We’re well into the NBA playoffs, and the action is red hot. Our basketball on Wednesday wraps up with the top seed Utah Jazz playing host to the Memphis Grizzlies, who are on a heater having come through the play-in tournament and won Game 1 of this series. With so many stars to choose from, it should be a great slate to play.
Without further ado, let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Wednesday evening.
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Captain
Jonas Valanciunas ($13,200 CP)
Valanciunas had what turned out to be a pretty poor Game 1 against the Jazz, and still managed 37 DKFP. Generally speaking, I love his matchup against Rudy Gobert ($8,400), who is a great rim protector but was one of the worst defenders in the NBA this year versus post-ups. Valanciunas managed six offensive rebounds in Game 1 and competed pretty admirably on the glass, making him a great target with a high ceiling on the offensive end.
Dillon Brooks ($10,800 CP)
Game 1 wasn’t a flash in the pan for Brooks, who has proven himself as one of the Grizzlies’ most reliable offensive weapons — if not the most. His price is still far too low, and I want a guy who’s going to take upwards of 25 field goal attempts in my lineup any way I can. With no real appealing offensive options on either side here — Mitchell should kill most of the value among Utah’s guards, and Morant has long been a disappointing fantasy player — Brooks seems like the way to go.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st] (MEM vs. UTA)
Fades
Donovan Mitchell ($9,400)
Here’s the thing: No one knows how much Mitchell is going to play here, or even how good he’ll look coming off of a long injury layoff. Jordan Clarkson ($8,000) has looked great, so there’s probably no reason to rush him back to 40 minutes anyway. With all of that said, we also have to look at Mitchell’s performance before he was hurt, which left a lot to be desired from a fantasy perspective. This is too much money for me to shell out.
Value FLEX Options
Georges Niang ($3,000)
The forward has carved out a pretty consistent role in Utah’s offense off the bench, and should see another 15-20 minutes here in Game 2. He’s taken no fewer than five three-point attempts in the last four games, and should be a pretty good candidate to return five times value because of that. All you’re really looking for here is 12 points at the minimum, and you’d back Niang to get at least that in 15 minutes.
Derrick Favors ($2,600)
I’m going for the super values here, and I think Favors is a pretty good dart throw. He was dusted off to play a pretty sizable 23 minutes in Game 1, and as long as he plays he is a great play at this price. The Jazz have been managing his minutes all season long, presumably for a moment like this. With so much size to combat on the Memphis side with Valanciunas, Jaren Jackson, Jr. ($6,600) and Xavier Tillman ($3,800), Utah would be wise to get him some more run.
The Outcome
In what should be another close, grind-it-out affair between two slow-paced teams with great defenses, I think the Jazz will struggle here as they try to work Mitchell back into the rotation. Memphis did a lot on defense to give me confidence it can come close to winning this game again, and the battle on the glass was very close. I expect little to change from Game 1 to Game 2, meaning we should get another one that comes down to the final possession.
Final Score: Jazz 98, Grizzlies 95
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st] (MEM vs. UTA)
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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.