After Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul both missed their last games, one of the point guards will be able to play tonight in the desert tonight on this NBA Showdown Slate between the Suns and Nets. The two teams are still both missing their megastars in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, and with Chris Paul also out, that opens up plenty of options at lower salary ranges for a competitive game with a tight spread tonight. Here are the NBA DFS top plays we can invest in for our lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings!

 

Injury Report
Brooklyn Injuries

Kevin Durant – OUT
Kyrie Irving - PROBABLE

Phoenix Injuries

Devin Booker – OUT
Jae Crowder – OUT
Josh Okogie – OUT
Cameron Payne – OUT
Landry Shamet – OUT
Chris Paul – OUT
Cameron Johnson - PROBABLE

NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks

MVP/Captain
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets

As you can imagine, when Kevin Durant sits, Kyrie Irving launches into another stratosphere on offense. He sees a 34.9% usage rate (which would be among the best in the league) plus 1.28 fantasy points per minute. He also plays the most minutes of the entire team and sees large increases in assists, steals, and rebounds. With both of the starting guards on the shelf tonight for the Suns, the runway is wide open for a huge tonight for Irving. 

Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns

There are a tremendous number of shots, rebounds, and assists on the board for the taking tonight with both Paul and Booker out. Traditionally, Ayton gets one of the biggest bumps when these two stars do not play as he becomes the go-to guy on offense and the anchor of the frontcourt defense. When Paul, Payne, Shamet, and Booker do not play, Ayton has a 27.2% usage rate and scores 1.23 fantasy points per minute. He will be the driving force that potentially keeps this matchup close. 

Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets 

Simmons doesn’t shoot much these days (even with Kevin Durant out), but when Durant does sit, he sees his rates go up in basically all the other things he can accomplish to produce in fantasy. He sees bumps in assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks. Altogether, he scores right at one fantasy points a minute despite only seeing a 13% usage rate with Durant off the floor. Considering the hybrid positions that Simmons plays, he should be able to have his way against what will be an undersized frontcourt and backcourt tonight. 

Utility
Duane Washington, Phoenix Suns

With no Booker and Paul, it’s going to be the Washington show again, just as it has been in the past week or so. Three of Washington’s past five games have been over 27 fantasy points and he is consistently seeing 25-27 minutes per night, a huge bump from when he is a reserve. Washington’s usage in these situations is even higher than Ayton's at 32.6% and he gets a huge spike up to 1.17 fantasy points per game. Brooklyn is middle of the pack against point guards this year and doesn’t pose a huge roadblock to a solid night for Washington. 

Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets

Claxton has been absolutely dominant since Durant has been hurt. Over the last 10 days, he averages 38.8 fantasy points per game which is more than seven points higher than his season average this year. In his last two games, he has been over 40 fantasy points in each as he is now consistently in the low 30s in minutes and is putting up a double-double just about every game. One of the biggest ways Claxton benefits from Durant being out is in rebounds, as Claxton has almost two rebounds per 36 minutes more with Durant out. 

Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns

The best thing about Mikal Bridges’ game is he is so versatile and can guard most positions on the floor, and also play most positions on offense. This shows anytime the Suns play a close game. When the Suns are competitive in games, Bridges is a guaranteed 39 or 40 minutes on the floor. Even when they have been getting blown out by 30 points recently, he still plays 30 minutes. With his combination of what he can do on offense and defense, Bridges puts up 0.99 fantasy points per minute with Booker and Paul out. He is a solid play with a mid-range salary tonight and has put up 40+ in his last two. 

Dart Throws

Dario Saric, Phoenix Suns

In Jae Crowder’s absence, the Suns have been searching for a reliable power forward option all season. And with Cam Johnson and Josh Okogie injured, Saric has stepped up and played really good ball with solid minutes every night. In his last 10 days, Saric averages 24.4 minutes and 23.5 fantasy points per game. He has at least 15 fantasy points in five of his last six games and should still get plenty of court time even if Cam Johnson suits back up for the first time since November 4th. 

Joe Harris, Brooklyn Nets

For Harris tonight, it all comes down to the number of minutes he gets on the floor. He is slated to start in this one, but sometimes that means 23-26 minutes, and sometimes that means 14-17 minutes. If you want to throw a dart that he is over 20 minutes tonight, it could pay off handsomely. In his last five games over 22 minutes played, he is averaging 20 fantasy points per game. In his last five games under 20 minutes on the floor, he is averaging only 7.3 fantasy points per night. This game currently has a tight 1.5-point spread going into tipoff, so the hope is the Nets need his shooting on the floor all game long. 
 

 

Fantasy Alarm is the home of all things Fantasy Sports. Bringing you the best Fantasy Football, Fantasy Baseball, and Fantasy Basketball content all year long. Be sure to also check out the best fantasy promo codes on offer today!

Dominate your NBA DFS Showdown contests today using our Player Projections that you can use specifically for Showdown!

Join the Discord

Join the Discord and get your NBA DFS and Fantasy Basketball questions answered by our Fantasy Alarm experts!