NBA Matchups: January 28

LAL @ CLE | CHI @ IND | ATL @ BOS | ORL @ MIA | NYK @ TOR | CHA @ MEM | MIN @ DAL | GSW @ UTA | SAS @ HOU

Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Lakers 116.3, Cavs 119.3

Injury Report: De’Andre Hunter (P, knee), Sam Merrill (P, hand), Evan Mobley (O, calf), Austin Reaves (O, calf)

Lakers projected starters: Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, LeBron James, Deandre Ayton

Cavs projected starters: Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen

Redick quotes: Said Hayes made a lot of the simple plays, said Luka was able to make the right reads all night, said they outscored the Bulls in transition and in the paint which is hard to do against them, said the Bulls really test switch schemes and they were able to get that working, said Luka is so good at handling blitzes, said he and Luka have a good feel together about when the offense can get him off the ball, said Rui was awesome on Monday and Rui “is kinda back in his groove,” said it took time for Rui to get “back to who he was to start the year,” said Rui was excellent as the low man in PNR coverages, said Rui off the bench isn’t a big difference to how he can fit in on offense.

Atkinson quotes: Said Mitchell is getting to the rim like D Wade right now (not Dean), said they’re playing Mitchell a lot of minutes (sounded OK with it), said they are playing with more grit lately and “we knew we had to make a move in the standings,” said Proctor really takes care of his body like Donovan does, said Donovan “needed to get 45 or we probably don’t win,” said it’s mind-boggling that he’s not a top-three MVP candidate, said he’s excited about playing against LeBron on Wednesday.

Stats and Notes: 

*These two teams look to be getting back on track. The Lakers have won four of their last five games with suddenly improving defense in that span. There’s not a very clear trend on how they play with J.J. Redick mixing up coverages a good bit, and their transition defense is way better over this span (they have ranked third at keeping teams in the halfcourt since Jan. 9). They have also been excellent at keeping teams off the boards, but they’re still ranked 26th in halfcourt D because they just lack consistent on-ball defense. The Cavs have won four straight as their defense has really found its footing, and there has been increased production out of their star players. They’re one of the best on-ball defenses in the league right now, so it’s not going to be easy for Luka Doncic and Co. Plus, the Lakers are dead last in C&S 3PAs per game, so I’d expect the Cavs to be somewhat aggressive with Luka. Although Evan Mobley is out now, and I would expect their defense to look much worse.

*Luka Doncic will get a very tough matchup against Jaylon Tyson, and the Cavs have been one of the league’s best at limiting PNR handlers this year. The good news for Luka is that Evan Mobley is out, and that’s a big reason why the Cavs have been so awesome against handlers. He’s a very good play now.

*LeBron James should see a really tough assignment in Dean Wade. It’s not a big coincidence that Wade returns to the lineup and the Cavs start to lock in defensively. Sure, the homecoming game is fun for LeBron, but I’m not too excited about this matchup.

*Deandre Ayton was a disaster yet again. The Lakers continue to lean on some smaller lineups, and Jaxson Hayes is basically outplaying him right now. The good news is that the Lakers can’t really play small, but I’d still be looking in another direction with four straight duds from Ayton.

*Maybe Rui Hachimura starts to get more size, and he’s playing extremely well for the Lakers. I wouldn’t want him in DFS, but he could be an option for overs.

*Donovan Mitchell is so locked in right now. In his last five games, he’s third in drives, third in points off drives, third in touch time, and he has 13.6 potential assists. The Magic were still sending doubles to him, and he still cooked them for 45. There’s no doubt that Redick will have a scheme that may try to limit Donovan, but it may not matter at this point.

*With how poorly Ayton is playing, this should set up well for Jarrett Allen. It would have been a concern that the Cavs would play smaller, but now, without Mobley, Allen should be set for a huge role in the paint. He should smash.

Great matchups: Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen

Good matchups: Jaylon Tyson

Bad matchups: LeBron James, Deandre Ayton

Chicago Bulls (front end) at Indiana Pacers