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Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets

Spread: DEN -7.0

Total: 222.5

Injuries:

Los Angeles

Paul George OUT

Kawhi Leonard OUT

Norman Powell OUT

Jason Preston OUT

Denver

JaMychal Green PROB

Jamal Murray OUT

Michael Porter OUT

Zeke Nnaji OUT

Vlatko Cancar OUT

 

 

MVP/Captain

 

 

What more can we say at this point about Nikola Jokic? His 43 DK points on Sunday against Boston were a major disappointment considering he averages over 60 on the season. Now he gets a Clippers team with several factors working in his favor. First, the Clippers are bottom-10 against centers this season. Second, the Nuggets are trying to maintain their sixth spot in the playoffs to avoid the play-in tournament. And third, the Clippers are one of the two teams right behind them trying to take their slot. This should be a game where Jokic gets back above 60 again. 

 

 

It will be games like this where the Nuggets will really feel the loss of Jamal Murray. Ball-dominant scoring guards have been taking the Nuggets to school this year. Denver allows the third-most fantasy points to point guards this season, including the fourth-most points per game. Reggie Jackson averages 39 DK points per game against Denver this season and makes for a nice $9,000 salary-saving pivot in the MVP slot. 

 

 

Even if he wasn’t tasked with muscling up against Jokic all night long, Ivica Zubac would be on our radar because of the increase in minutes. He is up over 28 minutes per game in his last five contests which has led to 35.6 DK points per game including 14.6 points and 10.8 rebounds. Also, in three games against them this year, Zubac averages 25 minutes and 31.3 fantasy points against the Nuggets. 

UTIL

 

 

I love Terance Mann tonight as the fourth-most expensive option from the Clippers in a matchup he can exploit. Mann averages 36 fantasy points per game in his last three and is around 25 points per game against the Nuggets this year. But the reason why that is so low is that he has only taken 28 shots in three games against Denver this season. In his past three games, Mann has 42 shot attempts. If he comes out shooting tonight, he should easily pay off a $7,200 tag. 

 

 

Bones Hyland is the Denver player with the second-highest salary tonight?! Well, he has been getting the run and producing every night. In his last five games, Hyland is over 26 minutes per game and is averages an astounding 31.7 DK points per night. That is a significant jump over his 18.4 per game for the season. Until Murray come back to the lineup, Hyland looks like he will play major minutes down the stretch. 

 

 

Beyond Jokic and Hyland, it gets a little dicey for Denver for fantasy options. Will Barton at least is producing almost 30 points per game this season and gets a Clippers defense that is bottom-10 against shooting guards in their last 

VALUE 

DeMarcus Cousins, C – Even with Jokic carrying such a heavy load as he tries to drag his team to the playoffs, Cousins has come in and been a solid backup at the center spot. In his last five games, he averages 17 minutes but a strong 21.8 fantasy points per game. That is 5x his salary tonight, and he also plays more in blowouts if this one gets out of hand. 

 

 

The Nicolas Batum Magic 8 Ball gave us an answer we didn’t want in his last game when he contributed only three fantasy points in 11 minutes against the Jazz. But that hides the fact he had at least 22 fantasy points in five of six games prior to that. The dud on Friday keeps his salary down below $5,000 tonight and he averages 28 minutes per game against the Nuggets this year.