The New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors will square off tonight for the fourth time this year as we dive into NBA DFS showdown picks. The Pelicans lead the season series two games to one so far. This will be Stephen Curry’s first time matching up against the Pelicans this year. Both teams have identical records, and the Pelicans are on a five-game winning streak. Tonight’s matchup has a game total of 234 and the previous three games have gone under this total. The pace of play heavily favors the Pelicans tonight, though New Orleans is still without Zion Williamson. The Warriors are home, where they play a lot better than on the road. Meanwhile, New Orleans has 10 more losses than wins on the road this season. Here are a few players we can look at for DFS NBA showdown lineups tonight on DraftKings and FanDuel. 

 

NBA Injury Report

New Orleans Pelicans Injuries:

Golden State Warriors Injuries:

NBA DFS Showdown Picks

MVP/Captain:

Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans

Andrew Wiggins still being out benefits Ingram big time because the Warriors' defense is downgraded even further, and he’s scored 26 points or more in two of three games against the Warriors this season. He’s exceeded his scoring average of 24 in six straight battles hitting at least 50 percent of his field goals in four of those contests. As long as Williamson remains inactive, Ingram will be the prioritized scorer for the Pelicans. He’s also dropped seven dimes or more in four of his last five battles including posting two games with at least 10 assists. He’ll help CJ McCollum run the point. He’s pulled down at least six boards in two of his last three outings. With the pace being sped up for the Pelicans tonight, we should expect Ingram to take 18-23 shots. He’s even swiped balls in two of his last three outings. Ingram sits with a 32 percent usage rate and he’s hitting over 48 percent of his shots and sinking 40 percent from long range. 

CJ McCollum, New Orleans Pelicans

The Warriors are one of the weakest teams in the league at guarding point guards and McCollum produced over 42 DraftKings points in two of three games against the Warriors this season, and we should expect him to play close to 35 minutes tonight. He’s dropped eight dimes and blocked shots in both of his last two contests. He’s also swiped multiple balls in four of his last five games and pulled down six boards or more in three games during that span. McCollum does a little bit of everything and has produced nicely versus Golden State this year and with this being a pace-up matchup for him, his production ceiling rises. As good as Curry is on offense, he’s detrimental to the team on defense and McCollum should take advantage. He should take between 15-20 shots tonight and he’s dropping nearly 21 points per outing this season and will be the second-prioritized scorer behind Ingram. 

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

New Orleans hasn't faced Curry this season as he sat out the previous three matchups. Besides averaging over 29 points per game this season, Curry has been rebounding more pulling down six or more in five of his last six contests. He’ll dish a good number of assists and after seeing how Jordan Poole performed against the Pelicans previously with Curry out, Curry can be relied on as he’s hit over 49 percent of his shots this year. Curry also swipes nearly a ball per outing. He’s known for his three-point shooting, but the Pelicans don’t do a good job of defending the post and Curry could take advantage when given space and force himself in the paint until the Pelicans adjust. The Pelicans are strong defensively versus point guards, but Curry spends a ton of time with the ball and due to a lack of reliable frontcourt scorers, Curry will need to take 20-plus shots tonight to have a chance of cooling off the streaking Pelicans. 

Utility

Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans

The Warriors are horrible post defenders and Valanciunas should eat up Kevon Looney in the paint tonight. He’s coming off a season-high 21-rebound game versus Portland and the Warriors rank 23rd in the league at covering centers. He’s produced double-doubles in six straight contests and he secured a double-double the last time he suited up against the Warriors. Valanciunas has also swatted away shots in six of his last eight games and the Warriors don’t go up strong with the ball. Valanciunas should be able to cover the post easily because Looney doesn’t have any post moves. In the past, we’ve questioned Valanciunas' production ceiling because of his minutes, but he’s hit the 30-minute mark in five of his last six battles and he shouldn’t have his minutes monitored just because the Pelicans played last night. He’s grabbed 13 boards or more in four straight, helps set up other players on offense and he’s even compiled steals in three of his last five games. 

Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

All signs are pointing to Green playing tonight, but, in the event he needs to sit, Jonathan Kuminga will see a boost in minutes. Green has hit double figures in scoring in four of his last five outings. He should play between 32-37 minutes, and he’ll spend more time setting up other teammates on offense than shooting the ball himself. He’s dished eight or more dimes in two of his last three games. It has been encouraging seeing him take no fewer than nine shots in four of his last five matchups. Green has also blocked five shots total over his last four and stole the ball five times during that span. The Warriors don’t have the muscle to keep Green out of the paint unless Naji Marshall is at his best tonight. Green should be able to get in the paint and by Valanciunas considering he’s a soft defender for shots right under the basket. Green will also shift up to center at times as well.

Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors

We saw Poole thrive with Curry out for previous games versus the Pelicans, but Poole continues to be active in scoring the basketball. He’s posted 27 points or more in both of his last two games and he’ll toggle between point guard and shooting guard with Thompson shifting up to small forward. Poole is designated as probable and if for some reason he gets further downgraded tonight, pivot to Donte DiVincenzo for your showdown lineups. Poole is currently dealing with a sore wrist, but the probable tag does provide some safety that he should suit up tonight, for now. Poole should play around 30 minutes and he swipes nearly a ball per outing. He’s scored no fewer than 18 points against the Pelicans this season and if the odds are any indication of how tonight's going to go and the Warriors blow out the Pelicans (which I don’t think will happen), Poole will still play a lot of minutes.

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Thompson is coming off a poor shooting outing the other night versus Minnesota, but the pace should be quick enough for him to take 17-22 shots tonight. He scored 27 points with Curry sidelined last game versus New Orleans and the Pelicans have only faced Thompson one time this season. Thompson is also pulling down a few rebounds and he’s even blocked shots in six of his last eight contests. It would be a little concerning if the Pelicans were still playing as poor as they were throwing Thompson into a showdown lineup with him mainly bringing points to the table, but, with New Orleans playing better, this game should be closer than the spread indicates tonight unless they come out of the gate gassed from last night. Thompson has hit over 40 percent of his three-pointers this season and even with Curry out the last game he faced New Orleans, the Pelicans' defense could have focused specifically on taking him out of rhythm, but he was able to prevail. 

Dart Throws

Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors

The Pelicans rank 17th in the league at defending centers and Looney doesn’t need a lot of playing time to produce even though he's been playing more lately. Looney has posted two double-doubles in his last four games and grabbed 10 or more boards in three of his last four contests. He’s even stolen the ball in four of his last five games. He’s even scored in double figures in four of his last six battles. Looney notched a double-double the last time he suited up against the Pelicans and between the playing time being higher for him lately, and Valanciunas being soft in the post, the Warriors should be able to hit Looney in the paint if he properly executes the give-and-go through Curry. Looney should be able to get to the free-throw line a bit tonight as well as he bangs in the post to keep plays alive for the Warriors. Golden State doesn’t have much depth behind him. 

Josh Richardson, New Orleans Pelicans

With the pace being bumped up for the Pelicans for this game, we should see Richardson take a few more shots. Richardson can play multiple positions and he’s a cheaper investment and has a better shot at providing us a better return than Trey Murphy III. He’s scored 10 points or more in three of his last four battles and pulled down at least three rebounds in three of those contests. He should play 25-30 minutes tonight and even though he hasn’t taken a heavy volume of field goals, he’s hit at least 50 percent of his shots in three of his last four battles and has been sinking half of the three-pointers he takes recently. Richardson should be looking at seven to 11 shots this evening. The Pelicans will need to keep up with the Warriors' fast scoring and Richardson has proven lately that he deserves to be featured more in the Pelicans' offense. Richardson also swipes 1.1 balls per game.

 

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