Today’s NBA Starting Lineups & Matchups 2/3/20: Butler Hosts Former 76ers Teammates in Miami Tonight

Marquee Matchups

There are 10 games going on around the association tonight. Here are the matchups you should keep an eye on.

Dallas Mavericks (30-19) at Indiana Pacers (31-18)

• This is the first time the Mavericks and Pacers will be facing off in their interconference matchup this season.
• The Pacers are 7-3 in their last ten games, but it’ll take them some time to get adjusted to having Victor Oladipo in the lineup. They’ve split the first two games since he’s returned.
• The Mavs have struggled a bit lately especially without Luka Doncic, but they won their last game without both Doncic and Porzingis.

Philadelphia 76ers (31-19) at Miami Heat (33-15)

• The 76ers are on a two-game skid, while the Heat won their last game.
• The Miami Heat had a narrow victory over the 76ers in their December matchup 117-116 even with Joel Embiid going off for 35 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Heat have been a tough out at home, and they’ve only lost three games at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Boston Celtics (33-15) at Atlanta Hawks (13-37)

• Tonight’s matchup will pit the Eastern Conference’s worst team, the Atlanta Hawks, against one of the top East contenders in the Boston Celtics.
• Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to an early January win over the Hawks 109-106 as he scored 24 points.
• Boston will be looking for their fourth straight win tonight, while the Hawks are 5-5 in their last 10.

San Antonio Spurs (22-26) at Los Angeles Clippers (34-15)

• The Clippers are number two in the West, while the Spurs are tied for ninth.
• The Spurs, who have struggled this season, start their rodeo road trip tonight, and they won their last two prior to hitting the road.
• Los Angeles walloped the Spurs back in December 134-109 as Kawhi Leonard led with 26 points and nine assists.

Phoenix Suns (20-29) at Brooklyn Nets (21-27)

• The Suns are still not where they’d like to be, but they’ve turned some heads this season and have been able to come up with some big wins.
• This will be the final regular-season matchup between the Suns and Nets. Earlier this season, the Suns, led by Devin Booker, claimed a 138-112 home victory over Brooklyn.
• Just as Kyrie Irving made his return, he’s banged up with an injury again and will miss tonight’s game against the Suns. He shouldn’t be out as long this time as he has a sprained ligament in his right knee, but it will keep him out at least a week.

Today’s Lineups

Top Predicted Performers

• Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum has a projection of 44.1 points on FanDuel for tonight. At a $7.9k salary, he’s definitely worth picking up. Tatum has continuously improved this year and will be making his first All-Star appearance. He struggled shooting in his first game against Atlanta this season, but considering the Hawks’ defense is lackluster and he’ll likely be picked up by Kevin Huerter or Traveon Graham, I expect Tatum to have no trouble reaching his projection.

• Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers last played Saturday, so Leonard should be suiting up tonight. He has the top projection in the league tonight with 48.4 points for his $10.1k salary. Leonard has played well against the Spurs this season and given that the Spurs’ best defenders play point guard and all give up at least a few inches, he could have a big night.

Potential Duds

• DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs

DeRozan has played very well for the Spurs lately, which made it somewhat surprising that he didn’t earn an All-Star selection. He’s projected for 38.3 points tonight, but he has struggled at times against the Clippers’ gritty defense and being in one-on-one matchups against Kawhi Leonard. In order for him to be successful, they’ll need to get him in mismatches through screens and find him in his spots for quick jumpers. DeRozan likes iso play, but that won’t be an option against the Clippers

• Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

Bam is having a fantastic year and he was deserving of his All-Star selection, but his projection of 38.9 points looks to be a bit high for me. He’s still a good pickup at $8k, but I think he may have difficulty reaching that projection considering he is matched up against Joel Embiid tonight. Historically, Bam has not played as well against Philadelphia. He’s eclipsed that mark in his last three games but considering two of those games were against Orlando, that’s not saying much. In two of his three games against Philadelphia, he failed to reach 24 or more fantasy points, but he did have one outlier on December 18.

For more fantasy basketball information, view our NBA Daily Fantasy Basketball Projections page.