Fantasy Basketball Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Lineup Strategy for Warriors vs. Lakers Showdown on January 18

This used to be Must See TV for a minute. Oh, how life comes at you fast. The Lakers are the defending champs and 11-3 on the season, having won their past five in a row. The Warriors are 6-6, currently on a two-game losing streak. Both teams are well-rested for this one, as the Warriors last played on Thursday while the Lakers' most recent game was on Friday. It’s a pace up spot for the Lakers, as the Warriors are second in offensive pace. Things could be challenging for the Warriors as the Lakers are tops in defensive efficiency. This will be the first meeting between the two teams. DraftKings Sportsbook has the hometown Lakers as 8.5-point favorites with a 226.5 O/U.

Let’s break down everything to play a few Showdown lineups.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st] (GSW vs LAL)

SHOWDOWN STRATEGY

Captain’s Picks

LeBron James ($16,500 CP) - LeBron is averaging 1.49 DKFP per minute, which is tops on the Lakers and he’s also averaging 48.23 DKFP per game. Outside of the first three games, when he was easing into the season (28, 31 and 26 minutes played), LeBron has been a model of consistency providing a high floor and access to ceiling.

He’s scored at least 40 DKFP in every game since and contributed at least 50 DKFP in six games with one being a 60-burger. What’s even better is that six of those games were in double-digit wins. The most recent four games played have been blowout wins with LeBron playing fewer than 31 minutes in each.

There’s a chance that this game becomes a laugher, but LeBron would likely have an instrumental role in that becoming reality. If the Warriors are able to keep the game competitive, though, then a ceiling game for LeBron could be in the offing. LeBron has the highest floor/ceiling combo of anyone in this game.

Steph Curry ($17,100 CP) - If the Warriors are competitive in this game, then that likely means Curry is spicy hot from the field. He garners a 32.3 usage rate on the season and is hoisting up 20 shots per game. He’s third in the league averaging 28.4 points per game, fourth in shot attempts, first in 3-point attempts and second in 3-point makes. Curry is also averaging 1.39 DKFP per minute.

That said, this is a difficult matchup for him. The Lakers are first in defensive efficiency. Against point guards, in particular, they negate fantasy points per minute production by 11.9% below league average while decreasing 3-point production by 6.88% below the league average.

Curry is the highest-priced player and may have the highest ceiling on the slate, but he’s also produced two sub-30 DKFP games on the season, so the floor is lower.

FLEX Plays

Montrezl Harrell ($7,400) - Harrell is averaging 1.07 DKFP per minute and 26.16 DKFP per game. Over the past five games, he’s gone for 37, 29, 24.5, 30 and 25.75 DKFP. He thrives in uptempo games and should flourish in this matchup with the Warriors.

Draymond Green ($6,400) - Shoutout to the person who photoshopped Green shooting with a backpack on. That is forever seared into my mind. It has to be the reason for the poor shooting, right? To be fair, Green was never known as a prolific shooter, as his field percentage hovered in the 44% range with a low of 42% and a high of 49% over his career, but 28% this season? I want to scream regression but he’s shooting while wearing a backpack for heaven's sake! Thankfully, his fantasy value is not derived from scoring. Green grabs rebounds, dishes out assists and notches defensive stats. On the season, he’s averaging 0.82 DKFP per minute and 22.62 DKFP per game. That per-game average is skewed by the 9.47 and 19.3 DKFP games he had to open the season when he only played 13 and 22 minutes respectively, though. Since then, he’s gone for at least 30 DKFP in five games with a high of 41.77.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($4,200) - Caldwell-Pope is averaging 0.83 DKFP per minute and 18.95 DKFP per game. Over the past four games, though, he’s gone for 20, 27.25, 18.25 and 22.25 DKFP. The ceiling isn’t particularly high, since he averages around 22 minutes per game, but he’s been hot lately (shooting 51% from the field) and should get plenty of open looks tonight, especially in transition.

Fades

Andrew Wiggins ($8,600) - Wiggins is a key cog for the Warriors' offense, as he’s averaging 15 shots per game and garnering a usage rate of 24%. He is also averaging 0.97 DKFP per minute and 31.66 DKFP per game. This is a tough matchup at both ends of the court, though. On defense, he will likely be matched up on LeBron, so there’s a chance of foul trouble. Plus, he could just get physically and mentally manhandled. On offense, he makes most of his hay within 10 feet of the basket. On the season, 41.5% of his field-goal attempts come from that range and he’s converting 51.3% of those. The Lakers are 10th best in defending shots less than eight feet from the rim.

THE OUTCOME

The Lakers are on a roll right now, having dispatched their past four opponents by 17, 29, 17 and 18 points. They did squeak out a 117-115 victory over the Bulls prior to that in a game that Zach LaVine went bonkers for 38 points. Curry could do the same here, but I think the Lakers limit the open looks off of pick and roll action and force the other Warriors to beat them. Given how poorly the supporting cast is shooting, Curry and the Warriors will likely struggle in this one.

Final Score: Sacramento 118, Golden State 103

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st] (GSW vs LAL)

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