Questionable stars is the theme of tonight’s Showdown matchup between the Suns and Clippers. We are awaiting news on players like Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, John Wall, and Ivica Zubac we enter Thursday afternoon. If any of those players sit, it will be easy to find a couple of value options where we can spend down. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Injuries

Phoenix Suns

Deandre Ayton – Questionable

Devin Booker – Questionable

Jae Crowder – Out

Cameron Johnson – Out

Cameron Payne - Out

Los Angeles Clippers

John Wall – Questionable

Ivica Zubac - Questionable

Norman Powell - Out

MVP/CAPTAIN

Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers

In every game since December 10th, we have been witnessing a series of “MVP Candidate Paul George” games. The Clippers felt comfortable running him out there for 41, 35, and 33 minutes in those games and he put up 52 fantasy points per game in that span. A matchup against the Suns and Mikal Bridges will be much tougher than one against the Wizards and Timberwolves, but the point remains that George is once again getting the minutes and usage that make him one of the most dangerous players in the NBA. If his FG% increases any (under 40% in the last two games), it could mean even more fantasy production.

Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

Leonard has crossed 30 fantasy points for three straight games now, also averaging 30 minutes per night. The shooting remains a problem (only one game over 47% since November 19th), but that is due to just rust that Leonard appears to be shaking off after being away for most of two seasons. Leonard is capable of putting up 1.25 fantasy points per minute with ease, and now that he is consistently hitting 30 minutes, we can safely deploy him in our MVP slot. If this is a game where they finally unleash him so he can try and slow down Booker, his $12,600 MVP salary will look way too low. 

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

Booker was able to practice with the team on Wednesday, so I am operating under the assumption that he is playing until we hear otherwise. He was clearly struggling in his last games before sitting out (under 32 points in four straight), but he destroyed the Clippers for 43.5 fantasy points the last time these two teams played and his $15,600 salary is not at the level most MVP-type players see in these Showdowns. We must proceed with some caution that he might be limited or have some rust after two games off, but for his career against the Clippers, Booker averages 20 points, five assists, and more than five three-point attempts per game. If the Suns trust him enough to play him, I trust him enough to have him in my MVP spot. 

UTILITY 

Reggie Jackson, Los Angeles Clippers

Jackson has an odd trend developing where he is much better from a fantasy perspective against tough teams than he is in the “easy” matchups. When he played Minnesota, Charlotte and Sacramento recently, he averaged 15 fantasy points per game. When he played Miami, he scored 31, against Portland it was 54, and then 26 against Denver. Boston slowed him down for 16 points, but they do that to everyone. If that trend remains, he should do well against the Suns, although Chris Paul will be on him all night long. But for $5,800 ($1000 less than one week ago), it’s a risk we should be willing to take. 

Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns

It has been superstar Mikal Bridges for several games now while Devin Booker and Chris Paul were out, so the question tonight is what happens when all that usage comes back onto the floor and the ball is out of Bridges’ hands? He falls out of MVP consideration for me tonight, but the Suns will need every one of his 37 minutes per game to handle the duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. And while we might not get 40 fantasy points tonight, we have seen Bridges be consistently around 30 fantasy points (31 on the year), and we can make that work for a $7,400 salary. 

Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns

After his first game back from injury when he was slowly worked in with just 24 minutes, it has been Point God Chris Paul, racking up 37 fantasy points per game in his last three, all on the road. Now he gets a #revengegame back in Los Angeles where he may need to be featured if Booker is not full speed. That’s no problem for Paul, he went for 37 fantasy points last time these teams played, and that was with Booker in the game. The Clippers are a bottom-10 team against the point guard position, so this is a good spot to be overweight on Paul. 

DART THROWS

Robert Covington, Los Angeles Clippers

If Ivica Zubac should be limited or miss any time tonight, it will likely be Covington who soaks up a lot of those minutes in his absence. We know Covington can rack up threes, steals, blocks, and rebounds as well as anyone, and lately he has seen the minutes we love to have in DFS. Over his last five games, he has crossed 19 minutes four times, and even though the shooting has been poor this year, he has given us more than 20 fantasy points in five of his last seven games. For a basement-level $1,000 salary, he is a no-brainer tonight.

Dario Saric, Phoenix Suns

Similar to Covington, Saric has picked up some extra minutes for the Suns with so many injuries lately. With both Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson still out, Saric is guaranteed to at least split PF minutes with Torrey Craig. That is a good thing since the Clippers are the fourth-best matchup for power forwards this season (47 fantasy points per game). Saric has wild swings in playing time sometimes, but he has more than 16 minutes in three of the last five games and is very cheap at $2,400 on DraftKings. 

 

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