We could have plenty of craziness in the NBA on Thursday with the trade deadline looming in the afternoon. As far as games go, it figures to be a mostly quiet night consisting of just five matchups. One of them is the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Philadelphia 76ers, which will also be the DraftKings featured Showdown contest. Here are some players to consider while building your entries.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st]
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Pick
Ben Simmons ($15,600 CP): The Sixers will once again be shorthanded with Joel Embiid (knee) out. Simmons has continued his steady all-around contributions in his absence, averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.0 steals over his last five games. He also averaged 35 minutes per game during that stretch and should be expected to shoulder a heavy workload again Thursday, making him one of the safer options for the Captain’s Pick.
Tobias Harris ($15,000 CP): Simmons isn’t the only star on the Sixers who has played well with Embiid out. Harris has arguably been even better, averaging 24.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals across his last six games. A key stat is that he averaged 19.2 shot attempts per game during that stretch, which is up from his season average of 15.7. Expect him to continue to be more active on the offensive end in this contest.
UTIL Plays
Montrezl Harrell ($8,800): The Sixers aren’t the only team in this game that is banged up. The Lakers are actually in even worse shape with LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (calf) out. Harrell has stepped up to try and help fill the void, scoring at least 34 DKFP in six of his last eight games. Having Embiid out should make things a little easier for Harrell in the paint, which further strengthens his appeal in DFS.
Dennis Schroder ($8,400): Schroder’s last game was a strange one. Facing off against the Pelicans on Tuesday, he shot just 2-for-10 from the field. However, he made it to the charity stripe 12 times, nailing 10 of his attempts. The end result was him scoring 35 DKFP in a lopsided loss. He has the potential to go off in the scoring column on any given night and he could also see an increase in assists with James out. It’s a bit concerning that the Sixers have the second-best defensive rating in the league, but Schroder is still one of the more appealing fantasy options on the Lakers.
Tony Bradley ($4,800): Bradley has been starting with Embiid out, although Dwight Howard ($7,000) has been more productive. Still, at a significantly cheaper salary than Howard, Bradley could be worth considering. He torched the Warriors for 40.8 DKFP on Tuesday and he’s scored at least 20 DKFP in three of the last six games.
Fades
Talen Horton-Tucker ($7,200): Horton-Tucker is set to play an expanded role off the bench moving forward, but this salary is still too high. Even with the Lakers’ injury issues, he’s scored 20.8 DKFP or fewer in three of the last four games. It might be wise to move up into the next tier of options like Harrell, Schroder and Kyle Kuzma ($8,600), who all have significantly higher floors.
The Outcome
The Lakers have played two games since James suffered his injury and lost both contests by at least 17 points. This game being played in Los Angeles might not be a huge help to them, either, since that are 10-13 at home against the spread. With the Sixers coming off three straight wins and having the duo of Simmons and Harris playing well, look for them to keep rolling with another victory.
Final Score: Sixers 108, Lakers 101
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NBA Showdown $120K Fadeaway [$30K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is mbarner51) and 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.
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