility to play Irving and another quality starter as a flex.
Flex
Spencer Dinwiddie can still heat up with Irving back in the fold. He has averaged 33.3 DKFP over the course if his last five games and outperformed Irving twice during that stretch. Although Dinwiddie has settled in as Brooklyn’s second offensive option, his value hasn’t dropped much.
Svi Mykhailiuk ($5,800) is still getting plenty of playing time following the return of Bruce Brown. The swingman has reached double-digits in points in nine of his last 10 appearances while averaging 30 minutes a night. His production has dropped in his last three games, but he’s bound to heat up from long range again at some point.