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Monday night’s featured NBA Showdown contest is a matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings at 10:00 p.m. ET. As usual, DraftKings is featuring a huge Showdown contest for this game, and below are slate specific targets for Monday’s nightcap.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (PHI vs SAC)
Captain’s Picks
Tyrese Maxey ($13,500)
With Ben Simmons out, Maxey absorbed all of his court time and became one of the busiest point guards in the NBA. At first, Maxey did not do much for the 76ers, but when COVID hit the team and depleted Philadelphia’s rotation, Maxey assumed a larger role. Not only has Maxey’s usage rate shot through the roof, but he’s burying his shots. On Nov. 3, Maxey had a season low 10.6% usage rate capping off a streak of seven games with usage rates south of 20% (average of 16.6%). Since that game — the beginning of Philadelphia’s peak COVID woes — Maxey’s usage rates has been north of 22% in six of seven games, and cresting on Saturday with a 28% usage rate and 49.8 DKFP. Sacramento ranks fourth in pace — a clear pace up spot for Philadelphia (24th in pace) — and 24th in defensive efficiency. That combined with the possibility of Philadelphia being without several key offensive contributors in Sacramento on Monday night, should lead to a big fantasy performance for Maxey.
Matisse Thybulle ($3,000)
In his first game back after missing several weeks due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols (COVID-19), Thybulle saw his second-largest usage rate of the season. This is not surprising, considering that the 76ers’ rotation has been a skeleton crew due to Health and Safety Protocols. His 15.3% usage rate did not go far because his minutes were limited due to foul trouble and Saturday’s game was his first game in three weeks. However, he did score nine points and picked up one rebound, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes. Before Thybulle went on the injury report, he was starting and played 26.5, 38 and 30.3 minutes. Without Joel Embiid (out), Danny Green (out) and possibly Tobias Harris (questionable), Thybulle should not only see 30 minutes, but he should see a usage rate close to 20% tonight.
UTIL Plays
De’Aaron Fox ($9,200)
After losing six of the last seven games, the Kings fired their head coach, Luke Walton. Alvin Gentry takes over as interim head coach, and this could lead to an eventual increase in pace of play, but it’s doubtful that the Kings change their style in their very first game under the new regime. The sad state of affairs in Sacramento are highlighted by this team being led by Harrison Barnes and Chimezie Metu. The Kings are going nowhere and there is no reason for these players to receive the largest usage rates. De’Aaron Fox is supposed to be the star of this team, and since the team has hit rock bottom, it would be wise to hand the keys over to him. Win or lose, the Kings should at least let Fox develop.
Sacramento is a home favorite on Monday night. This says less about the Kings and more about the depleted rotation of the 76ers. The Kings have been favored in three of their last five games, but they have lost four of those games, and the last three by double-digits. Still, the Sportsbook believes in the Kings in this matchup. If the Kings are going to win tonight, then it has to be the result of Fox taking over.
Richaun Holmes ($7,600)
In a normal matchup, Holmes can score 20 points and grab 15 rebounds in 30 minutes of work. Holmes not only has the highest player efficiency rating on the team, but his 22.8 PER ranks 17th in the NBA. This is not a normal matchup. The 76ers have been stretched thin this month and Joel Embiid remain outs. This leaves Andre Drummond in charge of the front court and the veteran is not known for his defensive presence. Drummond ranked 34th among centers in DRPM last season, 37th in 2019-2020 and 23rd the season before that. Holmes should be able to exploit this matchup.
Furkan Korkmaz ($4,200)
He’s not very cheap and he’s not very good, so Kormaz will be low owned. This makes a Kormaz a great way to differentiate lineups on a Showdown slate, which is difficult to do with small player pools. Korkmaz had some great shooting nights earlier this season (seven 3-pointers vs. the Bulls and five 3-pointers vs. the Knicks). This attracted the attention of the DFS community, and he promptly busted on subsequent slates, leaving a foul taste in the mouth of DFS players. If Tobias Harris is out, then DFS players will likely get over their Kormaz loathing to some extent, but it should not raise his ownership that much. Korkmaz should remain low owned, especially at a higher salary than Thybulle, and he has clear three-point upside. The Kings allow the most three-pointers per game to opposing shooting guards (4.25).
Fades
Andre Drummond ($14,700 CP; $9,800)
The wheels have fallen off the wagon for Drummond, but that is to be expected. Drummond was not brought to Philadelphia to start and play 30 minutes a game. However, with the COVID outbreak, that is what has been asked of him. Earlier this month, Drummond filled in admirably, but it seems that the minutes have caught up with him. Drummond has not scored double-digit points or recorded double-digits rebounds in each of his last three games. His usage rate has bottomed out at 10% and 6% in his last two contests.
Drummond’s disappearing act is not the result of Philly getting healthy. The only recent significant change was the return of Tobias Harris, but that happened several games before Drummond’s sudden drop in productivity. It’s possible that his recent poor performances are due to matchups, but tonight won’t be any easier. Richaun Holmes ranked 11th in DRPM last season.
The Outcome
Will there be a new coach bump for the Kings on Monday night? That narrative is a narrative. Facts are not narratives, and the facts are that Philadelphia is on the fifth game of a six game western swing and are running with a depleted rotation. Not only is their lineup thin, but they’re missing a possible league MVP in Joel Embiid. All is not well in Sac-Town, but for one night the kingdom can rejoice.
Final Score: Kings 114, 76ers 107
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $100K Fadeaway [$25K to 1st] (PHI vs SAC)
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