Philadelphia 76ers @ Dallas Mavericks

Spread: Mavericks -1.5

Total: 210.5

Injuries:

Philadelphia 76ers:

Ben Simmons – Out

Seth Curry – Questionable (back)

Furkan Korkmaz – Out

Shake Milton - Out

Dallas Mavericks:

Kristaps Porzingis – Out

Tim Hardaway Jr. - 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

Joel Embiid, C (PHI) – All Embiid does on a nightly basis is show that he is more than up to carrying the load for Philadelphia. The center is averaging an impressive 32.8 points per game in his last five to go along with 12.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists. While all three numbers are a touch above his season averages, it’s not by much, and you could make the argument that Embiid is just establishing a new norm for himself. 

Luka Doncic, PG (DAL) – To say that Doncic is putting Dallas on his back over the last few games, and the last two without Kristaps Porzingis, would be an understatement. On Wednesday, Doncic took 33 shots and made 16 of them on his way to a 40-point effort while also dishing out 10 assists and grabbing six rebounds. Dallas is short-handed tonight, so despite the fact that it projects to be a low scoring game, Doncic shouldn’t suffer as he is playing some of his best basketball of the season averaging 61 DK points over his last five games while coming just two rebounds per game short of a triple-double over that stretch. 

Util

Tyrese Maxey, PG (PHI) – Maxey followed up a 33-point performance (granted Embiid was resting) by scoring 22 points against Washington while also adding eight rebounds and seven assists. The guard consistently scores in double figures and is averaging 16.9 points at the season so we can expect to continue carrying the load for Philadelphia. Perhaps the bigger development though is Maxey’s improvement as a playmaker as he is averaging 7.4 assists over the last five games. 

Jalen Brunson, PG/SG (DAL) – With Porzingis and Hardaway out tonight, an increased offensive burden will fall on Brunson. On Wednesday, Brunson was up to the task as he made 10 of 18 shots from the field for 20 points. It goes without saying that we would prefer it if he got to the line. I would expect another heavy workload tonight for Brunson, and as long as he doesn’t turn the ball over six times, we could get a 40-fantasy point night. 

Tobias Harris, PF (PHI) – Harris doesn’t come cheaply tonight, and it will require some maneuvering to get him into your lineup based the necessary investment at the captain spot. We have seen Harris hit the 30-point mark twice in his last five games, but as a general rule of thumb, planning for his seasonal averages of 18.9 points and 7.4 rebounds is a reasonable expectation. 

Maxi Kluber, C (DAL) – Talk about taking advantage of playing time as Kluber played 42 minutes on Wednesday while Porzingis was out. Kluber scored in double figures for the third time in four games as he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals in what was a complete performance. There’s no reason not to expect a similar workload tonight and Kluber’s skill set gives him plenty of opportunity to pick up fantasy points. 

Dart Throws

Matisse Thybulle, SF/PF (PHI) – Thybulle moves into the starting lineup tonight with Philadelphia missing a few key contributors so that is going to catch our attention.  Of course, the problem is that in 34 minutes of action on Wednesday, Thybulle only took three shots. All we need is a few shot attempts, and Thybulle has a solid chance at returning value. 

Isaiah Joe, SG (PHI) – If Curry doesn’t play again tonight, we like Joe a little more, but I’d expect him to have a significant role off the bench regardless. Joe is looking for his third straight game of double-digit scoring, and the good news is that when he is on the court, we can generally expect him to be an active shooter. 

Josh Green, SG/SF (DAL) – Green will benefit from Hardaway being out of the lineup and we can expect solid production from him. Over his last five games, Green is averaging a solid 20 minutes of playing time and at 8.2 points per game, he shown some offensive ability.