What a wild day in the NBA huh? The Nets roster has been flipped upside down following the James Harden trade with Caris LeVert , Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince no longer on the roster along with Kyrie Irving already being ruled out. We also have Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball ruled out for the Pelicans. Before all of that we have the Mavericks missing Dorian Finney-Smith , Maxi Kleber , Jalen Brunson and Josh Richardson . There is a lot of value on this slate now. Stars and Scrubs is going to be the way w go here tonight!
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Key Notes
- In a limited sample size with Caris LeVert & Kyrie Irving off the floor this season Kevin Durant has a 35.6-percent usage rate while averaging 1.69 FP/Min
- Isaiah Roby is averaging 0.96 FP/Min when on the floor this season with Al Horford out of the lineup
- Blazers/Kings have a game total of 236.5 - Their last meeting Portland won with a game total of 224
- De'Aaron Fox was limited in that game but played 38 minutes the other night at a great price
- With Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball off the floor Brandon Ingram has a 26.8-percent usage rate, averaging 1.22 FP/Min
- Eric Bledsoe is also questionable, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has a 31.8-percent usage rate and averages 1.65 FP/Min over a 20 minute sample with Zion and Ball off the floor.
- Luka Doncic had a 35.2-percent usage rate last season while on the floor with Kristaps Porzingis ...Porzingis is expected to start tonight.
| DraftKings | Top Tier | Mid-Tier | Value Tier |
| PG | Luka Doncic | De'Aaron Fox | Trey Burke |
| SG | CJ McCollum | Tim Hardaway | Josh Hart |
| SF | Brandon Ingram | Harrison Barnes | Joe Harris |
| PF | Kevin Durant | P.J. Washington | Isaiah Roby |
| C | Karl-Anthony Towns | Richaun Holmes | DeAndre Jordan |
| FanDuel | Top Tier | Mid-Tier | Value Tier |
| PG | Luka Doncic | De'Aaron Fox | Tyus Jones |
| SG | CJ McCollum | Tim Hardaway | Bruce Brown |
| SF | Kevin Durant | Brandon Ingram | Joe Harris |
| PF | Julius Randle | P.J. Washington | Isaiah Roby |
| C | Karl-Anthony Towns | Richaun Holmes | DeAndre Jordan |
Player News
Jayson Tatum struggled with his shot and finished with 13 points (5-of-19 FGs), 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and one three-pointer in a 91-90 loss to the Knicks in Game 2 on Wednesday.
The positive outlook is that Tatum is averaging 15 rebounds per game in this series and contributing as a playmaker and a defender. The negative (and honest) outlook is that he hasn’t been the dominant scorer that Boston has needed him to be. Though he gave them a late lead with a dunk, he couldn’t get a shot off with a chance to win it on the final play. Now, his team is down 0-2 and will head to New York for Games 3 and 4. If Boston is going to repeat as champions, Tatum is going to have to step up his game.
Kristaps Porzingis came off the bench on Wednesday and finished with eight points (3-of-5 FGs), four rebounds and one three-pointer in Game 2 against the Knicks.
After exiting early from Game 1, Porzingis was made available for Game 2, but he only played a small role off the bench. Al Horford logged 29 minutes as a starter, while Luke Kornet played 18 minutes off the bench. Both bigs played more than Porzingis, who was only on the floor for 14 minutes. He’ll have a few days off before Game 3 on Saturday, which will hopefully be enough time for him to get back to full strength.
Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23 points (9-of-15 FGs), six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three three-pointers against the Celtics in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Hart’s role for the Knicks is simply to do whatever they need. In this game, they needed him to score more, and he did just that. In a low-scoring affair, Hart led both teams in scoring to help the Knicks go up 2-0 in this series, which will now shift back to New York. Hart played 43 minutes after logging 45 minutes in Game 1 and will continue to play the majority of each game for the rest of New York’s postseason run.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 21 points (9-of-16 FGs), 17 rebounds, one assist and one block in a 91-90 win over the Celtics in Game 2.
After a quiet performance in Game 1, Towns made a much larger impact on Wednesday to help the Knicks take a commanding 2-0 lead in this series, which will now shift to New York for Games 3 and 4. Head coach Tom Thibodeau utilized a two-center lineup with Towns and Mitchell Robinson for 12:43, and they outscored Boston by 14 points during that stretch. We’ll see if Thibs continues to utilize a taller lineup moving forward, especially if Kristaps Porzingis continues to battle this illness.
Jalen Brunson struggled on Wednesday and finished with 17 points (6-of-19 FGs), three rebounds, seven assists, one block and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Celtics.
It was a rough night overall for Brunson, but he still came up big when the game mattered most. He scored the final six points for the Knicks, which included the bucket that finally gave them the lead. The series will now shift to New York with the Knicks leading 2-0. Brunson’s subpar night didn’t cost them on Wednesday, but he’ll need to be much better in Game 3 if they want to defend homecourt on Saturday.
Mikal Bridges came up big late and finished with 14 points (6-of-18 FGs), seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Celtics on Wednesday.
In this series, Bridges has been worth every first that New York had to trade away to acquire him. After ripping the ball away from Jaylen Brown to seal the Game 1 win, Bridges stole the ball from Jayson Tatum in the final seconds of Game 2 to give the Knicks a 2-0 lead as they head back home for Games 3 and 4. It was a rough first three quarters offensively for Bridges, but he scored all 14 of his points in the final frame. The box score doesn’t show just how impactful Bridges has been in this series, especially in the clutch.