Thursday brings Game 2 between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. This crucial playoff matchup also gives us another Showdown contest on DraftKings. Let’s wade through all of the options and highlight some players to target for your entries.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (LAL vs GSW)
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Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Captain’s Picks
Anthony Davis ($17,100 CP): Davis completely dominated Game 1, leading the Lakers to an upset victory. Not only did he score 30 points on 19 shot attempts, but he registered 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. When Davis is healthy and playing like this, he is one of the most dominant players in the league. As the Lakers try to take a commanding 2-0 series lead before going back to Los Angeles, look for them to rely on Davis early and often.
Stephen Curry ($16,800 CP): Curry couldn’t get much going until the fourth quarter in Game 1. The Lakers did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands early, but you can only hold down Curry for so long. A strong fourth quarter helped him finish with 27 points, but that was the fewest that he has scored in a game during the Warriors’ current playoff run. The Warriors don’t want to fall to 0-2, so expect Curry to rebound with a better scoring performance this time around.
UTIL Plays
Kevon Looney ($8,000): There has been no slowing down Looney on the glass. Even with Davis feasting Tuesday, Looney grabbed 23 rebounds. That was the third time over the last four games that he has hauled in 21 rebounds. In all three of those games, he also registered at least four assists. Despite his limited scoring, Looney can do enough in rebounds and assists to be worth rostering.
D’Angelo Russell ($7,400): Russell came through with 35.8 DKFP in Game 1. That marked the fourth time over the last five games in which he has scored at least 34.5 DKFP. With the Warriors needing to focus their efforts on Davis and LeBron James ($11,000), Russell could continue to receive some quality open looks. Also, he has averaged 5.9 assists per game in the playoffs.
Jarred Vanderbilt ($4,800): The Lakers have a lot of faith in Vanderbilt, asking him to guard Curry often in Game 1. With that important role, Vanderbilt logged 26 minutes, which was the most he has played in a playoff game during the Lakers’ run. He ended up scoring 26.5 DKFP and did a relatively good job on Curry, so expect him to remain in a similar role for this matchup.
Fades
Andrew Wiggins ($7,800): Wiggins has gone cold from behind the arc. He shot just 1-for-5 on his three-point attempts in Game 1, and is 2-for-13 from deep over his last three games. During that span, he also averaged just 0.7 assists. Looney has been more impactful and has nearly the same salary, so there’s no need to take a chance on this being the game that Wiggins breaks out of his shooting slump.
THE OUTCOME
The Warriors were in an 0-2 hole in the previous series against the Kings and still found a way to win. However, those two losses came on the road. They don’t want to fall to 0-2 here with the series then move to Los Angeles. With the expectation that Curry comes out firing and has a big game, look for the Warriors to even up the series.
Final Score: Warriors 118, Lakers 113
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $500K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (LAL vs GSW)
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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 do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. 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.