Dallas Mavericks & Los Angeles Clippers

Spread: Clippers -4.5

Total: 206.5

Injuries

Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic – Questionable (ankle)

Maxi Kleber – Probable (oblique) 

Frank Ntilikina - Out

Los Angeles Clippers

Kawhi Leonard – Out

Nicolas Batum – Out

Marcus Morris – Probable (knee)

**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

Luka Doncic, PG/SF (DAL) – Doncic has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, and despite taking part in scrimmages on Monday in practice, his status is still in question. We need to keep an eye on Doncic’s status throughout the day as it will go a long way towards influencing our lineup decisions, but he is our best option. The injury also came at the worst possible time for Doncic as he was coming off some of his best games of the season prior to his ankle injury as he averaged 27.5 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in his last two games. 

Jalen Brunson, PG/SG (DAL) – This is an either-or situation as Brunson has taken full advantage of Doncic’s injury situation. Brunson is averaging 31.6 DK points per game so he has a legit role even if Doncic is in the lineup, but I’d only roll with him in the captain spot if the latter is sidelined. In the last three games, Brunson averaged 18.7 points per game along with nine assists and 5.6 rebounds and we can expect that level of production to continue. 

Paul George, SF/PF, (LAC) – You can never go wrong with George here as he is clearly the best player on the Clippers and we know how much they rely on him. He is averaging 48.5 DK points per game this season and, perhaps most importantly, the usage is there as he regularly is in the 20-25 range when it comes to field goal attempts per game leading to 26.4 points per game. 

Kristaps Porzingis, PF (DAL) – Generally, this isn’t a direction I would look to go down, but Porzingis has proven to be worthy of the attention since his return from a brief injury absence. This isn’t if Doncic is still out, although Porzingis certainly has benefited, but things were headed down that direction even prior to that point. Based on the prices, there is a $5,100 difference in the captain salary, you could make the argument that Porzingis is a better option than Doncic tonight as he is averaging 26 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game in his last five. This is the Porzingis we have been waiting for. 

UTIL

Reggie Jackson, PG (LAC) – Jackson might not be your traditional point guard in the sense that he is only averaging four assists per game, but the shooting volume is there as he is averaging 17.5 points per game. It is expected to be a low scoring game tonight, but Jackson continues to be a dependable option on most nights as long as the shot is falling. The good news, is that he takes enough of them to get us close to 30 fantasy points per night. 

Ivica Zubac, C (LAC) – What Zubac lacks in upside, he makes up in overall consistency. Over his last four games, the center has between 26.25 and 29.5 DK points as he has hit double-digit rebounds in three of those games. Zubac is averaging 10.4 points per game, but he has been showing off some offensive upside as of late. 

Tim Hardaway Jr, SG (DAL) – No Doncic will help boost Hardaway’s usage but he’ll get his shots regardless. The volume can fluctuate on a nightly basis, but it’s generally at acceptable levels as long as the shots are falling. For the most part, Hardaway is one-dimensional, but he is still a step above a dart throw here as he is averaging 14.8 points per game. 

DART THROWS

Marcus Morris, PF (LAC) – Morris hasn’t played since the second game of the season, but he is expected to return tonight from his knee injury. If he does, Morris will likely be in the starting lineup with Batum sidelined. 

Isaiah Hartenstein, C (LAC) – Things were going so well here, and then Hartenstein played just five minutes on Sunday. Prior to that, he had back-to-back games of 11 points and six rebounds on his way to 30 DK points, and the hope is that he gets back to his 15 to 20 minutes of playing time a night. 

Dorian Finney-Smith, SF/PF (DAL) – Based on his workload, Finney-Smith generally gets my attention in this situation but he is only averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Occasionally he will surpass that, and at around 30 minutes per night, he has that chance. 

Luke Kennard, SG/SF (LAC) – Kennard can easily get hot from downtown, where most of his field goal attempts come from, and with about 30 minutes of playing time per night, the opportunity is there. We just need him to get hot on offense as he is generally one-dimensional (3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game). 

Dwight Powell, C (DAL) – While Powell starts, he only plays around 20 minutes a game so that ultimately puts a limit on his value. When on the court, Powell can produce (seven points and 5.4 rebounds per game), but I’m not sure we see him get much past 20 DK points and the price is right tonight.