Today’s NBA Starting Lineups & Matchups 3/3/20: Can 76ers End Road Woes

Marquee Matchups

It’s a busy night in the NBA, with eight games tonight. Here are the matchups you should keep an eye on.

San Antonio Spurs (25-34) at Charlotte Hornets (21-39)

• The Spurs will be playing in the second game of a back-to-back as they take on another struggling team in the Hornets.
• The last time the Spurs and Hornets met, early last month, the Spurs won 114-90 as DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points.
• The Hornets had a big win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday and had a close game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brooklyn Nets (26-33) at Boston Celtics (41-18)

• The Brooklyn Nets have been on a skid lately, losing their last four games, but they still hang on to the eighth playoff seed.
• The Boston Celtics are looking like a legitimate contender and they are within a half-game of taking over second place in the East. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
• Kemba Walker could be back for the Celtics tonight, but Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum are both questionable.

Los Angeles Clippers (41-19) at Oklahoma City Thunder (37-23)

• The Clippers have been on a hot streak lately, winning their last four games. They are now tied for second in the West with the Denver Nuggets.
• Oklahoma City has been one of the surprise teams of this NBA season. After trading Russell Westbrook, not many gave them a chance to compete in the Western Conference, but Chris Paul has led this team to what will likely be another playoff berth.
• The Thunder got the better of the Clippers in their last matchup, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 32 on his way to a 118-112 win.

Philadelphia 76ers (37-24) at Los Angeles Lakers (46-13)

• The Lakers still have a healthy lead atop the Western Conference. They have won eight of their last 10 games.
• Philadelphia, meanwhile, has tumbled all the way down to the number six spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ve also struggled on the road all season with a 9-22 record.
• Los Angeles will be looking to avenge their loss to the 76ers in January tonight. The 76ers won 108-91 with Tobias Harris leading the way with 29 points, while Anthony Davis had 31.

Today’s Lineups

Top Predicted Performers

• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

Just about every time there’s a Lakers game, Anthony Davis makes his way onto this list, and it would be easy to include him tonight, but LeBron James just so happens to be tied with Davis for the highest projection of the night. He’s available on FanDuel for $10.5k and he has a projection of 50.42 points. He’s coming off a huge game against New Orleans, where he had 67.9 fantasy points, so I have him just above Davis.

• Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

Leonard has been up and down lately, but he’s going to have a big matchup advantage tonight, so I can see him surpassing his projection of 46.69 points. He’s available on FanDuel for $9.1k, which is his lowest salary in quite a few games. With what he brings on both sides of the floor, this may be one of the few times you can snatch him up for your lineup this low.

Potential Duds

• Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers

Harris hasn’t exactly stepped up the way he was expected to with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons out. Instead, it was Shake Milton that has been doing that for Philadelphia. Tonight, while Harris has just a $7.3k salary, he’ll also be going up against a very stiff defense in the Lakers, and he’ll likely be defended with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He’s projected for 37.46 points, which is still good overall value, but that may be harder to come by and is a far cry from the 57.9 he put up against the Knicks a few games ago.