UPDATED 8:35 pm ET
UPDATE 8:35 pm ET: No surprises here with the starting lineups. Landry Shamet, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris and Ivica Zubac will start for the Clippers, and the Mavs will counter with Luka Doncic, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber.
UPDATE 7:50 pm ET: Luka Doncic (ankle) is good to go, as expected. Dorian Finney-Smith (left hip, right hip) is available for today’s game against the Clippers, and Trey Burke (ankle) is also good to go. Both players should be very busy, and this news does make it a little tougher of a sell on Boban Marjanovic. DFS should get some pretty decent minutes with a lot of time on Paul George. Burke is one of the best cheap plays of the day.
UPDATE 5:50 pm ET: Gary Harris (hip) has been ruled out, as expected. That should mean coach Mike Malone sticks with his starting lineup after he said he loved it, so that should set up well for Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap and Monte Morris.
UPDATE 12:00 pm ET: We get the big news well before the lineups lock with Kristaps Porzingis (knee) ruled out for tonight. Dorian Finney-Smith (left hip, right hip) is questionable, as well. Maxi Kleber is looking at huge minutes regardless, and Boban Marjanovic should be in the rotation. Seth Curry and Trey Burke should also see more chances to help fill the scoring void, and of course Luka Doncic is going to have to carry the Mavs. Tim Hardaway Jr. also benefits.
UPDATED 11:20 am ET: Dorian Finney-Smith (left hip, right hip) is listed as questionable for today’s game. He was playing through a left hip strain for at least a few weeks and it kept him out of a seeding game as just a precaution. The right hip issue is new and it’s being called “soreness” on the report, so it doesn’t sound serious. We’ll project him in for now, but if not the Mavs could be really thin if Kristaps Porzingis (knee, questionable) also can’t go. If they’re both out, the Mavs will have to play more Boban Marjanovic just to fill playing time while Justin Jackson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would have to play more. The other key rotation guys would also be super busy.
We only have two games today, so there isn’t much we’ll need to monitor. Plus, it’s only five hours worth of game time, so we really don’t have to line up contingency plans on guys possibly getting ruled out. There’s really just one guy and it’s a big one in Kristaps Porzingis. Let’s do that game first.
L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks, 9:00 pm ET
Patrick Beverley (calf) is doubtful and coach Doc Rivers said he is not expected to play. It should be Landry Shamet starting with Lou Williams and Reggie Jackson in the second unit. Coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t really want to overlap Shamet with Lou Williams, so Shamet’s upside is severely capped.
Ah, Kristaps Porzingis (knee) is going to be a game-time decision with his questionable tag. If you didn’t see Sunday’s action, you missed the Mavs’ PR ruling out KP at 6:47 for a 6:30 start time. Big yikes. Carlisle gave some updates on Monday.
If he’s out, that’ll really open up some big value for Trey Burke while Seth Curry, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and Boban Marjanovic all benefit.
Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz, 6:30 pm ET
The Nuggets have Gary Harris (hip) as questionable. He was doubtful for the last game and hasn’t played in five months, so it would still be a shock to see him out there. The Nuggets are shady and there aren’t beat reporters there, but there’s been very little on his status besides some partial practices in July. Coach Mike Malone also suggested he won’t be back.
Nothing new for the Jazz here with no Ed Davis and Justin Foreman-Wright.
