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Saturday’s featured NBA Showdown contest involves the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz at 9 p.m. ET. As usual, DraftKings is offering up a huge Showdown contest for this game, and below I give you some of my favorite options to attack for the format.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (NOP vs UTA)
Captain’s Picks
Brandon Ingram ($14,100)
There’s a quartet of studs to choose from on this slate in Rudy Gobert ($16,200 CP; $10,800), Jonas Valanciunas ($15,600 CP: $10,400), Donovan Mitchell ($14,400 CP; $9.600) and Ingram. Ingram is the cheapest of that group – significantly cheaper in some instances – but I think all four have approximately the same upside. Ingram hasn’t scored particularly well from a fantasy perspective of late, but he’s played upward of 37 minutes in competitive contests. He’s not quite as dominant on a per-minute basis as Gobert, Valanciunas and Mitchell, but he can make up the difference through sheer volume.
Donovan Mitchell ($14,400)
Mitchell is the other stud I’m considering at Captain. He’s priced similarly to Ingram, but he’s nearly $2,000 cheaper than Gobert. Mitchell has been among the league leaders in usage this season, but his fantasy numbers have been kept in check by some subpar shooting numbers. His effective field goal percentage of 49.2% is well below his mark from last season, and it represents a new career low. His 31.3% 3-point percentage is also easily the worst mark of his career. I’m expecting some positive shooting regression for him moving forward, and the Jazz stand out as the preferred side in this matchup. They’re listed as massive 13-point favorites, so they have the clear edge in implied team total.
UTIL Plays
Mike Conley ($7,200)
Conley is a very interesting option from a game theory perspective. Most people expected he would sit today, which is something he’s routinely done on the second leg of a back-to-back since arriving in Utah. However, the Jazz have stated that Conley is on track to suit up vs. the Pelicans. His ownership could be down since he was expected to sit, and finding low-owned players in the single-game format is extremely difficult.
Hassan Whiteside ($4,000)
If you’re going to jam as many studs as possible into your lineup, you’re going to need to get creative with some of your value plays. Whiteside is one possibility. He’s an elite producer on a per-minute basis, averaging 1.23 DKFP per minute, and he’s typically good for around 15 minutes. That’s enough for him to potentially pay off his salary.
Rudy Gay ($3,200)
Gay is another potential option for the Jazz. He’s also playing around 15 minutes per game for the Jazz, and he’s also a capable per-minute producer. There’s also a chance that Royce O’Neale ($7,200 CP: $4,800) will miss tonight’s contest – he’s questionable with ankle and foot injuries – and Gay could grab a few additional minutes if he’s ruled out.
Fades
Jonas Valanciunas ($15,600 CP; $10,400)
Valanciunas is easily the least appealing of the four stud options on this slate. Not only does he play for the Pelicans, giving him a lower scoring expectation than the studs for the Jazz, but he also has to square off with Gobert. Gobert is an absolute monster defensively, so that’s one of the toughest defensive matchups possible. Valanciunas’ minutes have also dipped a bit recently, making him tough to trust at his current salary.
The Outcome
The Jazz have been one of the best teams in basketball yet again this season, so the Pelicans should be a minor speed bump for them. I’m not sure if they can cover this massive spread, but they should be able to win this game pretty comfortably.
From a DFS perspective, I think a stars-and-scrubs build makes the most sense. It’s typically the preferred option in the single-game format since the high-end production from the studs is tough to replicate. One of the reasons Ingram is my favorite Captain option is simply because he’s the cheapest of the top four guys. That means it’s easier to fit two of the other stud players in next to him.
After that, it’s about finding the right “scrubs” to pair with them. Gay and Whiteside stand out to me, but guys like Joe Ingles ($6,300 CP, $4,200) and Garrett Temple ($1,500 CP; $1,000) also make sense.
Final Score: Jazz 115, Pelicans 103
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (NOP vs UTA)
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