Philadelphia 76ers & Portland Trail Blazers

Spread: Trail Blazers –6.5

Total: 217

Philadelphia 76ers Injuries

Joel Embiid – Out

Ben Simmons – Out

Danny Green – Out

Matisse Thybulle – Questionable (COVID-19)

Portland Trail Blazers Injuries

Damian Lillard – Probable (Abdomen)

**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

Damian Lillard, PG (POR) – Lillard has gotten off to a slow start for Portland this season and we can blame it on multiple factors which include the abdominal injury he has been battling. We haven’t seen Lillard flash that 50 or 60 fantasy point upside yet this season, but he has found a consistent groove over his last five games. Over that stretch, Lillard is averaging 24.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 5.2 rebounds a game and the thought process here is that the most expensive player on the slate will also finish with the most points. 

Tyrese Maxey, PG (PHI) – If anyone will challenge Lillard for upside and production tonight, my bet would be on Maxey who also comes with a decent cost savings. In his last six games, Maxey is averaging about 40 DK points per game as the offense has been running through him for Philadelphia and he is both a high volume and generally efficient shooter. Once the 76ers get closer to full strength, I’m not sure if Maxey can continue at this pace, but we are living in the here and now, and Maxey is averaging 23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game over the aforementioned six game stretch. 

Utility

CJ McCollum, PG/SG (POR) – McCollum did take 14 shots on Wednesday, but the problem is that he only made four of them which made it a bust of an evening. Prior to that, McCollum took between 15 and 20 shots per game and we know that he is going to be a high-volume shooter and scorer, and generally he is much more efficient. 

Tobias Harris, PF (PHI) – Yes there has been the occasional 32-point outing mixed in here, but for the most part Harris has failed to take advantage of Philadelphia being short-handed. Harris did take 18 shots against Denver, but he only made eight of them. On the season, we can’t take the 19.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game (good for 38.5 DK points) he is averaging lightly, but I’d rather role with one of the guards in the captain spot and bank on that upside. The fact that we aren’t really getting a bargain with Harris as the second most expensive player on the slate doesn’t help either. 

Jusuf Nurkic, C (POR) – I know I keep on repeating myself, but maybe one day, someone will listen. Nurkic is playing 24 minutes a night and he has been quite efficient this season averaging 11.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, but we aren’t completely out of the woods either. Nurkic is coming off what, for him, was an 18-point explosion on Wednesday but he took more shots (13) than he did in his three previous games combined (12). 

Seth Curry, SG (PHI) – The main point here, is that we want Curry to take the 17 shots he did on Thursday once again. Curry made eight of those shots, even though he went two of eight from downtown, on his way to a 20 point, six rebound, five assist outing. Curry’s offensive abilities aren’t in doubt, 15.7 points per game, and the more playing time he gets, the better shot he has at accumulating rebounds and assists. All Curry needs to do to make it a really good night, is just convert on one or two more of those three-pointers, but of course things can go the other way. As long as Curry is double-digits with field goal attempts, we should be good to go here. 

Norman Powell, SF (POR) – Powell has settled in as the third option for Portland and he hasn’t had issues offensively this season putting up 16.8 points per game. The issue though, is that Powell is averaging 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, so the upside is limited here. 

Dart Throws

Larry Nance Jr., PF/C (POR) – Nance is the closest to minimum price I’m willing to comfortably go tonight and I was a little surprised to see him this cheap. He has been getting about 20-25 minutes off the bench on a nightly basis and while he had been a solid contributor, the last two games for Nance really have our attention as he averaged 15.5 points along with 7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Wednesday’s game was even better for Nance as he added three steals and a blocked shot on his way to 39.25 DK points. If you want to get really sneaky tonight, that could look nice in the captain spot as it also gives you a ton of roster flexibility. 

Nassir Little, SF/PF (POR) – Little starts while Nance comes off the bench, but that doesn’t mean we like him more. At this level, we are really just looking for some cost savings, and the forward plays around 25 minutes a night and has shown some offensive upside at times. 

Georges Niang, SF/PF (PHI) – Niang is a little more expense than what we are generally accustomed to seeing in this section, but we have to take what the slate gives us. He is coming off a 35-minute outing on Thursday in which Niang put up 11 points while grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists in what turned out to be a solid outing. Danny Green being out works in Niang’s favor and we have seen him break the 20-point mark this season so the potential is there.