Best lineup strategy for Heat vs. Lakers NBA Showdown

Basketball fans will be treated to an NBA Finals rematch on Saturday, as the Miami Heat will travel to the Staples Center to take on the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers. The visitors have been very underwhelming this season. Still, they will look to raise their quality of play against a Lakers team that’ll be without Anthony Davis, who is set to miss an extended period of time with an Achilles injury. We’ll go over the fantasy outlook for Showdown contests centered around the matchup on DraftKings.

Heat vs. Lakers, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Captain’s Picks

LeBron James ($18,300) is dealing with an ankle injury, but that shouldn’t stop him from being his usual self. He’s scored more than 50 DKFP in four straight games and eight of his last 10 contests. He’ll have to continue to do everything for the Lakers without their second star, and he’ll be a triple-double threat like always. He finished last year’s NBA Finals averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists.

The next-best option is a toss-up between Jimmy Butler ($16,500) and Bam Adebayo ($16,200). The two Heat stars have similar DKFP averages, but I’d give Adebayo an edge in this matchup. The fourth-year big man will get to go up against a frontcourt that’s missing an All-NBA caliber defender in Davis. Marc Gasol can only do so much against Bam at his age, and Montrezl Harrell is a below-average defender. The Lakers still have a plethora of quality wing defenders to throw at Butler.

FLEX Plays

Kelly Olynyk ($6,400) stands out as one of the most desirable flex plays in this matchup. The stretch 4 torched the Sacramento Kings’ poor defense for 22 points in 24 minutes in his last game. I don’t expect him to replicate that, but Harrell’s hard-nosed defense that depends on physicality in the post might not translate against a big who does most of his scoring from the outside. Olynyk has to hit shots for this to work and hasn’t been very efficient lately, but this play could pay off big time.

Talen Horton-Tucker ($3,800) played a season-high 28 minutes in the Lakers’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets and could continue to see his role grow while Davis is recovering and his team’s frontcourt is banged up. While he only scored 20.5 DKFP in his last game, he had an opportunity to score a lot more. His price remains unchanged and the time to pounce before it rises is now. There’s not much risk associated with playing someone at his price point.

Fades

Duncan Robinson ($5,800) has fallen short of his DKFP average in seven of his last 10 games. While his hot shooting can make him lethal, injuries make several other options more appealing.

The Outcome

The Lakers haven't looked their best without AD, but have generally handled business at home. The Heat have lacked consistency and are just 5-10 on the road. Los Angeles is a 4-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook and should bounce back from its last loss.

Final score: Lakers win 110-102