Saturday’s featured NBA Showdown contest features a matchup between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET. As usual, DraftKings is offering up a huge Showdown contest for this game, and below I give you some of my favorite options to attack for the format.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (MEM vs LAC)
Captain’s Picks
Paul George ($18,000)
George is poised for a monster season with the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard could miss the entire year as he recovers from a torn ACL, and the best-case scenario has him returning to the lineup sometime in March or April. That means George is going to have to pick up the slack.
He did just that in the Clippers’ season opener, racking up 56.25 DKFP thanks to 29 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. He also posted a usage rate of 30.7%, which represents a slight increase from his mark last season. Overall, George has averaged 1.36 DKFP per minute with Leonard off the court since the start of last year, so he’s easily the top stud on this slate.
De’Anthony Melton ($6,900)
If you’re not going to pay up for George, I like the idea of going down to Melton at $6,900. That price tag undersells the upside that he brings to the table.
Melton has always been an excellent per-minute contributor – he averaged 1.01 DKFP per minute last season – and he’s expected to see more regular minutes this season. He logged nearly 30.7 minutes on opening night, and he responded with 31.5 DKFP. If he’s going to see that much playing time moving forward, he’s massively underpriced.
UTIL Plays
Jaren Jackson Jr. ($7,800)
Jackson missed most of last year while recovering from an injury, but he seems back to his old self. He was excellent during the preseason, and he racked up 32.0 DKFP on opening night vs. the Cavaliers.
That was good enough to return value, but he still has the potential for much more. He shot just 3-for-12 from the field in that contest, and his six rebounds were also on the low side. He could improve in both areas vs. the Clippers, giving him excellent upside for his price tag.
Eric Bledsoe ($7,600)
Bledsoe looked absolutely lost with the Pelicans last season, but he’s a player who has historically provided excellent fantasy value. If the first game of the year is any indication, he’s going to return to fantasy relevance with the Clippers. He played nearly 30 minutes on opening night, and his 25.0% usage rate was the third-highest mark on the team. He contributed in the other categories as well, notching three rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block. I like his chances of paying off his salary again vs. the Grizzlies.
Desmond Bane ($2,800)
Bane is one of the best pure values on this slate. I considered writing him up as a Captain’s pick, but he’s probably best used as a utility. He saw a nice spike in playing time in his first game of the year, but his usage rate was the bigger surprise. He ranked second on the team with a mark of 29.2%, which represents a massive increase from his average of 16.1% last year. That might be on the high side of what you can expect on Saturday, but he seems poised for a sizable bump in that category.
Fades
Kyle Anderson ($7,200)
I like Anderson. He’s a unique NBA player, and he’s capable of racking up fantasy points in a multitude of ways. However, the minutes just weren’t there for him on opening night. He played less than 22 minutes off the bench, which makes him too expensive at $7,200. He averaged 1.05 DKFP per minute last season, so he needs to play closer to 30 to be a viable option.
The Outcome
I don’t see much separating these two squads at the moment. The Clippers have the best player, but the Grizzlies probably have the superior roster overall. Ja Morant ($16,800 CP; $11,200) is an up-and-coming star, and the rest of the roster is full of young players with potential. The Clippers have surrounded George with a group of aging veterans, so they could be in for a long year.
The Clippers are currently listed as 4.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, but I like the Grizzlies’ chances of pulling off an upset. It should be a close game one way or the other, which should hopefully lead to some strong fantasy performances.
Final Score: Grizzlies 118, Clippers 115
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $150K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (MEM vs LAC)
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