:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70170959/usa_today_17173179.0.jpg)
Saturday’s featured NBA Showdown contest involves the Philadelphia 76ers and the Portland Trail Blazers at 10:00 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 $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (PHI vs POR)
Captain’s Picks
Damian Lillard ($17,100)
Lillard has had a down year by his standards, particularly as a scorer. He’s shooting just 38.4% from the field and 28.3% from 3-point range, both of which are easily the worst marks of his career. As a result, he’s averaged just 20.4 points per game, which is his lowest mark since his rookie season.
However, it hasn’t been all bad for Lillard. He’s averaged a career-high 8.2 assists per game, and he’s still averaged 1.13 DKFP per minute. He’s also playing all the minutes he can handle, logging at least 38.1 in each of his past five games.
Lillard has been priced to a point where he's capable of paying off his salary even with a poor shooting night, and he should bounce back as a shooter eventually. He’s simply too talented to continue to miss his 3-point attempts all season, so I’m going to keep buying low on Lillard while I can.
Andre Drummond ($15,300)
The 76ers are still playing without Joel Embiid, which means Drummond should continue to see a sizable workload. He’s cooled off a bit after a torrid start, but Drummond has still averaged a stout 1.26 DKFP per minute this season. He should see around 30 minutes on this slate, which is more than enough for Drummond to pay off his current salary.
UTIL Plays
Jusuf Nurkic ($8,200)
Nurkic is actually the best fantasy producer in this contest on a per-minute basis. He’s averaged 1.30 DKFP per minute this season, but his minutes tend to fluctuate game-to-game. He’s played as many as 29.2 minutes and as few as 18.1 minutes over his past four games.
That said, he should be towards the high end of his minute workload vs. the 76ers. If he can play around 26-28 minutes, he should be a strong option on this slate.
Seth Curry ($6,600)
Curry is another member of the 76ers who should benefit from the continued absence of Embiid. He’s averaged 0.87 DKFP per minute with Embiid off the court this season, and he’s coming off 37.7 minutes in his last game. Curry returned value in three of his past four games, and he hasn’t even shot the ball particularly well in those contests. He has excellent upside if he can make a few shots on Saturday.
Larry Nance Jr. ($2,000)
The Blazers are currently listed as six-point home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, so they have a sizable edge in the implied team total. The Blazers also have some appealing value options worth consideration.
Nance is my favorite of the bunch. He’s seen a solid handful of minutes recently, logging at least 20.1 in each of his past five games, and he’s made the most of his playing time. He’s coming off 39.75 DKFP in his last game, and he’s averaged a strong 0.93 DKFP per minute this season. As long as he continues to see big minutes, he should be able to crush his minimal salary.
Fades
C.J. McCollum ($9,800)
McCollum got off to a great start this season, but his numbers have come back to earth a bit recently. He’s failed to return value in six of his past seven games, which coincides with a boost in fantasy scoring from Lillard. That’s not a coincidence. McCollum and Lillard are negatively correlated, so one tends to do well when the other fails. Fading McCollum in lineups where you’re using Lillard makes a lot of sense, just like using McCollum in lineups without Lillard makes a lot of sense.
The Outcome
The 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak in their last game, beating the Nuggets by 14 points in Denver. That said, the Nuggets were also shorthanded at the moment, so those two teams were essentially on a level playing field. The 76ers won’t be nearly as fortunate on Saturday since the Blazers are at full strength.
The 76ers lost by an average of 12.4 points during their five-game losing streak, and their results have been significantly worse with Embiid off the court over the past few seasons. I like the Blazers’ chances of beginning a new losing streak for the 76ers in this matchup.
From a fantasy perspective, there is more than enough value here for a stars-and-scrubs approach. I like the idea of using either Lillard or Drummond at Captain and the other as a utility, and Tobias Harris ($10,400) can be included as a utility as well. After that, grabbing some of the Blazers’ value options like Nance, Anfernee Simons ($2,200), and Cody Zeller ($1,000) makes a lot of sense to round out your lineups.
Final Score: Blazers 114, 76ers 102
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (PHI vs POR)
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is mlamarca) 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. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).
Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat. (CT).
21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/MI/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.