NBA DFS Showdown Playbook January 11: Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Top Picks
Today for Thursday, January 11th, we get an early day-time showdown slate featuring the Brooklyn Nets taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 2:00 PM ET in FRANCE! We have an exciting match up here against two evenly talented teams. Let's discuss where we are looking on this showdown game!
Finding some of the NBA DFS top picks could be made easier if you take a look at Fantasy Alarm’s NBA DFS Projections, powered by FanJections. Let’s dive into the complete breakdown for tonight’s showdown slate.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Total: 225
Spread: CLE -3
Brooklyn Nets Injuries
- Ben Simmons
- Day'Ron Sharpe
- Spencer Dinwiddie - QUESTIONABLE
Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
NBA DFS Showdown CPT/MVP Top Plays
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Easily the best play on this slate for this showdown game. Mitchell is the “do-it-all” for the Cavaliers mainly while they are still without both Garland and Mobley. Mitchell carries a 31.6% usage rate with those two guys OFF the court this season, and also averages roughly 50 fantasy points per 36 minutes in this scenario. We can essentially bank on Mitchell playing high-30 minutes in this game, as we see the books do think this game is just a couple buckets in talent gap. Mitchell has had two sub-par outings in his last two games, but one was due to blow out and the other was a culprit to a bad shooting night (1-for-10 from three point). However, prior to those games, he had recorded 41+ fantasy points in his last seven-straight games.
Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers
Allen has also been playing on quite a different level as of late, eclipsing 40 fantasy points in 6 of his last 7 contests to date. To be honest, I found it quite shocking that Allen is averaging 1.33 fantasy points per minute in a 461-minute sample so far this season with Garland and Mobley off the court, while Mitchell is just not even a fraction higher at 1.37 FP/M. We know the Nets tend to like to run small, and even with Claxton, this is still a nice match up for Allen today.
Believe the Bridges is going to have to be very good today to insure that the Nets do stay competitive in this game. I think we could possibly see a shootout back and forth type with Mitchell and Bridges here. Bridges has been up-and-down this season after having a stellar year last year as basically the only stud Net left standing, but he is second on the team in usage rate (only behind Cam Thomas, who has since been relegated back to a bench role) at 26.2%, and he is fresh off a 52 fantasy point outing vs the Portland Trail Blazers last time out on a 42 point, four rebound, three assists stat-line.
NBA DFS Showdown UTIL Top Plays
Looking for Claxton to hold his own in the paint against Allen, but it won't exactly be an easy task. However, Claxton has been pretty good lately, coming off back-to-back 45-fantasy point outings, and 35+ fantasy points in three-straight against the Rockets, Thunder, and Trail Blazers. Claxton is seeing 28+ minutes and has been contributing in multiple categories, including steals and blocks, so his value is nice here.
Caris LeVert, Cleveland Cavaliers
LeVert has been the first player off the bench for the Cavs, as he continues to play his role set forth at the beginning of this season. He has come on much stronger as of late with the injury to Garland and is a very high-usage player and can easily put up the fantasy points when he gets 25+ minutes. In his last six contests, LeVert has recorded 34+ in five of those six, with three of those six eclipsing 40 fantasy points.
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
Electing to go Cam here over Dinwiddie as a mid-tier UTIL mainly because I think he will be able to produce a bit more in this match up. Dinwiddie has been very up-and-down lately, and Cam has been much more solid. Johnson has seen 32+ minutes in five of his last six games, while logging at least 29+ fantasy points in six of his last eight games. Will look for Cam to be more of a UTIL staple play here.
Sam Merrill, Cleveland Cavaliers
Although I haven't played much Merrill this season so far, he has been serviceable off the bench for the Cavs in the backcourt with Garland out. Merrill has seen 23, 26, and 29 minutes over the Cav's last three contests and recorded 29, 20, and 27 fantasy points as a result. He should continue to see mid-20's in minutes and he has been putting up around a fantasy point per minute when given that amount of time on the floor lately.
NBA DFS Showdown Value Plays
- Max Strus - Cleveland Cavaliers (Price is fair, and will see minutes, liked LeVert a bit more)
- Spencer Dinwiddie - Brooklyn Nets (Don't mind playing Spencer if you like him QUEST)
- Georges Niang - Cleveland Cavaliers (One of first bench players off bench, 25+ mins, 20+ fantasy points L3 games)
- Dennis Smith - Brooklyn Nets (Has played more with Spence struggling, 29/25 mins L2 games w/34.5 and 44.5 fantasy points in those 2!!)
- Cam Thomas - Brooklyn Nets (Will get run, not sure how much, very shot-dependent so lower floor)
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Player News
Buddy Hield had 15 points (5-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist, one steal and four three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Hield moved into the Warriors’ starting lineup in the first round and the team became somewhat reliant on his scoring. With Stephen Curry (hamstring) out in Game 2, Hield started and played 29 minutes. The 32-year-old shooting guard led the Warriors in field goal attempts, though no one in a Golden State uniform was able to reach 20 points. The Warriors weren’t able to overcome a double-digit first half deficit. Despite the four made three-pointers, they’re going to need more from Hield as the series shifts to Golden State, especially if Curry remains out.
Jimmy Butler had 17 points (6-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two three-pointers against the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday.
Butler couldn’t get it done without Stephen Curry (hamstring) on the road in Game 2. The Warriors fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered. Butler had 17 points on 13 shots, which wasn’t far off from the 20 points he had in Game 1. Still, the Warriors have to regroup as they head home for Games 3 and 4 as they try to figure out a way to keep this series close until Curry can return to the court.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points (7-of-13 FGs), two rebounds, three assists, one block and four three-pointers in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Alexander-Walker was a key scorer off the bench in Game 2. He, Naz Reid and Donte DiVencenzo combined for 10 made three-pointers off the bench. In a game where the Warriors were desperate for scoring without Stephen Curry (hamstring), those bench points were too much to overcome as the Timberwolves won by 24 points.
Julius Randle had 24 points (10-of-17 FGs), seven rebounds, 11 assists and one three-pointer in Game 2 against the Warriors on Thursday.
Randle led the Timberwolves in scoring in the Game 2 victory. The 30-year-old power forward was just three rebounds away from a triple-double. He was a steadying presence in his 33 minutes as Anthony Edwards dealt with an ankle injury towards the end of the first half. Edwards recovered from his injury to play 34 minutes, but Randle is still the next most important player in this series for the Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards had 20 points (6-of-13 FGs), nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-93 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 on Thursday.
Edwards appeared to suffer a sprained left ankle towards the end of the second quarter as the Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis landed on his foot. Edwards turned the same ankle in the first round against the Lakers and appeared to re-aggravate the injury. The 23-year-old shooting guard would go on to start the second half and play a team-high 34 minutes in the Game 2 victory. Edwards will only have one full day off before the series resumes in Golden State for Game 3 on Saturday.
Warriors will start Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Quinten Post in Game 2 against the Timberwolves on Thursday.
No surprise here as Curry was always a long shot to make it back for Game 2 after leaving Game 1 with hamstring injury. While there has been a report that the 37-year-old point guard is expected to miss a week, there is no firm timetable for his return. The Warriors will go big with their starting lineup for Game 2 with center Quinten Post entering the lineup in Curry’s absence.