Fantasy Basketball Picks: Top DraftKings NBA DFS Lineup Strategy for Clippers vs. Warriors Showdown on January 8

Ever get that feeling of déjà vu? Where it seems like your living a moment that you’ve already experienced. Well, when it comes to the 2020-21 NBA season, that sensation is probably going to be pretty common. For instance, after writing up a Showdown slate featuring the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, I’m now writing up a Showdown slate featuring the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors. It’s a little eerie. I can’t lie.

Let’s break it all down (again) for this Friday edition.

Editor’s Note: Warriors PG Stephen Curry (ankle) and SG/SF Andrew Wiggins (quad) will be available to play in tonight’s game vs. the Clippers.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (LAC vs GSW)

SHOWDOWN STRATEGY

Captain’s Picks

Paul George ($14,700 CP) - Look, with how the shot volume is distributed within the Clippers’ rotation, you sort of have to roll with either George or Kawhi Leonard ($10,600) as your Captain when both are healthy and active. This can sometimes be frustrating, as the two assets have similar workloads and basically inhabit the same position along the wing, which makes selecting the “better” play on a given night a bit of a guessing game. Still, if we’re just looking at this season’s numbers, George should be the more expensive of the duo. George has a higher usage rate (30.4%), he has a much higher true shooting percentage (.660) and he’s averaging more DKFP per minute (1.33). Would it shock me if Leonard drops 50.0 DKFP this evening? Goodness, no. But rest assured, these two are the only players on Los Angeles’ roster with anything close to that type of upside.

Andrew Wiggins ($12,600 CP) - With Stephen Curry ($11,000; ankle) currently listed as questionable to take part in tonight’s rematch, let’s explore how one could go about constructing a lineup if the former MVP was ruled out. Keeping in mind that Curry is obviously a viable Captain if active, I’d have to say that it’s Wiggins who stands to gain the largest increase in role if Curry were to sit. The Canadian has played 197 offensive possessions without his teammate on the court so far this season, and in that stretch of time Wiggins owns a 32.0% usage rate, while he’s averaged a respectable 1.17 DKFP per minute. In general, Wiggins has also just seemed more comfortable over the past two weeks, with the 25-year-old shooting 50.0% from the field over Golden State’s last five games and 45.8% (11-for-24) from three-point range.

UTIL Plays

James Wiseman ($6,200) - Clearly there isn’t a direct line from “Curry might not be playing” to “that means more minutes for our center,” but if Golden State’s All-Star is sitting out on Friday, Steve Kerr is going to need to lean on players actually willing to take shots — especially if Draymond Green ($6,600) is going to log over 30 minutes of action. Wiseman has shown time and time again that’s he’s not afraid to get his as a rookie, coming into this matchup averaging 20.4 field goal attempts per 100 possessions. Wiseman also sports an eye-popping 34.4% usage rate in the 30 minutes he’s played without Curry so far this season. He’ll need to be efficient, as I don’t foresee a scenario where Wiseman is suddenly on the court for a majority of the game, but the skill and ability is undeniable.

Marcus Morris ($5,800) - It’s unclear how much of a jump in minutes workload we can expect from Morris in his second game back from injury, but what is obvious is that Ty Lue is going to try and exploit the veteran for every second he’s able to give on the floor. To wit, in Wednesday’s victory over the Warriors, Morris attempted nine field goals and posted a team-high 31.8% usage rate in the 18 minutes he was able to log. Maybe that won’t be enough to hit value if Morris isn’t able to reach the 25-minute threshold, yet he’s one of few secondary scoring options on the duopoly that is the Clippers that provides a little ceiling in DFS.

Fades

Nic Batum ($6,400) - Batum has played better than almost anyone could have imagined so far this season, but the return of Morris (and his minutes) is going to have to come at the expensive of someone and it’s not going to be Leonard or George. Batum is also a fantasy archetype that needs heavy volume to reach value, as he tends to profile as exceedingly passive. In fact, despite averaging the third-most minutes of any asset on the Clippers (29.3), Batum ranks dead-last on the team in usage rate (13.0%). He’s probably due for a little regression, too. A career 35.8% shooter from three-point range, Batum has made an unstable 45.7% of his shots from distance so far in 2020-21. It’s not going to last.

THE OUTCOME

While I don’t think anyone’s been blown away by Los Angeles’ play to begin the season, the Clippers do come into Friday having covered six of their nine games and they are in possession of the NBA’s third-best offensive rating (113.6). I’m simply not sure how one can expect the Warriors to be able to score with Los Angeles if Curry is eventually ruled out, let alone stop the Clippers from scoring with a defense that’s been pretty underwhelming through eight contests.

Final Score: Los Angeles 110, Golden State 98

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (LAC vs GSW)

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) 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 I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.

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