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Chris Meaney
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2. Kawhi Leonard played nearly 35 minutes in Game 2
He’s another player who feels super affordable, and now that he’s back to his full minutes, it gets harder to play a Clipper not named Kawhi Leonard, James Harden or Paul George. Leonard didn’t even look that great as he appeared rusty and his shot was average (he was 0-5 from the 3-point line) and yet, he was close to 40 DK points. Despite the poor shooting, Leonard racked up five blocks+steals and he had a 24.2% usage rate. The offense was very stagnant with Leonard back after missing some time but I almost feel like that game was necessary to get Leonard’s legs back under him and back in the flow. It’s not easy to just drop into a playoff series, but Game 3 is vital on both sides.
3. Daniel Gafford has been a non-factor in this series
There have been some injury issues for Daniel Gafford, but he’s played a total of 23 minutes through two games and has scored a total of three points with one rebound. That can’t be what Dallas was hoping for when they made the deal to bring Gafford in, but rookie Dereck Lively II has been solid for fantasy in limited minutes. He’s only been on the court for 40 total minutes, and Game 2 was when he looked the most comfortable. If Gafford can’t go, I would expect Maxi Kleber to start but Lively should still be in line for 18-22 minutes and he’s just $4,300. Even in his limited minutes, Lively is averaging 11.5 rebounding chances which is right next to P.J. Washington (12.0) for second on the team. Lively may not be quite ready for the NBA playoffs, but Dallas also may not have a choice but to play him for some decent minutes.
4. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has played 29 and 31 minutes so far
The Wolves basically didn’t play Kyle Anders in Game 2, giving him only 4 minutes as he’s dealing with a hip injury. While the playoff adage is “role players are better at home,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker should be in line for plenty of minutes and he’s been a defensive stalwart so far. His fantasy production can be a slow drip because he’s not going to be a focal point offensively but Minnesota is up 2-0 in the series because of the defense, including Alexander-Wallker. He’s been one of the primary defenders on Devin Booker, having spent 10:55 of game time as the primary defender. The next closest is Bradley Beal at 5:38 so that’s a big reason why I feel very comfortable saying Alexander-Walker will play his minutes. He’s held Booker to just seven attempts and Alexander-Walker has only had one shooting foul in those nearly 11 minutes.
5. Grayson Allen is questionable and would be a big loss for Phoenix
I can’t say I thought I’d say the second part of that at the start of the year, but Grayson Allen has been a huge part of this Suns team. He shot 45.8% from the 3-point line on the year and that’s an element this offense needs outside of the big three players. Judging by the look of the injury, I’d be a little surprised if Allen was able to play on Friday night and that should open the door for Eric Gordon. Of his 23 minutes, 15 of them came after the injury to Allen and the veteran stepped up with 15 real points. You are going to be a hostage of Gordon’s shooting because he’s likely not doing much else beyond scoring but $4,000 on DK makes a lot of sense, especially if Gordon winds up pushing for 30 minutes. The only drawback is this is the last game of the night, so if Allen does play, the pivots are a bit questionable.
