Mark Eakins 
NBA DFS Showdown Slates are some of the most challenging contests to win in the industry, but they are most definitely winnable. I have had the luxury of taking down first place in multiple DFS showdown slates in 2020 alone. I am here to show you how to be among the elite when building those “Perfect” showdown lineups and help you all win with the best of them.
Today I am going to explain the process of building those winning lineups, give you my targets and process when it comes to making an optimal NBA DFS Showdown winning lineup. I will note that the strategy behind a winning lineup on DraftKings is a lot different than a winning lineup on Fanduel. In the later stages of the article, I will give out my favorite VALUE captains (does not include Elite/High priced captains) and value plays for each of the three separate Showdown Slates Today. Without further adieu, let’s get this party started with My NBA DFS Showdown Shop Class.
FINDING A DRAFTKINGS CAPTAIN:
When building lineups on DK, you need to be aware that as you choose a captain, their price is going to increase by 50%, and so will their overall score. When picking a captain, make sure you pay attention to the salary that you are leaving yourself with. It is not always optimal to put the most expensive or most productive player in that spot. With having so much success on DK, I have learned that the money is made with the VALUE options.
The best way to pick a Captain is to look and find a TOP TEN producing player who has a decent amount of usage and has the ability to out-perform the “Star Player” of the slate. Even though the chance of that player being the highest fantasy scorers slim, it might still be optimal to take that chance because you will be able to use the leftover salary at another utility spot to build an overall better team, that has a better chance to outscore as a unit rather than as an individual. For example, with Marcus Smart taking over Hayward’s starting role, he could be a fine value option as Captain. His DK salary (6600) will only be 9900 as Captain and will be a savings of 6300 to use to build a better overall team than simply sliding the most expensive option (Tatum 16200) in that spot.
FINDING VALUE:
Always make sure you are aware of the regular starters, and if a “regular” starter is out, who will see his minutes? Who will see his usage? Who will see his shots and production? For example, Gordon Hayward is out with an ankle injury and has been out for a while, so now we even have data on this certain situation, as he’s expected to be sidelined for another month. He was a consistent starter and key piece of Boston’s rotation, and those minutes have to go somewhere. Remember minutes equal money.
The first and one of the biggest beneficiaries has been Marcus Smart; he has assumed a direct starting roll with Hayward out. I don’t want to get too far off-track, but this is what I am talking about. The situation now makes Smart a viable utility plug-in player for your showdown lineups.
FINDING DEEP VALUE:
When finding the Plug-IN pieces, it is essential that you look deep into any teams rotation. It is vital to find that one or two players that will fill the void left behind from an injured player. Usually, if a player is injured, multiple players will see run on the floor, and those are the players to dig out and plug into your lineup as fillers. Even though picking the correct Captain is important, it is equally as important to find the best possible filler options (cheap players who will produce). You can do this by looking at patterns and what teams do in certain circumstances.
Sometimes, you will have no choice but to put in a player who is going to see minimal minutes, but each one of those minutes is very important when finding the deep value. Look for players in a good matchup or players that will be first on the court in a blowout situation, but still, see the court as a second-team throughout the game.
1 PM SHOWDOWN SLATE:
BOSTON CELTICS VS. TORONTO RAPTORS.
This matchup, I will do my best to fit in as many ELITE players as possible and use the value options to fill in the rest of my lineup. I will attempt to fit at least three to four players 8K or above into my lineup.
ELITE OPTIONS (CAPTAINS & UTILITY) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
K. WALKER
F. VANVLEET
J. TATUM
P. SIAKUM
FAVORITE VALUE CAPTAINS (BELOW 12K/8K AND ABOVE 5K) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
J. BROWN
M. SMART
S. IBAKA
N. POWELL
O. ANUNOBY
VALUE OPTIONS (5K OR LESS) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
D. THEIS
M. GASOL
E. KANTER
T. DAVIS
B. WANAMAKER (SHOULD SEE AROUND 18 MINUTES)
G. WILLIAMS (RISKY) (SHOULD SEE 10-15 MINUTES)
R. HOLLIS-JEFFERSON (RISKY)
R. LANGFORD (RISKY)
M. THOMAS (RISKY)
S. OJELEYE (RISKY) (CHANCE HE DOES NOT PLAY)
S. JOHNSON (RISKY) (CHANCE HE DOES NOT PLAY)
C. BOUCHER (RISKY) (CHANCE HE DOES NOT PLAY)
R. WILLIAMS (RISKY) (CHANCE HE DOES NOT PLAY)
DO NOT PLAY:
O. BRISSETT
P. MCCAW
M. MILLER
T. FALL
J. GREEN
P. WATSON
C. EDWARDS
D. HERNANDEZ
V. POIRIER
T. WATERS
G. HAYWARD (INJURED STARTER)
3:30 PM SHOWDOWN SLATE:
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS VS. DALLAS MAVERICKS.
In this matchup, I will be sticking to the ELITE options as Captain (DONCIC MOSTLY THEN FOLLOWED BY LEONARD AND WILLIAMS) for most of my lineups and will have one or two lineups with a value Captain. All of my NBA DFS lineups will consist of both Doncic and Leonard. The rest of my lineup construction will consist of Williams and/or George, multiple value options, and one or two deep value options to fill in gaps.
ELITE OPTIONS (CAPTAINS & UTILITY) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
L. DONCIC
K. LEONARD
L. WILLIAMS
P. GEORGE
FAVORITE VALUE CAPTAINS/UTILITY SPOTS (BELOW 12K/8K AND ABOVE 5K) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
T. BURKE
M. KLEBER
S. CURRY
T. HARDAWAY JR
I. ZUBAC
D. FINNEY-SMITH
M. MORRIS SR
VALUE OPTIONS (5K OR LESS) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
R. JACKSON (IF BEVERLY IS OUT)
M. HARRELL
L. SHAMET
B. MARJANOVIC
P. BEVERLEY (IF NOT LIMITED)
D. WRIGHT (RISKY)
J. GREEN (RISKY)
M. KIDD-GILCHRIST (RISKY)
DO NOT PLAY:
J. MOTLEY
J. NOAH
M. KABENGELE
J. BRUNSON
J. BAREA
D. POWELL
A. COFFEY
A. CLEVELAND
J. REAVES
R. MCGRUDER
C. LEE
P. PATTERSON
W. CAULEY-STEIN
T. MANN
J. JACKSON
8:30 PM SHOWDOWN SLATE:
DENVER NUGGETS VS. UTAH JAZZ.
The Late Night Hammer is definitely going to be a fun one to target. This NBA matchup is a maker or breaker. It has the opportunity to show you exactly why we should target value captains. Even though Mitchell and Jokic will make great Elite captains, getting different is key to winning a big Showdown GPP. I am going to do everything I can to make sure I have Jokic in my lineups. Mitchell is a great play but is never a must-have, and either is Murray. You can build a unique monster line in this game by using an excellent value captain.
ELITE OPTIONS (CAPTAINS & UTILITY) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
N. JOKIC
J. MURRAY
D. MITCHELL
R. GOBERT
M. CONLEY
FAVORITE VALUE CAPTAINS (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
J. INGLES
M. PORTER JR
R. O’NEALE
P. MILLSAP
J. GRANT
J. CLARKSON
VALUE OPTIONS (5K OR LESS) (IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
M. MORRIS
G. HARRIS
T. CRAIG
P. DOZIER
G. NIANG
J. MORGAN
E. MUDIAY (RISKY)
T. BRADLEY (RISKY)
B. BOL (RISKY)
M. ONI (RISKY)
K. BATES-DIOP (RISKY)
M. PLUMLEE (RISKY)
DO NOT PLAY:
N. VONLEH
V. CANCAR
T. DANIELS
N. WILLIAM-GOSS
T. COOK
R. TUCKER
J. WRIGHT-FOREMAN
E. DAVIS
W. BARTON (INJURED STARTER)
B. BOGDANOVIC (INJURED STARTER)
Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to check out my article, and if you have any questions, you can find me on Twitter @JThomsonDFS or 24/7 in the WinDaily Discord Chat, and check out our NBA Projections. Good Luck and don’t forget to come back and WIN DAILY!
