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A fun eight-game NBA slate comes to an end in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles has gone 7-3 over its past 10 games and is sitting pretty in third out West, just 3.5 games out of first place. The top spot is going to be a goal for this team with Donovan Mitchell (ankle) now out for Utah, and Sunday would be a big win. Minnesota, meanwhile, is down in 14th and just looking to develop some of its young core a bit more before the season’s end.
Without further ado, let’s get into how to construct your Showdown lineups for Sunday evening.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (MIN vs LAC)
EDITOR’S NOTE: SF/PF Nicolas Batum (rest) has been ruled out Sunday vs. the Timberwolves.
Captain
Kawhi Leonard ($15,900 CP)
The Clippers have an implied team total of 121 in this one, so I want to attack their roster when it comes to looking for a captain. I’ll take the discount off of KAT here with Kawhi, who has averaged 49.8 DKFP over his past five games. He should also have a fun time matching up with rookie Anthony Edwards ($8,400) who he should be able to take for some steals and toy with on the offensive end. This play is, of course, predicated on Leonard playing.
Ivica Zubac ($9,900 CP)
The Timberwolves are just 27th in rebounding rate this season and 21st over the past 10 games. Despite having Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,200) on the roster, this team is still beaten on the glass consistently. Zubac has the benefit of facing a weak frontcourt, which is all the way in 26th in DKFP allowed to opposing centers. This price allows you to sneak Kawhi and Paul George ($10,000) in your lineup, and maybe even Edwards too.
Fades
Karl-Anthony Towns ($11,200)
This is a tough one because Towns obviously is an elite talent. That said, this price is absolutely exorbitant, and the Clippers are seventh in rebounding rate over the past 10 games. On top of that, Towns is only averaging around 52 DKFP per game over the past three games. I think it’s going to be tough to get 5X value here considering the matchup, which leads me to believe you can do way better with this money.
Value FLEX Options
Marcus Morris ($6,800)
This showdown slate is bereft of really great options outside of the handful of stars playing, so I think Morris is well worth this price. He’s been starting at power forward with Serge Ibaka (back) out and is shooting 67.5 percent from the field and 68.8 from three over the past three games with 23.3 points per game. Now, he’s obviously not going to score that many points if Kawhi is indeed in the lineup, but this is a situation where it’s hard to pass a guy up who’s been playing this well and should be locked in to 30-plus minutes.
Jarred Vanderbilt ($2,800)
Vanderbilt played 21 minutes last time out, despite the fact that Towns was active. In that time, he went for an insane 33 DKFP thanks to a career-high 14 boards. He has been giving Minnesota some great minutes of late, and while the matchup isn’t the best, if he just does half of what he’s been doing, you’d be happy. There’s also the blowout factor; Vanderbilt could get plenty of run in garbage time.
The Outcome
The Clippers’ defense should dominate this one and the Timberwolves’ inability to rebound should be their undoing. This should be another exhibition by the Clippers’ depth; they should prove to everyone they’re not to be doubted even when down some starters. They always seem to come out on top.
Final Score: Clippers 115, Timberwolves 98
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st] (MIN vs LAC)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jetsfan196) and I 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.