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The Los Angeles Lakers are in desperate need of a win, losing four of five since Anthony Davis ($10,600) returned, and will have their sights set on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, who will come in on the second night of a back-to-back. The Raptors have struggled on defense, but so have the Lakers of late, so there’s a potential for a lot of points here and that could make for a fun Showdown.
Without further ado, let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Sunday evening.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Raptors PG/SG Fred VanVleet (injury maintenance) has been ruled out for tonight’s game. Lakers PG Dennis Schroder (health protocols) has also been ruled out.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Raptors SF/PF OG Anunoby (calf) is a late scratch Sunday vs. the Lakers.
Captain
Anthony Davis ($15,900 CP)
AD appears to finally be ramped up to his full complement of minutes, playing 34 last time out. In his sixth game back from injury, and with the Lakers needing a win in the worst way, I’d expect him to play closer to 40 minutes and I’d especially expect him to play more minutes than LeBron James ($11,400). Toronto has failed to defend the interior all season long, meaning Davis should be in a good matchup, and coming off a 51.3-DKFP performance in those 34 minutes, I reckon he’s in form now.
OG Anunoby ($12,300 CP)
The usage and performance have remained consistent for Anunoby, who’s hit value in seven straight games. His matchup here isn’t the most appealing, but with Toronto limping and also searching for someone to heap more volume on after playing less than 24 hours before this one, Anunoby could be in line for a lot of shots here. He’s taken 19 per game over his past two and should once again be heavily relied upon.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (TOR vs LAL)
Fades
Montrezl Harrell ($5,400)
Harrell wasn’t even a great fantasy option the majority of the time with Davis out. Now with AD fully back to speed there’s no need to roster Harrell. He’s likely to score a steady 20 DKFP per game, which would make him an awful choice at this price. He’s a fantastic real-life contributor for the Lakers off the bench but won’t see the minutes or the touches needed to make him fantasy relevant as long as the Lakers are healthy up front.
Value FLEX Options
Kyle Kuzma ($7,200)
You can make fun of me all you want, you can meme this blurb for all I care. Kuzma’s in a good spot here against a Raptors team that ranks sixth-worst in defending the three. Why? Well, now that the attention is on James and Davis, Kuzma’s role is very much back to just being a 3-point shooter. He was dealing with a sprained thumb against the Kings which led to some ineffectiveness, but by all accounts, he should be feeling better here. I may come to regret this, but I can’t not take the Lakers’ resident corner three option against a team that’s so bad at defending the perimeter.
Khem Birch ($6,400)
Chris Boucher is out indefinitely, and Aron Baynes is out of Nick Nurse’s rotation indefinitely. That leaves Birch as the last man standing in the Raptors’ frontcourt, and boy has he been playing well. He went for 40 DKFP in a second straight game on Saturday night, flirting with a triple-double! He should see a minimum of 35 minutes here and has shown he’s capable of a 20-point night. He’s going to have a tough time scoring on Anthony Davis, but at this insane price, all you’re hoping for is 75% of what he was able to piece together against the Utah Jazz who, by the way, might be an even tougher matchup than this one. The Lakers have ranked in the bottom third of the NBA in defensive efficiency since Davis returned.
The Outcome
The Lakers shouldn’t run away with this one by any means, facing a Raptors team that has put together an inspired run over the past eight or so games. Toronto’s offense should match Los Angeles’ stride for stride, and take this one all the way down the brink. I’ve got Los Angeles by a possession or two.
Final Score: Lakers 114, Raptors 109
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (TOR vs LAL)
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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.