Fantasy Basketball Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Lineup Strategy for Lakers vs. Suns Showdown on March 21

A fun NBA slate comes to an end in Phoenix on Sunday evening, where the Suns play host to the Lakers. This one figures to be an interesting game to create a lineup for with the Lakers missing the services of LeBron James, who is out indefinitely with a sprained ankle. Without further ado, let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Sunday evening.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st] (LAL vs PHO)

Captain

Devin Booker ($15,900 CP)

Suddenly, the Lakers’ top-ranked defense doesn’t look so formidable. Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it’s certainly the side worth attacking. Booker’s the obvious choice here, leading the Suns by a wide margin with a 34.4% usage rate over the past 10 games and averaging 42.2 DKFP over the past five. As an added bonus, he racked up 1.45 DKFP per minute last time out against the Lakers.

Mikal Bridges ($11,100 CP)

The other option here — and one that will give you a unique build — is Bridges. The wing has a ridiculous 73.5% True Shooting percentage over the past 10 games, and won’t have to worry about any LeBron James defense here. He’s also averaging over 1 DKFP per minute and 10 shots over the past two games, so he should be able to hit 35-40 pretty easily here. I just don’t trust the Lakers’ defense at all without James, Davis and (maybe) Marc Gasol ($4,800), and think that if you’re not going to take Booker, Bridges is the next-best offensive weapon.

Fades

Montrezl Harrell ($8,800)

Yes, Harrell is tempting here, but it’s important to take a broad view and really assess what kind of fantasy option he’s been without Anthony Davis. On the whole, he hasn’t played the minutes necessary to warrant this price, and if Gasol — who’s listed as questionable — returns to the lineup, his value plummets. I’m listing him down here in anticipation of Gasol’s activation, but don’t mind him as a fade at this price even without Gasol. The Suns can defend very well, especially inside, so there’s no need to go for a fringe fantasy option at any rate.

Value FLEX Options

Talen Horton-Tucker ($5,200)

The sample is small, but in the 262 minutes Horton-Tucker’s seen without both LeBron and AD on the floor, he’s seen the second-biggest bump in usage rate (+6%) and DKFP per minute (+0.2). THT has played some big minutes for the Lakers all season long and, for me, is the most productive option they have on the second unit. The matchup isn’t great, but the usage should be so high that he’s impossible to turn down at this price.

Alex Caruso ($2,800)

I simply can not ignore Caruso in every single Lakers game because of his amazing price game in and game out. Not only is he secure with at least 20 minutes per game, but he also is the featured Lakers point guard in crunch time and the best defensive option with LeBron and AD out. Caruso has hit value for two games in a row while hitting just two of 16 shots. Now, imagine he actually sinks a few? You could be looking at upwards of 10X. Los Angeles will also likely call on him a little more in this one to combat the expertise of Chris Paul (10,200) on offense.

The Outcome

We’ve seen this movie before. The Lakers are nothing without their stars. When Anthony Davis went down due to injury, Los Angeles took about four or five games to figure out what they were doing. This one shouldn’t be particularly close; the Suns should break down the Lakers with their painfully slow pace and stout defense.

Final Score: Suns 109, Lakers 92

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st] (LAL vs PHO)

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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.