As I mentioned in the excerpt, in the preseason we would have dubbed New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors as a premier matchup for viewing purposes. It would have been Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and D’Angelo Russell going up against Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. Primetime stuff. Instead, everybody is hurt and we get Russell vs. Ingram. Which isn’t bad for fantasy purposes, but also leaves us a bit empty inside. The Pelicans will looking to get their first winning streak since late November going. The Warriors look to end a five-game skid. Let’s take a look at how to approach lineup construction for the NOP-GSW NBA Showdown on DraftKings tonight.
Captain’s Picks
Russell ($14,400) is my favorite pick for the Captain’s slot and he’s a good play in Classic formats as well. This game has the second-highest implied total at 223 points and I imagine that number should go up. Russell is streaky, but this is a matchup where he should be able to get whatever he wants. I like his ceiling and think that’s where you should go. Eric Paschall ($9,000) would be my cheaper options on the Dubs. He returned from injury last game and should hopefully get some more minutes tonight. He dropped 30 points with seven boards against NOLA earlier in the season.
On the Pels side, Ingram ($15,600) is the obvious choice. Again, ceiling is key and Ingram has the highest on New Orleans. He has at least 21 points in six straight games and at least 31 in three of those contests. He feasted on Golden State earlier in the season when the Dubs were actually somewhat healthy, scoring 27 points with 10 boards and six assists. I also don’t mind Derrick Favors ($8,700) if he’s going to play. I think he got banged up last game, so keep an eye out, but Favors has been productive in limited minutes and this is a good matchup for him against inexperienced bigs on Golden State.
FLEX Options
I think Draymond Green ($12,000) is a must-flex in this game. I don’t mind him as a captain’s pick but he’d have to get a triple-double essentially to return that value. So I’ll bank on that happening in a FLEX spot. The Dubs are allowing opponents to shoot almost 40% from downtown this season, so JJ Redick ($9,600) should be a strong consideration in the flex. He lacks the peripheral stats for the Captain’s slot in my eyes. But he could have a big night with 5+ 3s against Golden State.
I mentioned E’Twaun Moore ($5,100) in my values article for the main classic slate and I think he’s a decent salary-saver in this Showdown contest. Even if he only gets around 20 minutes, that’s fine, he shouldn’t have a problem returning value in the matchup. Damion Lee ($6,900) has been getting frontcourt minutes for the Dubs with Kevon Looney being benched and Paschall still coming back from injury. So if Paschall is limited at all tonight, we could see more Lee.