Dallas Mavericks & Denver Nuggets
Over/Under: 225
Spread: DAL -2
There is a battle of superstars as the Mavericks take on the Nuggets in a late-night showdown!
News to Watch
*Nikola Jokic – Questionable (ankle)
*JaMychal Green – Probably (illness)
*Monte Morris – Questionable (quadriceps)
*Gary Harris - Out
CPT/MVP
1.)Luka Doncic PG DAL ($17,100)
Doncic will be well-rested after Dallas held him out of Thursday’s game on a precautionary basis since they had played the night before. There is more of an emphasis on that tonight as the Nuggets will be taking the court for the second straight day. After appearing in the All-Star game, Doncic picked right up where he left off on Wednesday with a triple-double as he scored 22 points while adding 12 rebounds and 12 assists. It’s not hyperbole when we say that Doncic’s upside is 80 fantasy points, but his average for the season of 56.6 isn’t too bad as a floor either.
2.)Nikola Jokic C DEN ($17,700)
In a vacuum it would be a coin flip between Doncic and Jokic for the captain spot (I know real great analysis, right?) but Denver played last night and Jokic is questionable with an ankle injury he acquired in said game. Ultimately fitting both studs into your lineup should be the objective though as long as Jokic is active. All Jokic did last night was put an “average” game for him as he scored 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out seven assists in 36 minutes which was good for 62.8 DK points (his average is 59.7).
3.)Kristaps Porzingis PF/C DAL ($13,800)
Porzingis was also rested on Thursday along with Doncic so he should enter tonight’s game at full strength. Scoring hasn’t been an issue for him this season (20.8 points per game) and his full potential was on display Wednesday as he put up 28 points. Of greater interest is his streak of three games of double-digit rebounds (just over 12 per game) as we look for that to continue.
MID-TIER
1.)Michael Porter Jr. SF/PF DEN ($7,800)
Porter appears to be finding his groove offensively and he is coming off a 24-point performance last night against the Grizzlies. The forward has also been proficient on the boards as of late with 42 rebounds over his last four games. His value is solely dependent on these two categories but he has been good for about 35 DK points a night with the upside for a little more.
2.)Jamaal Murray PG DEN ($8,800)
Ignoring Murray might be short-sighted, but based on the price tonight, it’s difficult to include him along with Doncic and Jokic and among the upper-level options, he would be the first to cut. Generally, Murray is strictly left to cash games as he doesn’t bring much in the way of upside. Despite averaging 21.2 points per game, the fact that he averages just four rebounds and four assists per game keeps his value down. That is especially emphasized on days, such as last night, when Murray didn’t score as he was just 1 of 14 from the field while scoring only three points.
3.)Josh Richardson SG/SF DAL ($6,400)
Richardson generally plays around 30 minutes per game, and has developed into a consistent scorer for the Mavericks. In nine of his last 10 games, Richardson has eclipsed double figures while averaging 14 points per game. At this price point, Richardson offers up solid production in both GPP and cash lineups tonight.
DART THROWS
1.)Paul Millsap PF/C DEN ($5,000)
Millsap will be one of the first Nuggets off the bench tonight regardless of the statuses of Jokic and Green, but that only serves to benefit him. The forward returned last night after missing close to a month of time himself and he picked up right where he left off scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds. It appears that the forward is a lock for 20 to 25 DK points on a nicely basis and he comes in at a nice price tonight.
2.)Dorian Finney-Smith SF/PF DAL ($4,800)
The starting forward plays at least 30 minutes a game for Dallas and he’s generally good for 15 to 20 DK points a night. There isn’t much in the way of scoring upside here but Finney-Smith does have two games of 14 points and one of 12 points over his last 10. In an ideal situation, we would get that level of offensive production with the eight rebounds per game he has been averaging over his last three.
3.)Facundo Campazzo PG DEN ($3,800)
At worst Campazzo will be the first guard off the bench for Denver tonight, and at best he will be elevated to the starting lineup if Morris is sidelined. The guard is coming off a solid performance last night as he scored eight points and dished out four assists in 19 minutes of play and a repeat of that is a reasonable floor.
Player News
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points (11-of-13 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs), four rebounds, eight assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 win over the Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Aside from Game 4 against Memphis, SGA hasn’t been his typical uber-efficient self during the playoffs so far. Well, that changed in Game 2, which contributed to a dominant win for Oklahoma City. This was his fourth straight 30-point game, and that helped OKC bounce back from a two-point loss in Game 1. He only played 30 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter, but SGA did plenty of damage when he was on the floor. The series will now shift to Denver, and OKC will need to win a road game to retake homecourt advantage in this series. Game 3 will be on Friday.