Lilliard To Benefit From CJ McCollum’s Absence From Lineup

  • CJ McCollum will be out indefinitely for the Portland Blazers with a collapsed lung while Damian Lilliard is $9,700 on DraftKings.

PORTLAND, Ore.- The Portland Trailblazers are set to host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in the Moda Center.

Oddsmakers have listed the Phoenix Suns as three-point favorites, and have given this game a modest total of 218 points. CJ McCollum will be out of the lineup for the Blazers (collapsed lung) which should provide value for rostering multiple Portland players in DFS.

Damian Lilliard $9,700

On a shortened three-game NBA slate, Damian Lilliard makes a strong case as the top overall spend. Lilliard checks in at $9,700, and offers a steep ($1500+ discount) off other studs like James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.

The Phoenix Suns just gave up a 17-6-14 line to San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray on December 6.

Lilliard is averaging 41 fantasy points this season, which is good for five times his NBA DFS value. Damian Lilliard along with the rest of the Portland starters should receive a full allotment of minutes, being three-point underdogs at online gambling sites. 

Norman Powell $6,000

After Damian Lilliard, look to put Norman Powell in a lineup.

Powell has barely left the court the past three games, averaging over 40 minutes of play time. Powell doesn’t come with many peripheral stats, so players will need to hope Norman puts up a lot of real points to reach value at $6,000.

Norman put up 31.8 DraftKings points in his last matchup against the Phoenix Suns on November 10th.

Anfernee Simons $5,600

Anfernee Simons will be tasked with picking up some of the scoring load, while CJ McCollum is out of the lineup. At a fair price of $5,600 Simons offers DFS players a nice blend of floor and upside.

Simons has scored 29 or more fantasy points in four of his past five games and will likely replace McCollum in the starting lineup on Tuesday.