NBA DFS Showdown Playbook March 31: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
Published: Mar 31, 2022
Injuries:
- Wenyen Gabriel QUEST
- Anthony Davis DOUBTFUL
- LeBron James OUT
- Kendrick Nunn OUT
- Bojan Bogdanovic QUEST
- Danuel House QUEST
- Trent Forrest OUT
- Hassan Whiteside OUT
MVP/Captain
Please, DFS gods, just give us 34 minutes from Donovan Mitchell tonight. Assuming this game plays closer than the current 13-point spread, this could be a nuclear game for Mitchell. The Lakers allow more points to shooting guards than any other team in their last 15 games. Even before considering the matchup, Mitchell has put up at least 41 fantasy points in eight of his last 10 games.
Don’t look now but vintage Russell Westbrook has been back in our DFS lives for the last week and a half of the NBA season. In his last six games, Westbrook is averaging 46.8 fantasy points per night and we know he will be without LeBron James and Anthony Davis for at least one more contest. Westbrook hasn’t taken less than 14 shots in more than two weeks and he is averaging more than eight rebounds and eight assists over his last six.
The top three options for MVP tonight are all tightly bunched in salary, so it’s really a game of who do you think will pop off in this seemingly lopsided matchup. Rudy Gobert has been very consistent lately, putting up between 33 and 44 fantasy points in seven of nine games, but he also gave us a 53-point game in that span and faces a horrible Lakers’ frontcourt defense. Los Angeles allows more than 60 fantasy points per game to centers in their last 15 contests.
Utility
Of all the options for Lakers who could pick up the scoring reins with their studs out, Malik Monk was the one who stepped up in their last game. Monk gave us 42.5 fantasy points on 16 shots, while also chipping in four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block in 32 minutes. For just $7,200, a line like that will certainly work if he can get the minutes again. He has played more than 28 minutes every game over the last two weeks, so the role looks secure.
With Mike Conley, you pretty much know exactly what you are going to get. He has scored between 20 and 36 fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. He plays 32 minutes if the game is close and 28 if it’s a blowout. On the year, the Lakers rank behind only the Rockets in fantasy points allowed to point guards, so you should feel good about locking in Conley and hoping for a 32-minute game.
If the game does get out of hand, Jordan Clarkson will likely see a few extra minutes on the floor. But he is a good play regardless for the same reasons Conley and Mitchell look like they need to be in our lineups. Clarkson’s shooting touch has been off the past five games (no game over 42% from the floor), but a date with the Lakers is the exact remedy for a problem like that.
Value Tier
Stanley Johnson is looking more and more like the value play you must have in your lineups when the Lakers are short-handed. In 35 minutes against the Mavericks on Tuesday, Johnson put up 31.25 DK points and played most of the second half, even when the game was out of hand. That marked three out of four games with at least 24 fantasy points. Johnson’s minutes have even eaten into Carmelo Anthony’s court time lately as the Lakers seem willing to use him as much as possible with all of these injuries.
Juancho Hernangomez’s situation is very circumstantial tonight, but the salary is so good ($3,400) that if he can get even 24 minutes on the court, he can easily provide value. In Utah’s last game with Bojan Bogdanovic still out and before Greg Monroe arrived, he played 28 minutes and scored 24 fantasy points. He had almost identical lines in his two games prior to that one, benefiting from Bogdanovic and Hassan Whiteside missing time. Whiteside is still out and Monroe only played 10 minutes in his debut. Watch the news on Bogdanovic leading up to this one. If we get word that Hernangomez will have a big role again, fire him up in this good matchup.
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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.