We know it was not good news when we saw Paul George leave the arena with a knee injury on Tuesday, and the Clippers will be without him tonight when they take on the Thunder. What will be interesting, is the fact that Los Angeles is also without Norman Powell who usually reaps the benefits of filling in for George. As we work building lineups for Thursday’s NBA DFS Showdown Slate because of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers, let us take a look at some names to consider for your lineup builds which are bound to include some combination of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kawhi Leonard.

 

Injuries

Oklahoma City Thunder

None

Los Angeles Clippers

Paul George – Out

Norman Powell - Out

 

NBA DFS Showdown Slate Picks

MVP/Captain

Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

At this point, you at least are getting closer to being able to make the argument that Gilgeous-Alexander will be the best player on the court tonight. At the very least, you can say he offers the most upside and is the most explosive option, and from a DFS perspective, that is ultimately what we are looking for. It is a good matchup for SGA against the Clippers, and in his last four games, the guard is averaging 33 points per game and he is generally around five rebounds and five assists per night. 

Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

Leonard has played six games without his sidekick this season, and the forward is averaging 25.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists although that is muted from one game earlier in the season when his workload was still being managed. In the five games since, Leonard has scored between 24 and 31 points with between six and nine rebounds, and that is more like what we have come to expect from him. What is interesting though, is that it is not that much far off from his season averages, but it doesn’t make him any less of a strong option for tonight. 

Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers

While there are going to be issues from an efficiency perspective for Westbrook on most nights, there is no denying his already large role with the Clippers will increase tonight. Since joining the Clippers, Westbrook continues to show inconsistency in his game, but he has also shown upside, and that is what we are after tonight. 

 

Utility

Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

After a rough game on Sunday, Williams bounced back on Tuesday by putting up 20 points against this same Clippers team while also grabbing eight rebounds. Based on what we have seen from Williams as of late, both from a performance and role standpoint, there is no reason why we cannot expect a repeat effort tonight. 

Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder

For all of the benefits Giddey offers and the role that he plays in Oklahoma City’s offense, you are sometimes left wanting more from the guard. There is no question that he has the ability to fill the score sheet, but his shooting sometimes lacks accuracy but he is shooting 48% from the field overall this season while averaging 16.1 points per game. His 7.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game do provide a strong floor if the shot is in fact not falling. 

Eric Gordon, Los Angeles Clippers

After scoring 20 points on Sunday off the bench, Gordon struggled on Tuesday making just two of seven shots from the field and finishing with only five points. If we are looking for a beneficiary of George’s injury, it would be Gordon who is slated to move into the starting lineup as his shot volume is bound to increase with the production expected to follow. 

Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers

While it was troubling to see Zubac play just 19 minutes on Tuesday, the center did finish with his fourth straight game in double figures as he scored 13 points. With just three rebounds, it was not a strong DFS performance, but prior to that Zubac did have three straight double-doubles and we do have a good matchup against the Thunder tonight; even if it was not truly exploited on Tuesday. 

 

Dart Throw

Terance Mann, Los Angeles Clippers

With Gordon moving into the starting lineup, Mann moves into more of a sixth man role tonight for the Clippers. On Tuesday he scored eight points in just 11 minutes so we know that he can be efficient and also get hot in a hurry, so the main leap here is that he takes at least double-digit shots from the field. 

Isaiah Joe, Oklahoma City Thunder

In his last five games, Joe has not played less than 24 minutes and in his last three games, the guard has scored in double figures offensively. At this point, that is all we are looking for as the minutes and shot volume should be secure, we are just throwing the dart at a good amount of said shots going in.