Our featured Showdown slate is the late game tonight between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James and the Lakers have won their last two games after an abysmal 0-5 start to the season. Anthony Davis and Lebron are both on the injury report but I expect them both to play.

The Jazz are coming off a loss, but still, remain one of the most shocking teams in the West as they sit 6-3 on the season led by Lauri Markkanen & Jordan Clarkson.  Let's jump into some picks to challenge for tonight’s NBA DFS Showdown Slate. 

 

NBA DFS Showdown Playbook

Injuries

Utah Jazz

Los Angeles Lakers

MVP/Captain

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

I think Lebron is the chalky choice for the captain MVP spot tonight. But, if you want to get Lebron in your lineup, you will need to pay up for him as he is the highest-priced player on the slate at $18,900. That's a whopping $2,400 more than the next closest play who is his teammate Anthony Davis. James has two games over 60 FP this season, so we have seen that his ceiling is still there. However, he has back-to-back games in which he scored under 50 FP. But in this matchup against the Jazz, I love it. If Lauri Markkanen or Jarred Vanderbilt draws the defensive assignment of Lebron, good luck, Lebron will cook tonight.

Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Anthony Davis is a solid option if you do not feel comfortable paying the price of LeBron James and fading him tonight. Barring health tonight Davis is just going to continue feasting. He is averaging over 23 points and 11.5 rebounds a game, and the defense has been there adding over two blocks per game. As long as this man is on the court he has been Phenomenal scoring over 50 FP in three games this season. Nobody on the front court of the Jazz scares me in this match either. I expect Davis to put up  25/10 numbers tonight.

Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz

If you want to get crazy at the MVP spot tonight Lauri Markkanen is your guy. So far this season Markkanen is really coming into his own out in Utah. He is currently averaging 21 points and nine rebounds, which are all career highs. I guess that's what happens when you can go to a place, and all the pressure is off of you to be the guy we all wanted him to be in Chicago. He is coming off his second clunker of the season in which he scored just 21 FP but in every other game, he has been very dependable scoring at least 32 FP.

Utility

Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz

Jordan Clarkson has been thriving in his starting role for the Utah Jazz. The man is just a walking bucket but he has even been doing other things. He is currently averaging 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists which happen to both be career highs which is awesome to see. I am a little hesitant to play him, however, with Patrick Beverly most likely drawing the defensive assignment, and that name speaks for itself.

Jarred Vanderbilt, Utah Jazz

Jarred Vanderbilt has carved out a nice role on this Utah Jazz team. He is averaging a solid 25 minutes a night and posting a stat line of 9/8/3. Those numbers might seem pedestrian but he has been super consistent for fantasy purposes. He has scored over 20 FP in his last four games and has scored in the 30s in four games out of nine. Plug Vanderbilt in your lineup, just know his ceiling is capped at around 30 FP every night.

Lonnie Walker, Los Angeles Lakers

Lonnie Walker continues to be a solid part of this Lakers rotation playing 3o minutes or more in four out of his last five games. He is also the third leading scorer for this team behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis averaging over 16 points per game, a career-high so far. Utah's defense is solid being ranked 10th in defensive efficiency, but Walker is a tougher matchup for them. Utah plays with three bigs in the starting lineup, so Walker should be able to use his quickness to create space.

Collin Sexton, Utah Jazz

Collin Sexton is an interesting name to pay attention to. Although he has been coming off the bench, his minutes have been ramping up as of late. Over the last three games, he has played over 30 minutes in two of them and 24 in the other. That has coincided with him scoring over 21 FP in all three of those games as well. We know Sexton is a bucket-getter from his time in Cleveland and it is starting to translate in Utah.

Dart Throw

Troy Brown Jr., Los Angeles Lakers

I do not love any dart throws in this one really, but I will give one like, that's Troy Brown Jr. His price on DraftKings is good at $4,200, and we have seen him be really solid in his four games. He has scored at least 17 FP in all four of his games and played at least 26 minutes off the bench in each one. Put Brown in your lineup as your money-saving option tonight and feel solid about the 17-25 FP he will get you in this one.

 

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