NBA Showdown Playbook March 24: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers Top Picks
If you’re a fan of fast-paced, high-scoring NBA basketball, tonight’s DFS Showdown slate should be the perfect match for you. The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Los Angeles Lakers in a battle of two of the top three teams in pace who just also happen to be jockeying for playoff positioning. With plenty of stars and plenty of value available on both sides, this should be a very intriguing single-game slate this Friday night. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!
Oklahoma City Injuries:
NONE
Los Angeles Injuries:
LeBron James – OUT
Mo Bamba - OUT
Anthony Davis – PROBABLE
NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks
MVP/CAPTAIN
Anthony Davis (C)
We know when LeBron James is out that Anthony Davis is going to shoulder a huge load on offense and defense. But just how large is it? When James does not play, Davis is now up to a 30% usage rate and 1.45 fantasy points per minute across a 579-minute sample. He also sees large spikes in his steal and rebound rates. The Thunder are down to 26th in the league in rebound rate, and they allow the third-most blocks per game. So even if this is a game where Davis’ shot is not falling, he could have a massive impact on the defensive end.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG)
If you’ve made it this far in the NBA DFS season, you know the Lakers are atrocious against point guards this season. Only the Houston Rockets allow more fantasy points per game than the Lakers (51.4 per game as of March 23rd), and they have actually been slightly worse over the last 15 games since they acquired D’Angelo Russell and shuffled Patrick Beverley out of town. In his one game against the Lakers this season, SGA dropped 47 fantasy points on them while shooting 53% from the field. For a nice discount from Anthony Davis’ salary, I think SGA might be my most popular player in the MVP spot.
Josh Giddey (PG/SG)
Giddey has also torched the Lakers this year, averaging 41.5 fantasy points against them across two games this season. He is coming off back-to-back disappointing games against the Clippers, but he saw a lot of Kawhi Leonard in those games and only averaged 28.5 minutes per game. If he can manage to stay on the floor for 32 minutes+ tonight in a close matchup (the spread is LAL -5), this should be an easy spot for him to get back to 35+ fantasy points.
UTILITY
D’Angelo Russell (PG)
The Thunder are also not a good team against points guards, particularly in the second half of this season. Over the last 30 games, only the Rockets have allowed more fantasy points per game to that position as SGA has not evolved into a lockdown defender yet. Russell has played the Thunder three times this year during his time with Minnesota and now Los Angeles. He averages 31 fantasy points per game against them on 51% shooting. The assist numbers against them (4.7 per game) are well below his season average (6.2), so if that ticks up tonight, this could be a 40-point performance.
Austin Reaves (PG/SG)
Is that Austin Reaves or Christopher Reeve, aka Superman, out there right now, because there may not be a player with more superpowers right now than the new starting shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Reaves has scored over 41 fantasy points in three of his last four games (including shooting over 60% three times) and is averaging 32 minutes per night. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a bottom-six team against shooting guards over the last 15 games as they have given up the most actual points per game and the sixth-most three-pointers made. I believe the hot streak continues at home tonight.
Jalen Williams (PF)
Jalen Williams has just demolished the Lakers in his two games against them this season, averaging over 47 fantasy points against them in 37 minutes per game. Williams has displayed such an all-around solid game lately – whether he is playing the Lakers are not – but it has really shown up against LA. He averages five rebounds, four assists, and four steals against them per game in addition to his 24.5 points. But the best part about his performance against the Lakers is that he averages 37 minutes per night when they play. I don’t know that I can project more than 34 tonight, but that should be plenty of time to give us 4x-5x value on his salary in the $8,000s.
DART THROWS
Wenyen Gabriel (PF/C)
Gabriel has taken over some of the minutes Rui Hachimura was playing after the trade that brought Hachimura to the Lakers. Over his last 10 games, Gabriel is averaging 21.8 fantasy points in 21.3 minutes per game and is shooting 50% from the floor while also grabbing almost nine rebounds per game. Gabriel’s minutes are often tied to how well Troy Brown and Jarred Vanderbilt are playing, so if they struggle tonight or the Lakers need some more interior defensive help, Gabriel could see 22-24 minutes in this one.
Aleksej Pokusevski (C)
We get a nice DFS gift tonight with the surprise news that Poku has been recalled from the G-League and very likely could be active for tonight’s game against the Lakers. He returns after missing three months with a broken leg, and it will be great to see such a fun, unique player make a comeback in just 12 weeks. Poku, who is a fantasy force on offense and defense when healthy, will surely have some kind of minutes restriction or monitoring tonight if he plays, but he is the stone minimum $1,000 on DK and allows you to fit in any other players you want throughout the rest of your roster.
Player News
Buddy Hield had 15 points (5-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist, one steal and four three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Hield moved into the Warriors’ starting lineup in the first round and the team became somewhat reliant on his scoring. With Stephen Curry (hamstring) out in Game 2, Hield started and played 29 minutes. The 32-year-old shooting guard led the Warriors in field goal attempts, though no one in a Golden State uniform was able to reach 20 points. The Warriors weren’t able to overcome a double-digit first half deficit. Despite the four made three-pointers, they’re going to need more from Hield as the series shifts to Golden State, especially if Curry remains out.
Jimmy Butler had 17 points (6-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Butler couldn’t get it done without Stephen Curry (hamstring) on the road in Game 2. The Warriors fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered. Butler had 17 points on 13 shots, which wasn’t far off from the 20 points he had in Game 1. Still, the Warriors have to regroup as they head home for Games 3 and 4 as they try to figure out a way to keep this series close until Curry can return to the court.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points (7-of-13 FGs), two rebounds, three assists, one block and four three-pointers in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Alexander-Walker was a key scorer off the bench in Game 2. He, Naz Reid and Donte DiVencenzo combined for 10 made three-pointers off the bench. In a game where the Warriors were desperate for scoring without Stephen Curry (hamstring), those bench points were too much to overcome as the Timberwolves won by 24 points.
Julius Randle had 24 points (10-of-17 FGs), seven rebounds, 11 assists and one three-pointer in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring in the Game 2 victory. The 30-year-old power forward was just three rebounds away from a triple-double. He was a steadying presence in his 33 minutes as Anthony Edwards dealt with an ankle injury towards the end of the first half. Edwards recovered from his injury to play 34 minutes, but Randle is still the next most important player in this series for the Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards had 20 points (6-of-13 FGs), nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-93 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 on Thursday.
Edwards appeared to suffer a sprained left ankle towards the end of the second quarter as the Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis landed on his foot. Edwards turned the same ankle in the first round against the Lakers and appeared to re-aggravate the injury. The 23-year-old shooting guard would go on to start the second half and play a team-high 34 minutes in the Game 2 victory. Edwards will only have one full day off before the series resumes in Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday.
Warriors will start Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Quinten Post in Game 2 against the Timberwolves on Thursday.
No surprise here as Curry was always a long shot to make it back for Game 2 after leaving Game 1 with hamstring injury. While there has been a report that the 37-year-old point guard is expected to miss a week, there is no firm timetable for his return. The Warriors will go big with their starting lineup for Game 2 with center Quinten Post entering the lineup in Curry’s absence.