Category: NBA Basketball

USATSI

The Washington Wizards (32-41) will try to bolster their playoff hopes when they host the San Antonio Spurs (19-54) on Friday night. Washington has dropped four straight games and is 2.5 games back of the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. San Antonio is playing the third game of a four-game road trip that began with blowout losses to the Pelicans and Bucks.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET from Capital One Arena. Washington is favored by 7.5 points in the latest Wizards vs. Spurs odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is 228. Before entering any Spurs vs. Wizards picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players

8:00 AM ET

Steve Alexander

Now that the fantasy basketball playoffs are here, there’s never a more important time to pay attention to which direction players are trending.

Here are five guys currently exceeding expectations and five others who are struggling as the season winds down.

Risers

Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks: Bro-Lo cooled off on Wednesday when he had just 11 points, two rebounds and two blocks due to foul trouble but has otherwise been a rock star in March. He’s been a Top 5 fantasy player over the past two weeks and has averaged 20.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 2.9 blocks and 2.1 3-pointers while shooting 58% from the floor and 80% from the line in March. Chances are he’s helped to carry fantasy teams down the stretch and he’ll look to keep it going against the Jazz on Friday night. The Bucks finish up 4-4 on games played over the final

Mar 23, 2023

Jamal CollierESPN

MIAMI HEAT CENTER Bam Adebayo came flying in from behind for a rebound late in the fourth quarter of their March 10 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, inadvertently scraping Cavs center Jarrett Allen across the eye in the process. The 6-foot-11 All-Star immediately fell to the ground and covered his face while teammates surrounded him and the training staff leaped off the bench.

When Allen headed toward the locker room with 3 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the game — and a month remaining in the season — the Cavaliers felt a sense of deja vu.

It was almost exactly one year ago when Allen exited a game against the Toronto Raptors and was diagnosed with a left quad contusion and a left middle finger fracture. He went on to miss the remainder of the regular season, and the Cavaliers went on to miss the playoffs for

The LA Clippers will be without star guard Paul George for at least two to three weeks, after George suffered a right knee sprain in the fourth quarter of LA’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

George appeared to hyperextend his right knee while grabbing a rebound with just under five minutes to go in the final frame. He remained stretched out on the court for several minutes before being helped off the floor and leaving the arena on crutches. 

Imaging on George’s knee Wednesday determined that he will miss two to three weeks, and be re-evaluated at that point.

On the year, George is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

The Clippers are currently fifth in the West (38-35), but a mere 2.5 games separates LA and the New Orleans Pelicans (35-37), who currently sit 12th in a log-jammed Western Conference. 

The Clippers’ final regular-season game is on April 9, meaning George’s injury could mean he will miss time in the playoffs if the Clippers make it to the postseason.

George has so far missed 17 games on the season. The Clippers are 6-11 in those contests.

This is a developing story.

The Dallas Mavericks are getting a big boost as they enter the homestretch of the regular season and seek a playoff berth.

Luka Dončić has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, making it likely that he returns to the lineup. The Mavericks’ star guard has missed the previous five games due to a left thigh strain. 

Dončić’s return to the lineup comes at a pivotal point for the Mavericks. At 36-36, they sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. While they’re only a game back of the Warriors for sixth place, which would help them avoid the play-in tournament, they’re also just a game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are the first team on the outside looking in at the play-in teams. 

Dončić is second in the league in scoring this season, scoring 33 points per game, and has added 8.6 rebounds and eight assists per game. Despite Dončić’s dominance though, the first handful of games with his new co-star, Kyrie Irving, hasn’t gone too well. They’re 4-6 in the 10 games they’ve played together so far.

Still, Dončić’s return is welcome news to Dallas. The Mavericks have gone 5-10 without Dončić this season and went 2-3 in this recent stretch without him. 

Some of the teams around the Mavericks in the standings are getting some key players back from injury, too. Karl-Anthony Towns is set to return for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are a half-game back of the Mavericks in the standings, after missing the last 51 games. LeBron James‘ right foot tendon injury will also be reevaluated sometime this week. 

Irving remains questionable for Wednesday’s tilt, which is a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Read more:

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

National Basketball Association

Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks