Best lineup strategy for Pelicans vs. Nets NBA Showdown

The shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans lost on Tuesday but will get. shot at redeption on Wednesday on the road agains the Brooklyn Nets, who will play Kevin Durant for the first time in two months. Can the Pelicans’ youth put up a fight against one of the hottest teams in basketball? We broke down an ideal Showdown strategy for contests centered around the matchup on DraftKings.

Note: Ingram (toe) has been ruled out along with Kira Lewis Jr. (calf).

Captain’s Picks

Lonzo Ball ($11,400) returned from his hip injury with a vengeance and has scored more than 50 DKFP in two straight games. He was a rebound away from a triple-double on Tuesday despite shooting an ice-cod 4-of-15 from the field, but made up for his poor shooting with steals, blocks, and assists. Most of Ball’s backups are banged up, so there’s a good chance he’ll get a ton of run.

Kyrie Irving ($15,000) will likely be an extremely popular option with James Harden (hamstring) out and Kevin Durant ($13,800/$9,200) playing for the first time in two months. Irving might not have to score as much with KD getting back into the mix, but he’ll likely leads all Nets in minutes and serve as the team’s lead facilitator.

FLEX Plays

LaMarcus Aldridge ($5,600) has become a big part of Brooklyn’s frontcourt rotation, but hasn’t reached the level of productivity did in his Nets debut again. DeAndre Jordan ($3,600) has fallen out of the rotation, but Blake Griffin ($4,400) will be back in the mix after resting for injury management earlier this week. Choosing between those two ad Jeff Green ($5,000) could be essential to cashing. Fading all the bigs for Joe Harris ($6,400) is another option though, as no team gives up more threes per game than the Pelicans.

James Johnson ($5,200) saw a major drop in productivity when Williamson returned to action on Tuesday, but returned ridiculous value during the game’s the second-year forward missed. Naji Marshall ($3,000) is a worthwhile pivot. The rookie swingman hasn’t dropped below 22 DKFP in his last three games and is sure to get plenty of minutes in a blowout.

Fades

Bruce Brown ($4,800) has had a nice run as an undersized forward during Durant’s absence, but his contributions could fall off a cliff soon. He moved to the bench when Harden returned from injury and will likely be relegated again now that KD is back. He can be a spark plug off the pine, but several other options around $5K are sure to get more minutes and opportunities to score.

The Outcome

The Pelicans got handled by the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and are 9-point underdogs on Wednesday at DraftKings Sportsbook. Missing a key wing Ingram against a team that’s loaded with scoring doesn’t bode well for New Orleans.

Final score: Nets win 118-108