Brooklyn Nets @ Phoenix Suns

Spread: Suns -6

Total: 230

Injuries

Brooklyn Nets:

James Harden – Probable (hand)

Kevin Durant – Out

LaMarcus Aldridge – Out

Joe Harris - Out

Phoenix Suns:

Deandre Ayton – Questionable (ankle)

Frank Kaminsky – Out

Cameron Payne – Out

Jae Crowder – Questionable (wrist)

Landry Shamet - Out

*Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/CPT

James Harden, PG (BKN) – Harden should be nice and rested after missing the last two games and ready to go tonight against Phoenix. It will be a tough match-up for the Nets tonight, in what will be a high scoring game, and that means lots of Harden from a DFS perspective. While Harden’s last four games have been a literal mixed bag, they represent the complete opposite ends of the spectrum for him; two games with 73 DK points and then another two in which he combined for 77.25 points. Harden is one assist shy of double digits in his last five games, so the real issue here is how efficient his shooting will be. 

Kyrie Irving, PG/SG (BKN) – It’s a two-man game in Brooklyn, and Irving has impressed as of late. Having Harden back should help Irving share the load and the pressure from the defense. Irving has five straight games of at least 20 field goal attempts and he hasn’t scored less than 24 points in that stretch either and there’s no reason why he wouldn’t hit six tonight. What does hold Irving back compared to Harden is the lack of double-digit assist or rebound upside. 

Chris Paul, PG/SG (PHX) – It’s crowded up here tonight, but that also means we are working with a very top-heavy showdown slate. To say that Paul has stepped to fill a void for what is a very short-handed Phoenix team is an understatement. In turning back the clock, Paul has 21.4 points, 13.4 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game over his last five and with Payne and Shamet still out, the veteran should be busy once again tonight. 

Devin Booker, SG/PG (PHX) - If anyone is going to keep up with the Nets backcourt offensively, it certainly is going to be Booker. Despite shooting just 42% from the field, Booker has been doing that over his last five games averaging 28.8 points per game as it isn’t that far off from his 44.2% mark for the season. The good news, although it’s partly tied to Ayton’s (and others) absence and that could be changing tonight, is that Booker has become more involved on the boards as of late. 

UTIL

Deandre Ayton, C (PHX) – Facing a Brooklyn team that struggles in the post, I want to be all over Ayton here tonight, but there has to be some caution exercised. Ayton has been sidelined the last two weeks with an ankle injury, and after being upgrading to questionable, his status is still in question but it does look more optimistic. Of greater concern is whether or not Phoenix will have him on a minute restriction as it’s hard not to like the juicy matchup as he is averaging 16.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. 

Mikal Bridges, SG/SG (PHX) – We don’t want to necessarily chase points here, but Bridges is coming off games of 18 and 26 points in his last two as he scored a combined 11 points in the two prior games. The return of Jae Crowder could be something to watch here, but the greater problem will likely be fitting the salary in here. 

Patty Mills, PG/SF (BKN) – The same logic as above applies here to Mills from a salary cap perspective. However, the difference is that Mills consistently shoots a ton and his averaging 18 points over his last five games. Having Harden back is a little bit of a hit to Mills’ value, but he is the third scoring option for Brooklyn. 

Cameron Johnson, SF/PF – Johnson has played between 36 and 38 minutes in his last four games and has broken the 20-point mark in that stretch. The forward will be the first man off the bench for Phoenix yet again tonight (or starting if Crowder ultimately doesn’t take the court) and he is a good bet to finish close to the 27 DK points he has averaged over this last five games. 

Dart Throws

Nic Claxton, C (BKN) – The expectation here is that no Aldridge means extended minutes for Claxton, and with it, increased production. Since returning from a two absence, Claxton has played 17 minutes in each game while averaging an efficient 7.5 points and seven rebounds. 

James Johnson, PF (BKN) – Johnson has been busy in the last two games with Harden sitting, so while he will take a little hit with star guard back, there is still some value to be found here. Even with a game in which Johnson didn’t score a point, and put up just 1.25 DK points, in his last five game stretch, Johnson is still at 20.4 DK points. Granted, the last two games did come while Harden was out but with 4.4 rebounds and three assists per game, there is a solid floor here. 

Cam Thomas, PG/SG (BKN) – Talk about not knowing what you are going to get. The rookie can light it up offensively (25 points in 26 minutes two games ago) but he can also go cold (two points in 18 minutes in his last game). Now we just have to figure out which version of Thomas we are going to get. 

Elfrid Payton, PG (PHX) – Payton is just about free tonight, so that helps, but there is also a reason for that. Based on what we have seen from him over the last four games, Payton should play between 10 and 15 minutes, but in two of those games he was scoreless and shot one for seven from the field on Sunday.