Cleveland Cavaliers @ Phoenix Suns

Spread: Suns -10.5

Total: 216

Injuries

Cleveland Cavaliers

Isaac Okoro – Questionable (hamstring)

Phoenix Suns

Cameron Payne – Out

Dario Saric - Out

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/CPT

Devin Booker PHX, PG/SG – It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Booker is the most expensive player on the slate. At the same time though, we should find value elsewhere and the guard is coming off what is easily his best performance of the season last night. Granted he took advantage of Sacramento but it’s hard to ignore his 31 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Things also look good for Booker if you remove his 12-point dud of a season debut.

Evan Mobley CLE, PF/C – Both teams played last night, so they are entering the game on equal footing, and that is a good thing. The Cavaliers have asked a lot of their stud rookie to open the season, and Mobley has proven to be up to the task. Through six games, Mobley is averaging 34 minutes a night and he has also been productive with 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Mobley put up a career high 23 points on Friday against the Lakers, and he has reached double figures in all six games so far this year. 

Ricky Rubio CLE, PG – Rubio has benefited from Darius Garland missing two games but aside from that, the veteran point guard has carved out a nice role with Cleveland. All things considered, with price certainly being a factor, Rubio might be the best option in the Cavaliers’ backcourt at this time as he comes off an 18 point, six rebound, four assist, three steal performance last night. With 15 points per game, Rubio has been looking for his shot so far this season, but it hasn’t come at the expense of his role as a facilitator (7.2 assists per game). 

Utility

Deandre Ayton PHX, C – Through the first four games of the season, Ayton is averaging a solid double-double with 13 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Nothing about that is surprising, but the center got there on the heels of his 21-point, 21 rebound effort last night against the Kings. While he is capable of it, you can’t expect it on a nightly basis, and the good thing is that, on average, we get a solid floor to go with it. 

Chris Paul PHX, PG – Paul started the season of well with two strong games, but his performance has taken a step back over his last two. It’s also not a good sign that one of those games came as part of the second game of a back-to-back, and that is the same scenario as tonight. To say that the point guard is struggling to score this season would be an understatement as he has just a combined 10 points over his last two games while shooting 3 of 15 from the field. In a matchup that is lacking star power, we know that Paul is going to play around 30 minutes a game, but I wouldn’t force him into your lineup either based on name recognition. 

Mikal Bridges PHX, SG/SF – If we remove Bridges 21-point outing (although he still owns that potential) then we are looking at three games in which he scored 14, 15, and 16 points. Based on the slate, add in few rebounds and he doesn’t have to do much more to get to 30 fantasy points.

Darius Garland CLE, PG – Garland is the steadier of Cleveland’s two guards, but there are some games in which he looks for his offense more than others. The problem is that on those nights, including yesterday, Garland generally hasn’t proven to be efficient. With 14 points and nine assists per game, there is enough of a solid floor from Garland to go along with any potential upside.

Kevin Love CLE, PF/C – The good news is that we aren’t looking for much out of Love tonight. Last night we got a little worse than we had bargained for as he only put four points in 16 minutes, but in each of his previous four games, Love has put up between 24.5 and 29.5 DK points, and there is the potential that Cleveland was saving a little bit for tonight. Love takes around seven to nine shots a night in most instances and he is averaging a solid 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. 

Dart Throws

JaVale McGee PHX, C – The good thing about McGee is that he gives us certainty regarding both his role and production. Granted I just jinxed things, but at the price, I have no issues with McGee as he is averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 13 minutes of play. Last night, the center put up seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 14 minutes of action. 

Cam Johnson PHX, SF/PF – At his price, I like Johnson to provide some salary cap relief as he is generally the first man off the bench for the Suns. A key part of the second unit, Johnson is averaging 20 minutes per game. The risky part of it though, is that if Johnson doesn’t get many shot attempts, or if his shot isn’t falling, we have a bust on our hands.