Dirk Nowitzki Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Kleber has been added to the most recent version of the Mavericks' injury report and is listed as questionable for Wednesday's matchup against the Washington Wizards due to a left knee effusion, while Nowitzki is listed as available to play despite previously being questionable for load management purposes. Kleber has assumed a slightly diminished role in his move to the bench, but he has logged at least 18 minutes in each of the previous four games, though the extent of his playing time is largely based on the opposing frontcourt matchup in a particular contest.

Nowitzki has officially been upgraded from probable and will play in Friday's matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing one game due to a stomach virus, while Dennis Smith Jr. didn't travel with the team and has already been ruled out with mid-back tightness that's now forced him to miss two consecutive games. Nowitzki has still only played more than 14 minutes in one game since making his season debut, so his availability won't have much of an impact on the remainder of the Mavericks frontcourt rotation. With Smith Jr. sidelined for Wednesday's win, Maxi Kleber drew the start at power forward and was exceptional from a fantasy perspective in 34 minutes of action, which enabled Luka Doncic to move over to point guard and serve as the main facilitator in the offense. On top of that, Doncic owns a 29.0% usage rate and is averaging 1.27 DraftKings and 1.25 FanDuel with Smith Jr. off the court this season, keeping him in consideration for all formats this evening.

Nowitzki has officially been downgraded from doubtful and won't play in Wednesday's matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to an illness, while Dennis Smith Jr. is unlikely to play, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, and Luka Doncic is ready to go despite dealing with a strained lower back. Nowitzki has seen his playing time ramp up a bit in recent games, as he’s averaged nearly 15 minutes off the bench in the last previous two games he was active, which has led Maxi Kleber to accumulate one DNP-CD and just five total minutes over that span. On top of that, the last time Smith Jr. was sidelined, Kleber ended up drawing the start at power forward, allowing Doncic to take over the primary ballhandling responsibilities in the starting unit. Obviously, Kleber will have a role in the rotation regardless of Smith Jr.'s availability, but his status still clearly affects his and the other Mavericks overall viability in daily fantasy formats this evening.

Nowitzki has been listed as doubtful on the most recent version of the Mavericks' injury report for Wednesday's matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to an illness, while Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. remain listed as questionable with separate back ailments. Nowitzki has seen his playing time ramp up a bit in recent games, as he's averaged nearly 15 minutes off the bench in the last two games he was active, which has led Maxi Kleber to accumulate one DNP-CD and just five total minutes over that span. On top of that, the last time Smith Jr. was sidelined, Kleber ended up drawing the start at power forward, allowing Doncic to take over the primary ballhandling responsibilities in the starting unit. Kleber will have a role in the rotation regardless of Smith Jr. and Doncic's availability, but their statuses still clearly affect his and the other Mavericks overall viability in daily fantasy formats this evening.

Nowitzki has officially been downgraded from questionable and won't play in Saturday's matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to rest purposes on the second leg of a back-to-back set, while J.J. Barea and Devin Harris remain listed as questionable with a sore left ankle and a tight lower back, respectively. Nowitzki logged a season-high 16 minutes in Friday’s loss, which led Maxi Kleber to be a DNP-CD in that contest, but he’ll likely rejoin the rotation with Nowitzki unavailable to play this evening. On the other hand, if either Barea or Harris are ruled out closer to tipoff, Jalen Brunson would likely return to the rotation after totaling just 23 minutes and accruing three DNP-CDs over the Mavericks last six games, and Dennis Smith Jr. would theoretically have a higher minute floor with less point guard depth behind him in the rotation.

Barea and Harris have been listed as questionable on the most recent version of the Mavericks' injury report for Saturday's matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a sore left ankle and a tight lower back, respectively, while Nowitzki is also listed questionable but shouldn't be expected to play after sitting one half of every back-to-back set so far this season. Nowitzki logged a season-high 16 minutes in Friday's loss, which led Maxi Kleber to be a DNP-CD in that contest, but he'll likely rejoin the rotation with Nowitzki unlikely to suit up this evening. On the other hand, if either Barea or Harris are unavailable, Jalen Brunson would likely return to the rotation after totaling just 23 minutes and accruing three DNP-CDs over the Mavericks last six games.

Matthews has officially been listed as questionable for Monday's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a sore right foot that's already forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Nowitzki is also listed as questionable as part of his workload management plan on the second leg of a back-to-back set. With Matthews sidelined, Maxi Kleber drew his third straight start at power forward in Sunday's win and has logged more than 24 minutes on each occasion while being mostly serviceable from a fantasy perspective. However, if Matthews remains sidelined and Nowitzki is rested, Kleber's minute floor would drastically increase, and he could easily creep into the low-30s in terms of playing time. There aren't any substantial usage beneficiaries with Matthews off the court this season, but Harrison Barnes does own a 27.3% usage rate (+1.4%) and is averaging 0.96 DraftKings and 0.94 FanDuel points per minute in this scenario.