The first NBA DFS Showdown slate of 2023 features the Miami Heat visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Both of these teams have battled injuries this year, but all the stars seem healthy for this one. This leaves us with some tough decisions in our NBA daily fantasy lineups for the Showdown contests. Here are the NBA DFS top picks and plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

NBA Injury Report

Miami Heat Injuries:

Los Angeles Clippers Injuries:

 

NBA DFS Top Picks

MVP/CAPTAIN

Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat PF

We have seen peak Jimmy Butler a few times this season, and one of those was the last time he played these Los Angeles Clippers on December 8th. In that game, Butler scored 26 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out eight assists, and had four steals. But most importantly he played 34 minutes while still battling nagging injuries. Butler did not play against Utah on Saturday but averaged 36 minutes in his prior two games, plus 48 fantasy points per game. He is listed Probable tonight and all signs point to him with a full workload in this elite matchup against Kawhi Leonard. 

Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers SG/SF

Paul George has deferred somewhat to Kawhi Leonard now that he is back at full speed, but that doesn’t mean we still aren’t getting elite fantasy production from George. PG13 has crossed more than 60 fantasy points in two of his last four games including a massive 70 in a #revengegame against the Pacers on Saturday. The last time George suited up against the Heat this year, he dropped 52 fantasy points on them in only 32 minutes in a very competitive game. 

Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers SF/PF

Now that Kawhi is playing his full allotment of minutes again, his $12,600 MVP salary on DK (fifth-highest) is absurdly low. Since Leonard first crossed the 30-minutes-played mark on December 10th, he has one game under 35 fantasy points and he averages 41.3 over his last 10 days. He has been over 40 in three straight games including tough matchups against the Celtics and Raptors. Leonard will likely be my most frequently used player in the MVP spot tonight. 

UTILITY 

Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat C

Adebayo gets a slight bump down in usage with Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry back in the lineup, but he has been absolutely balling in his last three games, averaging 47.25 fantasy points. The Clippers and Ivica Zubac are a bottom-10 team against centers this year, allowing 23 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists per game to the position. 

Tyler Herro, Miami Heat PG/SG

If not for the fact that Paul George and the Clippers have locked down opposing shooting guards, Herro would be in strong consideration for an MVP slot. The Clippers are the second-best team against shooting guards this season, so it will be interesting to see if Herro’s hot streak continues. He averages over 43 fantasy points per game in his last 10 days which includes a strong six rebounds and six assists per game. He is not just a shooter anymore. 

Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers C

Zubac’s what-in-the-world-was-that game against the Pacers on Saturday (14 fantasy points) stopped a streak of five straight with more than 29 fantasy points. Even with George and Leonard back in the lineup and playing big minutes, Zubac is routinely now over 30 minutes per night now that the Clippers don’t have a backup center they trust to soak up minutes. Zubac had three straight double-doubles before Saturday and he should play enough to get that streak going again tonight. 

DART THROWS

Haywood Highsmith, Miami Heat SF/PF

Highsmith is a slightly more expensive dart throw on DK ($4,400) but he been getting consistent minutes lately and has two games between 22 and 32 fantasy points in the last two weeks. What we really are looking for is 20+ minutes, which is when Highsmith has been far exceeding his salary value. So if Robinson, Martin, and Vincent are out tonight, this is a good spot to roll out Highsmith in some lineups. 

Luke Kennard, Los Angeles Clippers SG

With all of their players healthy, the Clippers are running a tight, eight-man rotation, so finding value on their squad means you are hoping for blowouts or taking a chance on a hot shooting night from Luke Kennard. Kennard has been all over the map lately, scoring between three and 29 fantasy points over the last week. But before that he did run off a stretch of five straight games with at least 20 fantasy points. What you are counting on here is that the Clippers need Kennard’s three-point fire power to stay close to the Heat in this one. 

 

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Dominate your NBA DFS Showdown contests today using our Player Projections that you can use specifically for Showdown!