20: Pels looking to enter All-Star Break on four-game streak

By Michael De Leon | Apr 18, 2023, 11:02pm

Contents

Marquee Matchups

There are just two games on the docket in the NBA tonight in the final night of action before the All-Star Break, but they’ll be fun to watch.

Los Angeles Clippers (37-17) at Boston Celtics (37-16)

The third-place teams in each conference will square off tonight.
The Celtics lost their last game, but are 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 22-5 at home. The Clippers are 6-4 in their last 10 and also lost their most recent game.
In their first matchup this season in November, the Clippers won at home 107-104. Lou Williams scored 27 for the Clippers and Jayson Tatum finished with 30.

Oklahoma City Thunder (32-22) at New Orleans Pelicans (23-31)

The Pelicans and Thunder last played in December, with the Thunder taking the narrow victory 107-104. Jrue Holiday and Danilo Gallinari led their respective clubs with 26 and 23 points apiece.
This will be the first time the Thunder will play the Pelicans with rookie big man Zion Williamson.
For more in-depth analysis of this matchup, read our matchup preview.

Today’s Lineups

Top Predicted Performers

• Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

Leonard has the highest projection of all players tonight with 46.6 points for his $9.9k salary on FanDuel. He’ll have Gordon Hayward defending him tonight and that’ll probably be a favorable matchup for him. His assist numbers have been up quite a bit this season and especially in his last few games.

• Chris Paul, Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul is facing off against Lonzo Ball tonight and I consider that favorable for Paul. He won’t come cheap at $13.5k, but he is projected to finish the game with 39 fantasy points. Paul will also be looking to hold off the Pelicans from winning their fourth straight and will try to head into the break with a win.

Potential Duds

• Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics

It’s hard to find a dud with two games and especially two good games to watch, but I feel like Gordon Hayward has his job cut out for him against Kawhi Leonard. Not only will he have to chase the forward around all night, but he’ll also have Leonard in his face defending him. He’s not a huge risk at $6.8k for a 30.7 point projection, but I get the feeling he may have a tough time meeting that projection with the league’s premier perimeter defender on him.

Michael De Leon

Michael is Chief Editor at Lineups.com. He has decades of combined experience in traditional print journalism and online media and is the publisher of the Project Spurs Network, which includes 13 team-specific sports media sites and the flagship ProjectSpurs.com. He is also the creator of the first Spurs podcast and the longest-running sports podcast on the internet, the Spurscast, and was formerly the host of the News 4 San Antonio Sports Roundtable.