NBA

FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Clippers at Mavericks (6/4/21)

The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.

Daily fantasy NBA is very reliant on opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries and COVID-19 situations. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news and we also have player news updates.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's take a look at who you should target for tonight's matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, which tips off at 9:00 PM Eastern.

All injury updates are via the NBA's official injury report or numberFire's player news.

Read this piece by Brandon Gdula for some excellent in-depth analysis on how to attack a single-game slate in NBA DFS.

MVP Considerations

Luka Doncic ($16,000) - Luka will be the chalk at the MVP spot, and it's damn near impossible to recommend fading him. In 11 career postseason games, all against the Los Angeles Clippers, Doncic has eclipsed 61 FanDuel points six times, and he's only posted fewer than 44 twice. numberFire's algorithm has him outscoring the next-closest player by 5.9 fantasy points.

Kawhi Leonard ($15,000) - Of course, the only player who can even hold a candle to Doncic's upside is Kawhi. Prior to a 37.5-point dud in Game 5, Kawhi had racked up 50-plus FanDuel points in his 10 prior playoff games against the Dallas Mavericks, including at least 54.5 (but no more than 58.2) in each of the first four games this series. Leonard did have a number of games with more than 65 fantasy points in the playoffs last year, so perhaps we'll get to see that ceiling as Los Angeles tries to force a Game 7.

Paul George ($14,000) - While the order might differ for some lineups, it's going to be quite difficult to differentiate with regard to who you roster in your multiplier spots -- as there's a clear dropoff after the top three tonight. PG13 has racked up 45.4, 49.0, and 52.4 fantasy points in three of his last four games, and no other player (that we haven't listed yet) has even reached 40. You can attempt to be contrarian by rostering Kristaps Porzingis ($12,500) in the PRO slot, though it's worth mentioning that the Latvian has recorded 27 FanDuel points or fewer in four of his five efforts this series.

Utility Considerations

Marcus Morris ($9,000) - With a salary of just $9,000, Morris should be locked into one of our utility slots. The 31-year-old has started at the five spot for the Clippers in the last two games, and that's resulted in fantasy outputs of 21.6 and 37.9. Morris led all Los Angeles players with 42.1 minutes on Wednesday, so he should have plenty of playing time to finish as one of tonight's top producers.

Dwight Powell ($8,000) - The Mavs elected to go big in Game 5 by giving each of Powell and Boban Marjanovic ($7,000) more than 20 minutes of action, and Powell managed to produce 21.4 fantasy points in the process. Interestingly, Powell, who averaged 2.5 blocks plus steals over the final nine games of the season (in only 24.5 minutes) only amassed one steal in his 21.5 minutes of action on Wednesday. If he can accrue a couple more defensive stats tonight, he'll be one of the better plays of the game.

Nicolas Batum ($10,000) - Morris switching to the five meant Batum entering the starting lineup for the Clips, and he responded by putting up 32.0 and 24.4 FanDuel points. As long as the veteran stays in the starting five, he's worthy of consideration.

Other Options: Boban Marjanovic ($7,000), Tim Hardaway Jr. ($11,000)