Los Angeles Lakers & Portland Trail Blazers

Over/Under: 221

Spread: POR -8.5

Anthony Davis and the Lakers take on Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers in a late-night showdown!

Injuries:

*LeBron James – Out

*Anthony Davis – Questionable (back)

*Dennis Schroder – Out

*Norman Powell – Probable (knee)

*Kyle Kuzma – Probable (knee)

*Talen Horton-Tucker – Out

*Alex Caruso – Questionable (foot)

*Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Questionable (ankle)

*Marc Gasol – Probable (finger)

Player Breakdown:

CPT/MVP:

  1. Damian Lillard POR ($17,400)

Heading into tonight, we are getting peak Lillard as he has broken the 50-point mark on DK in each of his last four games. Lillard should be coming in rested as well after playing just 31 minutes against Cleveland on Wednesday as Portland was able to coast to victory thanks in part to his 31-point, nine assist performance. In his past four games, Lillard is averaging just under 10 assists per game to go with 30.8 points and that draws him to us tonight.

  1. Anthony Davis LAL ($17,700)

All indications are that Davis is good to go for tonight, at least for now, after back spasms limited him to just nine minutes last night. With James and Schroder out, the Lakers are going to ask for as much as their star forward can handle. Since his return, Davis hit double digits in rebounds just once (11) with a high of 26 points. We know what he is capable of, but Davis hasn’t had that game in which he truly takes over just yet. In a showdown slate though, he cannot be ignored. However, there is a high level of risk here that the back acts up at any time as well. 

  1. Kyle Kuzma LAL ($10,500)

Yes, I know there is risk here, and no, I haven’t lost my mind. At least when it comes to DFS that is. Kuzma is inconsistent at best (he scored just six points two games ago) but the Lakers need him to come through tonight with James, Schroder, and Horton-Tucker all out. Alex Caruso , not exactly a prolific threat himself, is questionable, and someone still needs to run the offense and score for Los Angeles. That makes Kuzma almost a last man standing. Last night he lived up to that shooting nine of 19 from the field scoring 25 points while handing out four assists and grabbing five rebounds. Give us a repeat of that, and all will be good. 

MID-TIER:

  1. C.J. McCollum POR ($10,200)

McCollum’s DFS value is most dependent on his scoring, and in his last six games, the guard is averaging “just” 19.8 points. I say just, because at that price, we have high expectations. He can go off for 25 or 30 points with minimal effort, and there are only a few players capable of that on tonight’s slate. 

  1. Andre Drummond LAL ($8,400)

Drummond failed to take advantage of Davis’ absence last night as he scored just nine points while only grabbing six rebounds. It was the second straight disappointing performance for Drummond, but foul trouble did come into play here as well. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Drummond get back to the double-double neighborhood he had previously been living in as he is generally a good bet for between 30 and 40 fantasy points. 

  1. Jusuf Nurkic POR ($8,600)

Speaking of double-doubles, Nurkic has six in his last eight games, and like Lillard he comes in rested after Portland only needed his services for 21 minutes on Wednesday. What really pushed him over the edge against Cleveland was his four blocked shots, but at worst, he has been averaging 10 rebounds a game and has two in this recent stretch of 17 and 19. 

DART THROWS:

  1. Enes Kanter POR ($4,800)

When Kanter is good, man he is good. When he is not though, Kanter doesn’t break the 20-fantasy point barrier. When Nurkic is out, it’s easy to count on Kanter but when he isn’t, we don’t know what he will do with the roughly 20 minutes of playing time he receives. On Wednesday, the results couldn’t have been better (18 points and 13 rebounds), so we have to hold our breath and be willing to sustain a 15-to-18-point floor.

  1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope LAL ($4,400)

There are some nights when Caldwell-Pope might log some of the most uninspiring 30 minutes of playing time, but the opportunity for production is certainly present. In two of his last three games though, he did put up 10 points and break the 20 DK point mark, and if Caruso is sidelined Caldwell-Pope does look a little more attractive. 

  1. Carmelo Anthony POR ($3,800)

It has been a while, but it is still a little strange to see Anthony priced at this level, but he is now strictly a one-dimensional player at this stage in his Hall of Fame career. Anthony can score, and he has been doing that at a solid level as of late scoring between 13 and 18 points in his last five games. On some occasions he’ll add a little more value with a few rebounds, but it’s the points we are after, and he consistently takes about 10 shots per night.