San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers

For tonight’s NBA Showdown slate, it’s a battle of two teams who are going in opposite directions this year. While the Clippers have most of the firepower with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Norman Powell, the Spurs offer some cheap value plays tonight, especially as they might miss several key players due to injury. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Injury Report

San Antonio Injuries:

Devin Vassell – OUT

Romeo Langford – OUT

Jeremy Sochan – DOUBTFUL

Josh Richardson - QUESTIONABLE

Los Angeles Injuries:

John Wall – OUT

Luke Kennard – QUESTIONABLE

Marcus Morris - QUESTIONABLE

 

NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks

MVP/CAPTAIN

Kawhi Leonard (SF/PF)

Revenge game for Kawhi Leonard tonight? Even if he just produces what he has been doing lately, that will certainly be enough for tonight. Leonard has at least 48 fantasy points in six of his last eight games and is now playing minutes in the upper-30’s every night. He is finally fully back from injury and gets one of the best matchups possible with the Spurs seventh in Pace and 30th in defensive rating. The Spurs just gave up a 20/11/9 line to LeBron James and Kawhi has the all-around game to go out and duplicate that. 

Paul George (SG/SF)

We are clearly seeing that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can co-exist now that neither of them has any hindrances. Much like Leonard, George has put up more than 40 fantasy points in six of his last nine games and he is averaging 40 fantasy points per game against the Spurs across three contests this year. That comes with only 27.6 minutes per game on the court, so if this game is anywhere close and George plays 35 minutes, he could flirt with 50 tonight. 

Keldon Johnson (SF)

It’s not been the best stretch of the season for Keldon Johnson, but mostly it’s not his fault. He has shot 42% or higher in his last four games, he has shot 42% or better from three in his last three, and he is averaging almost six rebounds per game in his last four. But the problem for Johnson is the Spurs have so many games like they did one Monday where they get blown out by 20 and Johnson only plays 30 minutes. But when he got 38 minutes eight days ago, he exploded for 61.75 fantasy points against the Nets. He has that kind of upside and is the clear number-one option on this tanking team while Devin Vassell is out. 

 

UTILITY 

Tre Jones (PG)

Jones is about as consistent as they come recently with all but one game since January 4th scoring between 25 and 37 fantasy points. The salary on DK is a bit high for my taste ($8,400), but you know you are getting a solid floor, plus a player who is averaging almost a fantasy point per minute against the Clippers this year (29 points per game in 29 minutes). On the season, the Clippers allow the eighth-most fantasy points per game to the point guard position. 

Jakob Poeltl (C)

Poeltl is also a player who has historically done very well against the Clippers and that has continued this year. He averages 29 fantasy points per game in 25 minutes per game in their meetings this year, including 12 points, seven boards, three assists, and almost two steals per game. The last time these two teams played, Poeltl had 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. That kind of consistent 28-30 fantasy points will certainly play tonight in a Showdown that gets thin after the top two stars. 

Norman Powell (SG/SF)

Powell has been a Spur-killer this season as he torched them for 32.8 fantasy points per game over his last three while shooting a crazy 68% against them. That mirrors his strong play from the past 10 days where he averages 32 fantasy points per night while serving as the primary sixth man and approaching 28 minutes per game on the floor. If Kennard and Morris are out tonight, Powell could potentially cross the 30-minute mark and get plenty of floor time against a team that has been weak against wings this year. 

 

DART THROWS

Nicolas Batum (PF/C)

Marcus Morris left Tuesday’s game after 10 minutes due to injury and it was Nicolas Batum that filled the void for the rest of that game. Batum played 24 minutes and was able to give us 22 fantasy points with his usual combination of points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. Should Morris miss tonight or be limited, Batum will be in another great spot to potentially start and pile up close to 30 minutes. The Spurs have allowed the second-most fantasy points to power forwards this season. 

Malaki Branham (PG/SG)

You may not have heard of Malaki Branham, but the Spurs sure like what he is going and he is starting to get some major minutes. He has played between 18-23 minutes in each of his last five games and scored over 12 fantasy points in four of those. He has shown the ability to score (10 points per game), dish out some assists (3 per game) and grab a couple steals in the past four games as he backs up the guard spots. With Romeo Langford out again tonight, expect Branham to soak up a lot more minutes. 

 

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