UPDATED 7:48 pm ET
UPDATE 8:34 pm ET: Landry Shamet is starting over Reggie Jackson, joining Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris and Ivica Zubac. Shamet’s usage is going to be tiny, so he’s not a great play. Reggie Jackson is really tough to use here and those who went to him may want to think about swapping out.
UPDATE 7:46 pm ET: Kristaps Porzingis and Trey Burke are good to go, as expected. This late game is setting up extremely well for some stacks.
UPDATE 7:23 pm ET: Doc Rivers said Landry Shamet will play more tonight. This is kind of what we expected because of our Reggie Jackson concerns, so we might see Shamet in the first unit. He’s still horrible per minute, so the big takeaway is that Reggie is looking a little worse.
UPDATE 7:19 pm ET: Patrick Beverley (calf) is officially after after getting the doubtful tag. Reggie Jackson is probably going to start, but he’s a really risky play. Lou Williams and Landry Shamet could see a couple extra minutes, and this helps Marcus Morris.
UPDATE 6:03 pm ET: Al Horford is back in the starting, so yeah. The Joel Embiid and Horford lineup is -42.8 in net rating over 37 minutes. Matisse Thybulle will move to the bench here, but he should still find playing time and is still an OK punt. Playing Horford is very risky.
UPDATE 5:27 pm ET: Javonte Green (knee) is out against Philly. This really shouldn’t affect your decisions unless you think it’s really going to be a ridiculous blowout to help Romeo Langford slightly.
UPDATE 3:07 pm ET: Mike Conley is officially available for this one, and he should start for Juwan Morgan. Conley’s return doesn’t really affect Donovan Mitchell much as a scorer, but his dimes upside decreases slightly. Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles lose a little upside here.
UPDATE 12:35 pm ET: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (knee) has been ruled out for today’s game. Nick Nurse has a lot of options here, so there could be more minutes for Terence Davis in smaller lineups. It doesn’t really change much, but it does slightly help OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka slightly.
UPDATE 12:17 pm ET: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a game-time call for today’s game. If he’s out, the Raptors could just go smaller with more Terence Davis II or they could get a few minutes of two-center lineups. This might slightly help OG Anunoby.
UPDATE: Tyler Johnson will start for the Nets with Joe Harris (personal) out. This is what we expected, so Johnson still looks like a great play today. The second unit has a lot of ways it can go 1-4, but Rodions Kurucs should be looking at a decent role. He has to play better, of couirse.
We’re ready for some Game 3 action, and you would think the third game would set up similarly compared to the first two because the slate is the same. Well, this M-W-F action has left some question marks in rotations because of major-impact absences to multiple teams, and some teams are just having horrendous key lineups to cause lineup changes. It was Gordon Hayward‘s ankle that caused changes to the Celtics along with Al Horford being #bad, but this time we get Mike Conley back and Joe Harris is out.
Definitely check out some NBA Matchups for an approach on how key players like Donovan Mitchell, Garrett Temple, Tyler Johnson, Royce O’Neale and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot are affected. In this one, we’ll take a simpler look at the rotation.
Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets, 1:30 pm ET
The Raptors only have their usual guys out with no Oshae Brissett and Patrick McCaw.
The Nets don’t have Jamal Crawford (hamstring), and Joe Harris will miss this one after leaving the bubble. Based on some practice video, it looked like Tyler Johnson was working with the first unit. He was getting more overlap with Caris LeVert in Game 2, so he makes the most sense by far, especially with how the Nets will need to score on the perimeter. Johnson would be in play along with Temple, TLC and maybe Rodions Kurucs as he plays a little more PF out of necessity. Caris LeVert is going to be busy, but this game could get ugly.
Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz, 4:00 pm ET
Nothing new with the Nuggets. Will Barton (knee) is likely out for the series and Gary Harris (hip) is still out, but Harris will be back soon. Torrey Craig will see a lot of Donovan Mitchell again, and the Nuggets may have to change their lineup to counter Mike Conley.
Mike Conley is probable, and he should take over for Juwan Morgan. Royce O’Neale‘s minutes should be fine, but he and Joe Ingles take a bit of a hit in the assist department. Mitchell should also decrease on dimes, but he’s actually been a terrific scorer when he’s next to Conley.
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 6:30 pm ET
Nothing new on Boston except Javonte Green (knee) listed as questionable. Romeo Langford returned from his wrist injury and made an impact, and he might start to climb in minutes. The Boston starters should be busy, especially if it’s close.
The 76ers’ injury report is the same with no Glenn Robinson III (hip) and Ben Simmons (knee). This team is a disaster, so there might be another lineup shuffle.
LA Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks, 9:00 pm ET
Patrick Beverley (calf) is doubtful, and based on comments from Wednesday you’d assume he has very little chance of playing. Reggie Jackson is probably going to start again as a possible punt, but he’s dicey because he’s been so inconsistent. Landry Shamet and Lou Williams also benefit. Marcus Morris, too.
The Mavs’ injury report is basically clean with Kristaps Porzingis (heel) and Trey Burke (ankle) as probable. KP’s heel has been a mild issue since last week, and this isn’t the same knee issue that made him questionable for Game 2. He’s playing extremely fast, and this game would be the one I target if I wanted to stack one.
