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For Friday’s featured Showdown contest, the Lakers and Timberwolves will go head-to-head in Los Angeles, beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET. As usual, DraftKings is offering up a huge Showdown contest for this game. Below, I give you some of my favorite options to attack for the format.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st] (MIN vs LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Captain’s Pick
Russell Westbrook ($20,700 CP)
LeBron James (abdomen) will remain out of the lineup, and this is a great matchup for Westbrook. When James has been off the floor, Westbrook’s usage has increased a team-high 3.5 percentage points, and he has scored 1.34 DKFP per minute. Furthermore, in four of the five contests James has sat out, Westbrook has recorded at least 59 DKFP.
Both the Lakers and Wolves rank inside the top eight in pace this season, and this contest’s tilt is set at 224 points on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is the second-highest total of Friday’s 11-game slate. For the third consecutive game, Westbrook should reach the triple-double bonus and exceed 60 DKFP.
Anthony Edwards ($15,900, CP)
Edwards’ sophomore campaign has gotten off to a terrific start. With a team-high 31.2% usage rate, the 20-year-old is amassing 43.3 DKFP per game, including a 66.25-DKFP explosion vs. the Warriors on Wednesday. Edwards is producing 1.2 DKFP per minute and ranks sixth in the league with 36.7 minutes per game.
With Westbrook at the helm, the Lakers are the fastest team in the association, and Edwards shouldn’t disappoint in this uptempo shootout.
UTIL Plays
Anthony Davis ($13,400)
Davis has been dominant with James off the floor this season, contributing 1.4 DKFP per minute. Davis’ usage rises 2.2 percentage points sans James, and if we disregard last Saturday’s loss vs. the Blazers, when Davis only logged seven minutes before exiting with an illness, the superstar is supplying 59.7 DKFP per game with James inactive this season.
In 13 career matchups against Karl-Anthony Towns, Davis is averaging 31.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, and he should tally a huge double-double against his fellow Kentucky Wildcat tonight.
Patrick Beverley ($5,200)
Since being inserted into the starting lineup four contests ago, Beverley is logging 30.6 minutes per game. The guard is amassing 0.9 DKFP per minute and has topped 20 DKFP in seven of eight contests this season.
Beverley is averaging 1.6 defensive stats per game, and the defensive specialist should thrive against this fast Lakers club, which is yielding the fourth-most steals in the league.
Malik Monk ($4,000)
Rajon Rondo (hamstring) is questionable, and if he joins James on the sidelines, Monk would be an excellent punt play for this showdown slate. With the two veterans missing Wednesday, Monk saw 35 minutes off the bench and went off for 41.5 DKFP in the OT win vs. the Heat. In the previous five with Rondo active, Monk only received 16.8 minutes per game, showing you how much his fantasy value hinges on the availability of the point guard.
If Rondo ends up suiting up, Naz Reid ($3,800) would be the best pivot at nearly the same price. The backup center is seeing 15.3 minutes per game this season, which might not seem like much, but Reid is a strong fantasy producer at 1.2 DKFP per minute. The 22-year-old has surpassed 20 DKFP in four of 10 games this season, and this is a juicy matchup for the big man, with the Lakers surrendering most points in the paint and the fifth-most rebounds.
Fades
Carmelo Anthony ($8,000)
This is far too high of an asking price for Anthony. He is only generating 26 DKFP per game with James out, and the veteran’s overall production actually decreases to 0.89 DKFP per minute with James off the court.
Anthony needs to catch fire from beyond the arc to have any prayer of beating this price point, which is unlikely against a Minnesota defense that is holding its opponents to the seventh-worst 3-point percentage in the NBA.
The Outcome
While their players have been putting up big numbers, the Wolves have continued to lose, dropping six games in a row heading into Friday. Since the start of last season, they are 11-28 on the road, and the Lakers have defended their home floor this season, with a 6-3 record in the Staples Center, including back-to-back wins without James.
This matchup should be a tight battle, but in the end, the Lakers should prevail and extended their winning streak to three in a row.
Final Score: Lakers 115, Timberwolves 110
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st] (MIN vs LAL)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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