NBA Showdown Playbook December 23: Charlotte Hornets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
We have an early Christmas present this Saturday, December 23rd in a DFS dream matchup between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams are top-12 in pace and bottom-12 in defensive rating. The implied total of this game is 235 points, so there should be no shortage of DFS options to choose from. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!
NBA Showdown Injuries
Charlotte Hornets
- Cody Martin – OUT
- Terry Rozier – QUESTIONABLE
- Dennis Smith, Jr. - QUESTIONABLE
Los Angeles Lakers
- Anthony Davis – OUT
- Juan Toscano-Anderson – OUT
- Austin Reaves – QUESTIONABLE
- LeBron James – PROBABLE
- Russell Westbrook - PROBABLE
NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks
MVP/Captain
LeBron James (SF/PF), Los Angeles Lakers
With still no Anthony Davis tonight (foot injury) we should be set up for a LeBron James explosion game that will make it very hard to keep him out of the MVP spot in this Showdown matchup. When Davis does not play, James has an insane 35% usage rate and 1.52 fantasy points per minute. Also when Davis does not play, James’ per-minute numbers in rebounds, threes, and blocks also jump up significantly. Since Davis went down, James averages 57.8 fantasy points over the last 10 days.
Thomas Bryant (C), Los Angeles Lakers
Playing Thomas Bryant tonight should be equal parts obvious and popular. There are a couple of fundamental rules in DFS. One of them is: play your big men against Charlotte. Especially when they are just $10,200 in the MVP spot. With Anthony Davis out, Bryant is in line to draw the start and he should get plenty of minutes in this role. When Bryant plays without Davis, he gets a huge boost in rebounds, usage, and fantasy points per minute. His 1.18 fantasy points per minute in these situations is third on the team behind only James and Westbrook. The Hornets allow three more fantasy points per game to centers than any other team in the league.
LaMelo Ball (PG), Charlotte Hornets
The only team worse than the Lakers against point guards is the Houston Rockets as Los Angeles allows top-five numbers in points, assists, and steals to the position. As Ball continues to get healthier, his performances also continue to improve. Beginning with his second game back from injury on December 16, his fantasy points have improved each game from 40 in that first game to 64 on Tuesday against the Clippers. I can’t reasonably call for 70 fantasy points in this game, but there is no better matchup and game environment for Ball to absolutely go crazy.
Utility
Russell Westbrook (PG), Los Angeles Lakers
Westbrook may not be starting these days, but he has taken that demotion in stride and is excelling right now in a sixth-man role. He has over 50 fantasy points in three of his last five games, crossing the 30-minute mark in each of those. But even when he does not reach 30 minutes, he is still productive. Westbrook hasn’t scored less than 26 fantasy points in almost a month yet his UTIL salary is $2,000 less than the top players on this slate. The Hornets are 27th in defensive rating and 11th in pace this season, so this should be one of those fast-paced, loose defense games where Westbrook excels.
Kelly Oubre (SG/SF), Charlotte Hornets
With players like Gordon Hayward, Dennis Smith, Terry Rozier, and LaMelo Ball in and out of the lineup this year, Oubre has been a consistent force on both ends of the floor despite normally coming off the bench. He averages 35 fantasy points per game over his last 10 including three of his last six over 40 points. On the season, the Lakers are the second-worst team in the league against small forwards as Lonnie Walker has been a real liability on the defensive side of the ball.
Mason Plumlee (C), Charlotte Hornets
The Lakers are only slightly better against opposing centers than the Hornets, which is to say they are both atrocious against the position. The Lakers allow the fourth-most points to the position, they are 22nd in rebound rate, and are 25th in points in the paint allowed. Even though he never exceeds 26 minutes, Plumlee has put up over 30 fantasy points in six of his last eight games.
Dart Throws
Kendrick Nunn (PG/SG), Los Angeles Lakers
Kendrick Nunn is very the definition of a dart throw tonight considering both the basement-level salary ($1,000 on DK) and the volatility of his play. Nunn has been getting minutes lately with Davis on the shelf and Austin Reaves banged up. But in his last two games, he had NEGATIVE fantasy points in 11 minutes and 21 fantasy points in 20 minutes. The chance of him getting negative points again is unlikely, as there is a much greater chance he just doesn’t play at all. But for $1,000, Nunn allows you to get all of Ball, James, Bryant, Oubre, and Westbrook in the rest of your roster.
Nick Richards (C), Charlotte Hornets
The former second-round pick out of Jamaica has been playing some excellent minutes lately behind Mason Plumlee and his role appears to be increasing. Richards has seen at least 19 minutes on the court in five of his last six games and scored over 23 fantasy points in four of those contests. We already know the Lakers are a good spot to play big men, and Bryant is 43rd among all NBA centers in defensive plus-minus this year.
Fantasy Alarm is the home of all things Fantasy Sports. Bringing you the best Fantasy Football, Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Basketball content all year long. Be sure to also check out the best fantasy promo codes on offer today!
Dominate your NBA DFS Showdown contests today using our Player Projections that you can use specifically for Showdown!
Player News
Ivica Zubac had a productive outing, finishing with 27 points (11-of-15 FGs, 5-of-8 FTs), five rebounds, one assist and two blocks in the Game 5 loss to the Nuggets on Tuesday.
Zubac continued to score the ball well, finishing with a series-high in points on efficient shooting. However, Zubac’s usual impact on the glass was absent as he secured just five rebounds in Game 5 after tallying at least nine in the previous four, with his one assist also tying his lowest output of the series. Down in the series 3-2, the Clippers head back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Thursday, where they face a must-win situation to keep their season alive.
James Harden concluded Tuesday’s Game 5 loss to the Nuggets with 11 points (3-of-9 FGs, 5-of-8 FTs), eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in 35 minutes.
Harden had a quiet night on Tuesday, barely cracking double figures in scoring and failing to register double-digit shot attempts. The 2018 NBA MVP has faced a stifling Nuggets defense that, over the last few games, has forced the ball out of his hands, leading to inferior performances compared to earlier games in the series. Harden will look for a bounce-back performance on Thursday as he tries to lead the Clippers to a season-saving victory in Game 6.
Kawhi Leonard stuffed the stat sheet in Tuesday’s Game 5 loss to the Nuggets, posting 20 points (8-of-15 FGs, 3-of-7 FTs), nine rebounds, 11 assists, one steal, two blocks and one three-pointer.
Leonard did a little bit of everything for the Clippers in Game 5. The two-time NBA Finals MVP posted a series-high in assists and also hit the glass hard, resulting in a near-triple-double. Leonard has scored at least 20 points in all five games of this series. However, the Clippers may need even more from him going forward as they look to extend their season beyond Thursday’s Game 6 at the Intuit Dome.
Nikola Jokic earned a triple-double in the Nuggets’ Game 5 win on Tuesday over the Clippers, finishing with 13 points (4-of-13 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), 10 rebounds, 12 assists, one steal, two blocks and one three-pointer.
The three-time NBA MVP had a relatively quiet game by his standards, but still came away with his third triple-double of the series. Jokic struggled with shooting efficiency, and his scoring output was the lowest of the series. Yet, his points were not as necessary in this game, given how well the rest of the Nuggets shot the ball. Nevertheless, Jokic will be in line for another big performance on Thursday when the Nuggets face the Clippers in Game 6.
Russell Westbrook came off the bench and produced 21 points (8-of-15 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), one rebound, one assist and three three-pointers in the Nuggets’ Game 5 win over the Clippers on Tuesday.
Westbrook was electric in his first game back in the lineup following a foot injury that kept him out of Game 4. His second-quarter scoring ignited the crowd and helped set the table for what would be his highest-scoring game of the postseason. The 2017 NBA MVP has had himself a nice series thus far from a scoring standpoint and will have a chance to end his former team’s season on Thursday in Game 6.
Jamal Murray had a dominant Game 5 performance in the Nuggets’ win over the Clippers on Tuesday, tallying 43 points (17-of-26 FGs, 1-of-1 FTs), five rebounds, seven assists, three steals, one block and eight three-pointers.
Fresh off a series-low 13 points in Game 4, Murray exploded for a series-high on Tuesday. He totaled nearly as many three-pointers in this game as he had in the previous four combined, while still managing to dish out seven assists. Murray got hot early in this one and never cooled off, and now has provided his Nuggets the opportunity on Thursday in Game 6 to eliminate the Clippers for the second time in the last five seasons.