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The NBA is offering up a four-game slate on Wednesday. The first three games feature the 76ers, Hawks, and Jazz, all of which can clinch their first-round series with a win. All three of those teams are at home, and all three are favored on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The last contest of the night is the most interesting. It involves the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers, and that series is tied at two games apiece. The Mavericks won the first two games in Los Angeles, but the Clippers battled back to win the next two games in Dallas. The Clippers made a fundamental change to their rotation over their final two games, and it has made a huge impact.
The series heads back to Los Angeles for Game 5, and the Clippers are currently listed as 7.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook.
DraftKings is offering up a featured Showdown for this contest, so let’s break down some of the top options to consider for your lineups.
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Captain’s Picks
Kawhi Leonard ($18,000 CP) – Leonard has been underpriced for this entire series, and he’s crushed in each of his first four games. He’s racked up at least 55.0 DKFP in each contest, despite playing just 35.4 minutes in his last game. He played at least 40.8 minutes in the first three games, so he has the potential for an even bigger performance on Wednesday.
Nicolas Batum ($7,800 CP) – Going with a cheaper play at captain is a viable strategy, and Batum is your best bet if you want to go that route. He led the Clippers with 36.1 minutes in their last game, and he replaced Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup. The Clippers opted for a smaller lineup to start the second half in Game 3, and they’ve outscored the Mavericks by 33 points over the following six quarters. With that in mind, expect Batum to carry another large workload in Game 5. He’s averaged 0.82 DraftKings points per minute over the past month, so he’s one of the best values on the slate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $175K West Coast Special [$50K to 1st] (DAL vs LAC)
UTIL Plays
Luka Doncic ($13,200) – It’s a tough call between Doncic and Leonard for the top spot on tonight’s slate. I give a slight edge to Leonard given his slightly cheaper price tag, but Doncic has the higher ceiling. He’s averaged a stout 1.57 DKFP per minute this season, and he’s already had two games with at least 71.5 DKFP in this series.
Going with Doncic in the Captain spot is certainly an option, but it’s going to eat up nearly 40% of your salary cap. I’d rather use him as a utility, but he should be in your lineup one way or the other.
Paul George ($11,000) – George is the other stud option on this slate, and he has plenty of merit as well. Like Leonard, he should see around 40 minutes if this game stays competitive, and George has averaged 1.26 DKFP per minute this season. You probably won’t be able to fit George if you use either Leonard or Doncic at Captain, but you can fit all three in the utility spots if you use a value option like Batum at Captain instead.
Reggie Jackson ($5,800) & Marcus Morris ($5,600) – You can add Jackson and Morris to the list of Clippers value options in Game 5. Both players have benefited from the Clippers’ decision to go small recently, and both players should see significant workloads on Wednesday. Jackson has played at least 30.1 minutes in each of the past three games, and he’s managed to return value in each of those contests. Morris hasn’t been as productive on a per-minute basis, but he’s returned value in each of the past two.
If you’re looking for some value on the Mavericks’ side, Dorian Finney-Smith ($5,400), Maxi Kleber ($5,000), and Josh Richardson ($2,800) stand out as the strongest options.
Fades
Kristaps Porzingis ($9,200) – You would think that Porzingis would be able to dominate with the Clippers playing small, but that hasn’t been the case. He’s scored 26.25 DKFP or fewer in each of the past two games, despite the fact that he’s routinely the tallest player on the court by nearly half a foot. His salary has come down a bit over that time frame, but he’s still too expensive for me at $9,200. I’d rather pay up for the true studs on this slate and go with a more stars-and-scrubs approach.
THE OUTCOME
I love what the Clippers are doing at the moment. They’re the better team in this series, but they had a major flaw whenever Zubac was on the court. Now that they’ve addressed that issue, they should roll through the rest of this series.
As for tonight’s DFS contest, I really like the idea of using a value option in the Captain spot. Batum is my preferred target, but Morris or Jackson work well too. That allows you to fit Kawhi, Doncic, and George into your lineup, and I think you’ll need all three to win on Wednesday.
Final Score: Clippers 114, Mavericks 105
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $175K West Coast Special [$50K to 1st] (DAL vs LAC)
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