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The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers at 8:30 in the last game of Saturday’s five-game NBA slate. Los Angeles is looking to extend its winning streak to three games while Philadelphia looks to rebound from a loss to the Toronto Raptors in their last outing. Anthony Davis glute contusion has his status for the game up in the air. We broke down the ideal Showdown strategies for this Lakers-76ers matchup.
Captain’s picks
LeBron James ($19,500) and Ben Simmons ($18,000) will be pitted up against one another in this one, and both are ideal captain’s picks in this scenario. James could end up being without his co-star, and Joel Embiid is out indefinitely to recover from a finger fracture. This means both players have been required to step it up by creating more for their respective offenses, rebounding, and contributing on the defensive end.
Simmons isn’t far removed from a masterful performance in which he tallied 84 DKFP on 34 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals, and two blocks. He hasn’t dipped under 43 DKFP in seven games. James has eclipsed 50 DKFP in seven of his last 10 games and has showed no signs of slowing down. Whether you think James is worth having $1,500 less to build to rest of your lineup is up to you.
Flex
Tobias Harris ($9,200) was Philadelphia’s second leading scorer before Embiid went down with a finger injury, so it makes sense that he should get more looks while the top option is out. Harris hasn’t seen a huge scoring bump, but should have an advantage if matched up against Danny Green or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the wing.
Kyle Kuzma ($5,200) will likely step into the Lakers’ starting lineup at power forward if AD is held out and is likely to get the second most shots on the team. He can run hot and cold. If he’s cold, at least you didn’t waste much by picking him. But if he’s hot, he coudl be the best value pic in the field.