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Charlotte Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Spread: 224.5
Over/Under: LAL -7
Injuries
Hornets
None
Lakers
LeBron James - PROB
Anthony Davis - OUT
Markieff Morris - PROB
Marc Gasol - OUT
Jared Dudley - OUT
Kostas Antetokounmpo - OUT
MVP/CPT
James is coming off two straight triple-doubles and has an elite match-up against a Hornets squad ranking 17th in DRtg this season. James has a 33.8% USG rate and 1.52 FP/min without Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol this season. The Hornets rank 29th against the small-forward position. James is a shoe in for another big night.
He didn’t look great on Wednesday night, but nobody for Charlotte did as they were blown out and all the starters were rested in the fourth quarter. Of any Charlotte player, Ball has the most upside because he’s a triple-double threat. Ball paces Charlotte in both usage rate (24.4%) and FP/min (1.25 FP/min).
Y’all wanna win, put Montrezl in, watch Montrezl spin. That was in reference to the great Boobie Miles, but no truer words have even been spoken. Harrell has been incredible now that he’s getting all this run putting up 34+ DKP in four straight games, 24+ actual in three-of-four. Harrell has a 22.8% USG and averages 1.12 FP/min with Davis and Gasol off the floor. If you want to fit LBJ and Ball in your lineup comfortably, using Harrell at CPT is a good way to do so.
Mid-Tier
It’s been an up and down year for Rozier but we’ve gotten some really big performances out of him this year but the high’s have been extremely high. He’s coming off back-to-back games of 37 DKP and he’s accomplished that feat four times in six days. Rozier hs a very respectable 23.7% USG and 1.06 FP/min average on the year.
With the emergence of Montrezl Harrell , Schroder has realistically fallen back into that third man role that he’s in when it’s LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the top two options for LAL. Schroder continues to play 30+ minutes a night and has put up 27+ DKP in four-of-five and six of his last eight games. He’s second on the team in USG rate with Anthony Davis on the floor and Charlotte ranks 25th against point-guards.
Although Kuzma took a small step back last time out, the game was well in hand and he still scored 16 actual, just didn’t do much else. He’s been a beast though, scoring 16+ actual in four straight and before last game, had three straight 34+ DKP performances. This match-up with Charlotte is elite as they rank 25th against the power-forward position.
Value Tier
Although his minutes have cut drastically with the return of Devonte’ Graham, Monk is still getting it done when he’s on the floor. He’s put up 18.5+ DKP in three straight, twice scoring 16 actual and twice topping 23 DKP. He can fill it up in a hurry but he can also shoot himself off the floor, so if you roster him just know you’re taking a big risk.
The minutes aren’t great lately, but the Lakers have been involved in back-to-back blowouts and this figures to be a bit more competitive. Morris still has been productive even with his minutes cut back putting up 21+ DKP in 5-of-6 games. He should see the minutes creep back into the 20’s in a close game tonight.
Devonte' Graham
So Graham played the fewest minutes and had his worst outing since returning from injury on Wednesday night, but it was a blow out. He should see his minutes begin to creep back up into the mid-to-upper 20’s sooner rather than later and that could start tonight. That said, we saw he doesn’t need a lot of time to fill up the stat sheet as he put up 17 actual and 27.5 DKP on the 13th.
Player News
Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points (11-of-13 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs), four rebounds, eight assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 win over the Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Aside from Game 4 against Memphis, SGA hasn’t been his typical uber-efficient self during the playoffs so far. Well, that changed in Game 2, which contributed to a dominant win for Oklahoma City. This was his fourth straight 30-point game, and that helped OKC bounce back from a two-point loss in Game 1. He only played 30 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter, but SGA did plenty of damage when he was on the floor. The series will now shift to Denver, and OKC will need to win a road game to retake homecourt advantage in this series. Game 3 will be on Friday.