Luka Doncic available to play Monday vs. Rockets [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Jan. 4, 6:48 p.m. — Doncic is available to play for the Mavs in Monday’s game vs. the Rockets. Not sure if he’ll be on any type of minutes restriction, so we’ll keep an eye out for that before tip-off. Good thing is we have this news about 12 minutes before lock.

UPDATE: Jan. 4, 1:32 p.m. — Doncic has been upgraded to probable on the afternoon injury report ahead of Monday’s game vs. the Rockets. If Doncic plays, Brunson will head back to the bench and becomes a less viable DFS option.

UPDATE: Jan. 4, 11:36 a.m. — Doncic is being listed as questionable to play in Monday’s game vs. the Houston Rockets. The MVP favorite was held out of Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls to rest his quad. As a result, Jalen Brunson started and dropped 31 points in a losing effort. The Mavs were forced to use mostly replacement level players to compensate for the loss of Doncic and it resulted in a bad loss to Chicago.

If Doncic is sidelined again on Monday, it’s another good spot for Brunson ($3,300). He’s probably be the chalk play if Doncic is sidelined again. So we’re looking at around 30-50 percent ownership in GPPs and maybe even higher in cash games. So this may not be a bad spot to pivot to guys we liked last night. Tim Hardaway struggled but is still only $6,000. DFS ($4,400), Josh Richardson ($5,300) and Maxi Kleber ($3,900) should all have to play more minutes tonight if Doncic sits.

UPDATE: Doncic has been ruled out Sunday vs. Bulls.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Luka Doncic has been downgraded to doubtful after being listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Chicago Bulls. Doncic is dealing with a quad injury sustained in Friday’s win over the Miami Heat. The MVP favorite has been dealing with a few nagging injuries so far this season and appears on track to miss his first game of the season.

With Doncic unlikely to play, the Mavericks are going to have a ton of value in DFS on the main slate on DraftKings. The slate locks at 6 p.m., so we don’t have a ton of time to pivot our lineups. Tim Hardaway Jr. ($5,800) becomes a very viable cash-game option and isn’t a bad core play overall. Josh Richardson ($5,000) is the same deal but I’d probably lean more towards cash for J-Rich. Hardaway we know can score 30+ points if he gets the usage.

As for deeper value, the Mavs have it all throughout the roster. Dwight Powell ($4,300), Dorian Finney-Smith ($4,200), James Johnson ($3,700) and Trey Burke ($3,400) are all in play. Burke we’ve seen have games when players are injured and he ends up having a huge performance. DFS would be my other cash-game staple along with J-Rich. Both starters who have low prices and good floors. Also don’t forget about Jalen Brunson ($3,200) if he ends up starting for Doncic at PG.