NBA Matchups, Lineups and Injury News 3/23/19

You can find all today’s starting lineups here. Follow live updates on Twitter.

For live betting information on all games, click here.

Injury News

For the most up to date injury information, click here.

Bulls: Otto Porter Jr. (shoulder) is doubtful. Kris Dunn (back) is questionable. Zach LaVine (thigh) is a game time decision.

Celtics: Aron Baynes (ankle), Gordon Hayward (concussion) and Al Horford (knee) are all out.

Grizzlies: Avery Bradley (leg) is out.

Hawks: Miles Plumlee (knee) is out.

Heat: None

Hornets: Cody Zeller (knee) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (concussion) are out.

Jazz: Ricky Rubio (hamstring) and Ekpe Udoh (back) are doubtful.

Kings: Harry Giles III (thigh) is questionable.

Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr. (leg) is out for the rest of the year.

Pistons: None

76ers: None

Suns: TJ Warren (ankle) is out. Tyler Johnson (knee) and Josh Jackson (ankle) are questionable. Kelly Oubre Jr. (thumb) is done for the year.

Timberwolves: Robert Covington (ankle), Derrick Rose (elbow) and Jeff Teague (foot) are done for the year. Luol Deng (achilles) is out. Taj Gibson (calf) is questionable.

Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum (knee) is out.

Warriors: Steph Curry (rest), Shaun Livingston (rest) and Andrew Bogut (rest) are out.

Wizards: None

Today’s NBA Matchups

Contents

Dallas Mavericks (28-44) at Golden State Warriors (49-22)

Line: Warriors -13.5, O/U: 220

Warriors: 119 ppg, average defense, faster than average pace

Mavericks: 109 ppg, average defense, average pace

Notes:

• The Warriors have won four of their last five, and they’re looking for their 50th win of the season.
• DeMarcus Cousins had missed a few games, but he led the Warriors with 19 points, 11 boards and 4 assists in a 112-89 win over Indiana.
• Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson combined for 32 points in that game, but they shot just 2-10 from deep.
• Steph Curry will rest in this game along with Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut. Steph is averaging 28, 5 and 5 this year with shooting splits of 47/43/91.
• The Mavs have gone 3-16 since mid-February, tanking hard but still playing their golden boy Luka Doncic heavy minutes. They have to shut him down at some point… right?
• Tim Hardaway Jr. is out for the rest of the year with a stress reaction in his tibia.

Detroit Pistons (37-34) at Portland Trail Blazers (44-27)

Line: Blazers -5, O/U: 215

Trail Blazers: 114 ppg, average defense, below average pace

Pistons: 107 ppg, above average defense, average pace

Notes:

• The Blazers have won four of their last five, beating both Indiana and Dallas by eight points.
• Those wins came without CJ McCollum, who went down with a knee injury in a loss to the Spurs. He should be back in time for a playoff run.
• Damian Lillard put up a combined 63 points and 27 assists in those games.
• Replacing McCollum’s output has been a team effort, but Seth Curry put up 20 off the bench in the Dallas win.
• The Pistons were shaky for a long while in the middle of the season, but their strong play down the stretch has them in good position to make the playoffs.
• Blake Griffin led the way with 17 points, 8 assists and 7 boards in a 118-98 win over the Suns.
• Andre Drummond added 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Wayne Ellington was the high scorer with 23.

Miami Heat (35-37) at Washington Wizards (30-43)

Line: Wizards -1, O/U: 221

Wizards: 114 ppg, bad defense, faster than average pace

Heat: 105 ppg, top ten defense, slower than average pace

Notes:

• The Wizards season has realistically been over for a long time, but Bradley Beal still has buckets to get. He’s averaging 28 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in his last ten.
• Trevor Ariza is probably the second-best player in Washington, and he’s doubtful with a groin injury.
• The Heat have won seven of their last ten, and they’re clinging to the eighth seed in the East by half a game.
• Hassan Whiteside scored 14 in a 116-87 loss to the Bucks, and he was the high point man for Miami.
• Goran Dragic had 19, 26 and 22 in three straight wins, but he was held scoreless on 0-9 shooting in that loss.

Minnesota Timberwolves (32-40) at Memphis Grizzlies (29-43)

Line: Timberwolves -1, O/U: 216

Grizzlies: 101 ppg, top ten defense, bottom five pace

Timberwolves: 112 ppg, below average defense, faster than average pace

Notes:

• The Grizzlies last two games have gone to OT, beating the Rockets but losing to the Magic.
• Mike Conley had 35 points and 8 assists in the Houston win, but didn’t play in the next game due to soreness.
• Minnesota’s season might have gone differently if Robert Covington, Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague stayed healthy, but they did not. All three are done for the year, and so are the Timberwolves.
• Karl-Anthony Towns is gonna keep putting the ball in the hoop, but he’s slowed down a bit since coming out of the All Star break red hot.
• Andrew Wiggins has put up 20 in back to back games.

Philadelphia 76ers (47-25) at Atlanta Hawks (25-48)

Line: 76ers -8, O/U: 236

Hawks: 112 ppg, bottom ten defense, fastest pace in the NBA

76ers: 116 ppg, above average defense, faster than average pace

Notes:

• Credit the Hawks, they’ve been competing since their season basically ended in December. They just knocked off a hungry Jazz team 117-114
• Trae Young put up 23 points and 11 assists, even though it wasn’t his best shooting night. He’s making a late push to challenge Luka Doncic for Rookie of the Year.
• John Collins leads the team with 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this year, and somehow he wasn’t one of the seven Hawks who scored in double figures in the win.
• The Sixers have won six straight, most recently beating Boston 118-115 on the second night of a back-to-back.
• Joel Embiid put up 37 points and 22 rebounds and declared himself the most unguardable player in the league after the game.
• Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris each scored 20+ points in the win, and Ben Simmons did his thing with 13 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Add in JJ Redick’s 17, and the starting lineup scored 110 points.

Phoenix Suns (17-56) at Sacramento Kings (35-36) 

Line: Kings -10O/U: 230

Kings: 113 ppg, bottom-third defense, second-fastest pace

Suns: 106 ppg, bottom five defense, average pace

Notes:

• Both of these teams will miss the playoffs again this year. The Kings made a valiant effort, and the Suns did not.
• Buddy Hield led the Kings with 29 points and 7 made threes in a 116-100 win over Dallas.
• De’Aaron Fox put up 15 points, 9 assists and 4 blocks in that one, and Harrison Barnes added 16 points.
• Marvin Bagley III added 22 and 12 off the bench. Had he not sprained his knee late in the season, their playoff hopes might still be alive.
• The Suns started winning for a minute there, but they’re wisely back on the losing track.
• Kelly Oubre is done for the year with a thumb injury.
• Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker both topped 20 points in a blowout loss to Detroit. They’ll probably continue to put up empty stats in a losing effort if you’re into that sort of thing.

Utah Jazz (42-30) at Chicago Bulls (21-52)

Line: Jazz -10.5, O/U: 217

Bulls: 104 ppg, bottom ten defense, slower than average pace

Jazz: 109 ppg, top five defense, average pace

Notes:

• The Bulls are already among the worst in the league, and they might be without Otto Porter Jr., Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine tonight.
• Lauri Markkanen put up 32 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists for Chicago in a 126-120 win over Washington, so not all hope is lost.
• The Jazz had won five in a row before losing in Atlanta 117-114.
• Donovan Mitchell was the high scorer in that game with 34 points, but he needed 32 shots to do it.
• Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Ricky Rubio, and Joe Ingles all joined Mitchell in double-figure scoring.
• It was a very even game, but they allowed Atlanta to shoot nearly 50% from three and that was the difference.

Marquee Matchup

Boston Celtics (40-26) at Charlotte Hornets (29-35)

Line: Celtics -3, O/U: 222

Celtics: 112 ppg, top five defense, slower than average pace

Hornets: 111 ppg, below average defense, average pace.

Notes:

• The Hornets are 2.5 games back of the eighth seed, facing a brutal gauntlet with seven playoff teams in their last eleven games.
• They just beat Minnesota 113-106 behind 31 points, 6 assists and 5 boards from Kemba Walker. He turned it over 5 times and shot just 1-9 from deep.
• Walker definitely can’t do it all on his own, and five of his teammates scored in double figures. That hasn’t happened enough this year for Charlotte.
• The Celtics have lost twice in a row to Denver and Philly, but th
• Kyrie Irving put up 36 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in the Sixers loss, but he shot just 12-29 from the floor.
• Terry Rozier had one of his hot nights and added 20 off the bench. He does have plenty of cold games too, though.
• Al Horford and Aron Baynes are both out for this one, so the C’s will be thin at center. Expect more play and production from Daniel Theis and Marcus Morris.
• Jaylen Brown has scored just 6 points in each of the last two losses, but Jayson Tatum is averaging 10.5 points, 5 assists and 6.5 rebounds in those games.