Odds

  • Over/Under: 218
  • Spread: LAL -7.0

 

Injuries

Cavaliers

Isaac Okoro - OUT

Lakers

Anthony Davis – PROB
Wayne Ellington – QUES
LeBron James – QUES
Rajon Rondo – QUES
Trevor Ariza – OUT
Kendrick Nunn – OUT
Talen Horton-Tucker - OUT

 

MVP/CPT

Russell Westbrook, LAL – My MVP/Captain picks for tonight are made with the assumption that LeBron James misses one more game with his ankle injury. He sat out two straight, and the Lakers don’t play again until Sunday so James would get a full week off to rest and heal if he stays in street clothes tonight.

Westbrook, as we know, handles huge usage already. But it jumps to the stratosphere when he plays without a star teammate. He had an insane 41% usage on Wednesday night, making DK managers happy with a patented triple-double. They weren’t so thrilled with the 10 turnovers, but you take the good with the bad when you roster Westbrook. The Cavaliers already allow the sixth-most fantasy points to the point guard position, making Westbrook look like an easy MVP pick tonight. 

Anthony Davis, LAL – Davis also benefits with James missing time, and he has seen usage north of 30% in both of those games. Davis hasn’t scored less than 22 points in any game this season, and while he has two games under 10 rebounds, he has supplemented it with 15 stocks (steals + blocks) in five games. With how much size the Cavaliers can bring to the table, Davis should be busy on both ends of the floor tonight. 

Collin Sexton, CLE – Darius Garland and Ricky Rubio played the exact same number of minutes on Wednesday, so it was Sexton who led all Cavs players with almost 38 minutes on the floor. His 40 DK points against a tough assignment on Reggie Jackson in that game were the primary reason for the win, and now he’ll face a Lakers squad without top defenders Nunn, Ariza and perhaps Ellington. We can also hope he is matched up against Westbrook who isn’t exactly known for his defense. 

 

Mid Tier

Evan Mobley, CLE – The only reason why I’m not considering Mobley at MVP/Captain tonight is the potential for foul trouble if he is matched up against Anthony Davis. We got yet another double-double from Mobley on Wednesday with four stocks but it was only enough to 4x his salary. Fortunately, he gets a $400 drop from the last Showdown slate so he is definitely worth a spot in your lineups.

Ricky Rubio, CLE – Cleveland must be taking a cautious approach with Garland’s ankle injury, as they played him less than 28 minutes two night after playing 31 minutes against the Nuggets. As long as the Cavaliers keep rolling Rubio out there for 25+ minutes, he will be a steal with a salary of $1,000 less than Garland. Rubio’s 15 points and three assists were mildly disappointing last game, but he was putting up 14.75 points and nine assists per game prior, so I’m not going to overreact as long as he has minutes coming his way.

Kent Bazemore, LAL – Bazemore and Russell Westbrook rank first and second in the NBA in individual player Pace in the early season. That is DFS gold considering Bazemore has played more than 28 minutes in four of his five games. Those extra possessions are allowing him more opportunities in in the ancillary categories and he has been good for several rebounds, assists, and steals per game. As just the 12th-highest priced player in this game, he should easily earn value at $4,600 considering all of the Lakers’ injury issues.

 

Dart Throws

Malik Monk, LAL – Monk was a huge disappointment on Wednesday after scoring only 19 DK points in 32 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Monk averages 35.5 minutes per game in his last two as he fills in for various injured wing players, but we just haven’t seen any of those eruption games like when he was on the Hornets. Despite playing exclusively off the bench in 2020-2021, Monk had eight games where he scored at least 30 DK points. At just $4,200 he is worth a shot since he is likely a starter tonight.

Avery Bradley, LAL – A real long-shot dart throw would be Bradley at just $1,400 on this Showdown slate. That salary allows you access to any other player you want in this game, and Bradley just might play enough minutes to make it pay off. In his last three games, he has seen 17 minutes on the court twice and he put up 16 DK points in just 17 minutes last game. At $1,400 that will certainly work, and the Lakers look like they will need him on the floor again tonight.