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Sunday’s big NBA slate comes to a thrilling conclusion when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets in the nightcap. Both teams come in on streaks — Denver has now won two in a row, while the Lakers are on an absolute tear, winning seven straight. There’s sure to be plenty of scoring in this one, and with injuries on both sides of the ball, there should be some intriguing value options. Let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Sunday evening.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (LAL vs DEN)
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Captain
Nikola Jokic ($17,700 CP)
I think this is one of those slates where you wouldn’t be crazy to pay all the way up at captain. I’m going to throw away the last time these two teams played in favor of the larger season trends. Jokic struggled with just 33.75 DKFP, but the game was very odd having come with so much rest beforehand. The Nuggets dominated the first half then suddenly looked puzzled in the second, doing absolutely nothing on offense.
For the season, Anthony Davis and the Lakers’ frontcourt has struggled to defend post-ups, and that’s where Jokic makes his money. If you want to play the season-long trends and not work off of one sample, this is a good matchup.
Kyle Kuzma ($12,600 CP)
If you have to pick one position to pick on against the Nuggets, it’s the small forward position, where they’ve struggled to defend all season long and have had a rotating cast of bad defenders. Michael Porter Jr., who isn’t known for his defense, should be Kuzma’s matchup here. Kuz has had back-to-back games now with 32-plus minutes and just took eight 3-pointers last game. Simply put, he’s getting run and when he’s on the floor, he’s getting shots up. They should go in against weak defenders. It’s a great way to fit some of the bigger names into your lineup.
Fades
Jamal Murray ($9,200)
Look, this isn’t the bubble. Murray’s monster games have been few and far between this year, and hardly becoming of a $9K option. Not only has he been wildly inconsistent, but he’s also dealing with an injury and comes into this one listed as questionable. If he does play, I think he’s going to have a difficult time against Los Angeles’ elite point guard defense. He’s hit four of his last 18 3-pointers and he’s averaging under 30 DKFP over his past five. I really don’t like this spot.
Value FLEX Options
Michael Porter Jr. ($7,600)
Sure, this is a very difficult matchup, but the Nuggets really might not have anywhere else to turn. Will Barton and Gary Harris are out for this one, and now Murray is questionable, meaning he could be out or limited. I think Porter should be the second option on offense for Denver, and he’s taken six 3-pointers per game over the past three, signaling the Nuggets would like to get him in rhythm from beyond the arc.
R.J. Hampton ($3,200)
Hampton could wind up being a steal at this price, having entered the Nuggets’ rotation with the injuries that they’re dealing with at guard. Even if Murray plays, Hampton has leapfrogged Facundo Campazzo ($1,000) to take his roughly 20 minutes per game, and he’s been able to do a lot with them, averaging more than 19 DKFP per game over the past four contests. He should see the floor enough to hit value.
Wes Matthews ($2,600)
Matthews is beginning to take some of the minutes that had been going to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and could soon see himself in the starting five for Los Angeles. Someone priced this cheaply in the showdown getting 26 minutes per game over the past three is hard to find, and Denver’s lack of depth at shooting guard and its collection of bad defenders should give Matthews a chance to get us at least 12 DKFP here, hitting value.
The Outcome
The Nuggets should once again look strong against the Lakers, perhaps even taking a halftime lead as they did a few games ago against L.A. I suspect their lack of depth comes around to bite them, though, and Los Angeles’ wings find an abundance of open looks from the perimeter late and pull away just in the nick of time.
Final Score: Lakers 107, Nuggets 106
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (LAL vs DEN)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jetsfan196) and I 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 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.