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The Indiana Pacers are playing some of their best basketball at the moment and enter Sunday night’s premiere showdown against the Clippers fresh off a 111-87 blowout win over the Trail Blazers. The Clippers are taking care of business in their own right and sit second in the West at 9-3, trailing just the Lakers. With a total of just 219 set on DraftKings Sportsbook, we might have to get creative here to find some winning picks, but that hasn’t stopped us in the past. Let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Sunday night.
Editor’s Note: Clippers PG/SG Lou Williams (hip) and C Serge Ibaka (illness) have been ruled out for tonight’s game vs. the Pacers.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $80K Fadeaway [$20K to 1st] (IND vs LAC)
Captain
Domantas Sabonis ($15,900 CP)
The Clippers have allowed points out of post-ups at the fifth-highest clip in the NBA, and that’s where Sabonis has excelled this year, ranking ninth in basketball in points per game out of post-ups and second in paint touches. Sabonis is the entire Pacers offense, especially now without Victor Oladipo, and I expect him to get fed plenty in this one. Given the Clippers’ relatively exploitable defense down low, I think he is worth paying up for on this slate. It doesn’t hurt that he’s averaged nearly 50 DKFP, making it pretty likely he hits value.
Kawhi Leonard ($15,600 CP)
The Pacers rank 25th in DKFP allowed to the small forward position, mainly due to the fact that they’ve been forced into playing Aaron Holiday and Doug McDermott extended minutes on the wing with Jeremy Lamb out. The Clippers haven’t played since Friday and won’t play again until Wednesday, so Kawhi should be a full go in this one. I expect him to shred this lackluster Indiana wing defense. He just scored 43 DKFP his last time out in only 28 minutes, and he should see similar efficiency on Sunday.
Fades
Justin Holiday ($5,800)
I get it, with so many injuries on the Pacers’ side at the forward and center positions and now no Victor Oladipo, it’s tempting to go with Holiday here considering he’ll get all the minutes he can handle. The problem is that Holiday’s ceiling is incredibly low, and it’s hard to see him hitting 5x at this salary because he simply does not shoot the basketball or make plays for Indiana. He’s also likely going up against Kawhi Leonard, who is the main reason LA is seventh in points allowed to opposing shooting guards and 11th against small forwards.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball Millionaire lineups here: NBA Showdown $80K Fadeaway [$20K to 1st] (IND vs LAC)
Value FLEX Options
Doug McDermott ($5,600)
Without T.J. Warren, McDermott is seeing some steady run at forward and figures to see 25-30 once again in a dogfight against the Clippers. Los Angeles is allowing the fifth-most 3-pointers per game, which McDermott will love to hear considering he’s hit just two of his past eight attempts from downtown. Expect him to launch plenty on Sunday night and for him to get hot again from deep.
Terance Mann ($3,400)
This is kind of predicated on Lou Williams ($5,200) missing this game due to a hip injury, but even if he plays it’s hard to see Los Angeles pushing him too much. We already addressed the wing defense of Indiana, so Mann is in a good spot and he’s coming off a sensational performance against the Kings in which he hit 5-of-8 shots, scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds, good for 31.25 DKFP. He should see some run in this one, and shouldn’t need to play much to hit value based on how well he’s been playing when given opportunities.
T.J. McConnell ($3,800)
McConnell has long been a reliable point guard off the bench, and his price is incredibly affordable in this one considering he just came off the injury report last game against the Trail Blazers. In that game, he racked up a whopping 27.25 DKFP in just 21 minutes, and he should see a similar complement of minutes here with no Oladipo now.
The Outcome
With so many injuries here, and now a lost identity on offense with one of their three biggest scorers gone, I’m just not sure the firepower will be there to keep up with the Clippers. Sabonis and Brogdon may go off, but there should be little else that goes right for Indiana, and ultimately the Clippers will move to 10-3 on the year with relative ease.
Final Score: Clippers 112, Pacers 101
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $80K Fadeaway [$20K to 1st] (IND vs LAC)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jetsfan196) and I 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. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.