Best lineup strategy for Pelicans vs. Kings NBA Showdown

This game has big time implications in the Western Conference playoff race. The Sacramento Kings welcome in the New Orleans Pelicans with both teams tied at 28-36 for 10th place in the conference. Both teams trail the Memphis Grizzlies by 3.5 games for the No. 8 seed. The Kings are 7-3 over their past 10 games and defense has been improved for SacTown. The Pelicans are all offense, so it’ll be interesting to see how these two teams match up. Let’s get into some Showdown analysis on DraftKings.

Who should you play at Captain?

De’Aaron Fox ($13,500)

Of all the high-priced options in this contest — which there are many — Fox has the safest floor coupled with a solid ceiling. Fox has scored at least 23 points in five of six games with his usage hovering between 25-35% on most nights. Looking at 1.5x value, it seems pretty likely Fox will reach anywhere from 50-60 fantasy points. The Pelicans don’t play great defense and are among the leaders in pace of play. That screams Fox’s game, burning up and down the court.

Who should you stack with Fox?

Bogdan Bogdanovic ($6,000)

Normally I’d opt to stack Fox with a high-priced player on the Pelicans side. I think that’s fine, but I like the Kings offense at home against a poor NOLA D. Bogdanovic is a bit cheaper than Buddy Hield ($6,800) and has a comparable ceiling given his 3-point shooting. it was only a few games ago that Bogdanovic drained seven 3-pointers against the Blazers. He can easily pick apart this defense.

Where can you find value?

Nicolo Melli ($3,800)

Melli has been seeing more playing time for the Pelicans, averaging around 23.2 minutes per game since the All-Star Break. His shooting has been poor, firing at a 32.7% clip from downtown in the past nine games. He is however attempting 5.4 treys per game in that stretch. The volume is there and I think the pace will ultimately be up in this game. Melli could completely bust, but he also has a pretty high ceiling. I consider him a pretty good GPP play for Showdown tonight.

Who should you be fading?

Lonzo Ball ($9,400)

I’ll first say that I think it’s difficult to fade any one player in this contest. Nobody really stands out much. The Kings have decent wing defenders and I think they’ll be able to limit Ball’s upside, at least scoring the ball. Sacramento is also a good rebounding team. Again, this should make it tough for Ball to get a triple-double, which is his ceiling pretty much. We also need to consider the fact that there are just better options on the Pelicans. Zion Williamson ($8,800), Brandon Ingram ($9,600) and Jrue Holiday ($9,800) are all better options than Ball.