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The NBA on Christmas Day slate is here and there’s plenty of opportunities for you create a lineup and cash out in Showdown Captain Mode on DraftKings Daily Fantasy.
The noon ET matchup will be a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. Like several matchups across the holiday slate, this game has been affected by rising number of COVID-19 cases across the league. Hawks guard Trae Young is still in health and safety protocols as of this writing and could miss the showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Nevertheless, there’s still a few solid options out there to anchor your lineups on Saturday and we’ll go over them here.
Update — Clint Capela is available to play today vs. the Knicks after clearing COVID protocols.
Hawks vs. Knicks NBA DraftKings Showdown picks
Captain’s Picks
Julius Randle, New York Knicks, $18,600
Randle is the highest priced active player in this game but he’s yielded the results to earn captain status. He’s averaged 41.6 fantasy points over New York’s last five outings, putting up 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game throughout that stretch as the Knicks have dealt with their own COVID departures and injuries. On the stage of Christmas, he’ll be sure to step it up.
John Collins, Atlanta Hawks, $15,000
With Young out, Collins has held down the fort as the resident veteran in the Hawks starting lineup. He’s put down 20 ppg and 8.8 rpg over the last five outings, netting him an average of 36.4 fantasy points a game during that stretch.
Value Options
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks, $6,000
Robinson has been a solid contributor off the bench for the Knicks all season, averaging 24.1 minutes a game and his numbers have ticked up over the last 10 days. He’s averaged 9.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, all to the tune of 22.9 points per game. The more he’s relied on, the more his fantasy numbers go up and we could see that on Christmas.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks, $5,600
With Young, Kevin Huerter, and Lou Williams all in health and safety protocols, the importance of Bogdanovic has increases. He logged 15 points and five minutes in 28 minutes against the 76ers on Thursday, netting him 23.8 fantasy points. He could put up even bigger numbers on Saturday in the Garden.