Later today, the NBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.
Draftkings NBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Austin Reaves, Guard, Los Angeles Lakers $10,400
Guard Austin Reaves has been a standout performer for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. Examining Reaves game data from the 2024 NBA regular season will illuminate the impact he has had on the Los Angeles Lakers overall performance.
In 68 games that guard Austin Reaves has played for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, Reaves has averaged 19.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 68 games that Los Angeles Lakers has played for the Lakers this season, Austin Reaves has compiled a 45.6% field goal percentage, a 36.7% three-point percentage, and an 88.2% free throw percentage.
More recently, in the Denver Nuggets 131-126 win over the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month, Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves certainly played at a high level. Let me be more specific. Reaves amassed 37 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists and four steals in the Nuggets victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NBA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Remember to keep that in mind as you determine which player to select for this coveted position in your lineup.
In my opinion, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this NBA regular season game. With that said, I am backing Austin Reaves at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NBA Showdown contest.
Flex Plays
LeBron James, Forward, Los Angeles Lakers $11,800
In addition to guard Austin Reaves, forward LeBron James has been a key contributor for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
In the 65 games that forward LeBron James has played for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, James is averaging a robust 50.8 Draftkings points a contest.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s NBA game (Draftkings price noted): Luka Doncic, Point Guard (Los Angeles Lakers) $13,800: Jose Alvarado, Point Guard (New Orleans Pelicans) $7,600: Kelly Olynyk, Forward (New Orleans Pelicans) $8,000.