NBA Matchups: December 22

Yeah, so this is just off the rails. I’ve been spending a little more time helping on the projections these days, so this is going to be a fairly short NBA Matchups today. I did my usual quote run, but the stats and notes section isn’t going to be as thorough. Make sure you check out the Health and Safety Protocols Show at 2pm with Justin Phan and me! Should be fun and informative! I’ll be on the DFS show with Wiggins, too.

Orlando Magic (front end) at Atlanta Hawks (front end)

Team Totals: Magic 102.3, Hawks 108.8

Injury Report: Cole Anthony (Q, ankle) Mo Bamba (O, protocols), Ignas Bradzdeikis (O, protocols), Wendell Carter Jr. (Q, leg muscle strain), R.J. Hampton (O, protocols), Terrence Ross (O, protocols), Moe Wagner (O, protocols), Bogdan Bogdanovic (P, ankle), Clint Capela (O, protocols), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (O, protocols), Danilo Gallinari (O, protocols), Trae Young (O, protocols), Mychal Mulder (O, protocols), Lou Williams (O, protocols)

Magic projected starters: Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Franz Wagner, Chuma Okeke, Robin Lopez

Hawks projected starters: Delon Wright, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, John Collins, Gorgui Dieng

Mosley quotes: Said Gary Harris and Robin Lopez continue to help team with poise (mentioned Harris’ defense on Patty Mills), said they are tied together with Lakeland on development.

McMillan quotes: Said the Nuggets were able to score at will, said Okongwu was still limited but looked good in his return, said he wants guys to play more defense and most of his guys are “offensive minded,” said “we’re not where we want to be” on wing defense (hinted that TLC isn’t De’Andre Hunter), said “we’ll look at everything” on a lineup change to help the defense.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Hawks have depth issues all over the place here. The good news is they have Bogdan Bogdanovic back, and he was going to be able to play had the Hawks’ last game not gotten canceled. He’s likely getting a decent dose of minutes, and he will likely take on a lot of ball-handling. He and Kevin Huerter will be in play with Trae out of the mix. This is one of the best matchups for perimeter players, so they’re in huge spots.

*There should be some minutes for Delon Wright here. Besides the obvious stuff, the “offensive minded” quote from McMillan feels like it should seal the deal on Delon getting the nod here. Delon gets arguably the best matchup in the NBA for perimeter players, so it could be a big night.

*The Hawks missing Capela and Gallo really thins them out, but they still have Gorgui Dieng and Onyeka Okongwu for the majority of their C minutes. Plus, there should be some Collins at the five, especially now that they have Bogdan to add some wing depth to push Cam Reddish to the four. I wouldn’t be too pumped about using the Hawks’ Cs here. Plus, Collins has seen an efficiency dip in his minutes without Trae over his career, so he’s not the strongest play either. Jalen Johnson should also be in the rotation.

*The Magic could get Cole Anthony back, but if not, whoa boy. It’s very noteworthy that they signed Tim Frazier to a 10-day deal. You don’t sign Tim Frazier to a 10-day deal and not use him! Kidding aside, it would be a big spot for Franz Wagner.

*Chuma Okeke is also in a big spot today, assuming Wendell Carter Jr. can’t go. His minutes ceiling is high and this matchup is very good against a Capela-less defense. This game should be fairly high-scoring.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics