PG: Stephen Curry: It wasn’t a lucrative return when I put Curry in the S5 two nights ago, but the Grizzlies have struggled defending guards and their coming off of a back to back and fatigue could favor Curry and the Warriors even more. The Warriors frontcourt isn’t doing them any favors on the offensive end and Curry is scoring 29 points per game. He’s grabbed at least six boards in every game this season and he’s dishing 6.3 assists per contest. He’s grabbed seven steals in four games. This is an excellent bounce-back spot for Curry tonight and we can expect him to take 20 shots this evening. He’s taken 21 or more in 3 of 4 games this year
SG: DeMar DeRozan: He’s given us an excellent return and even with these two slower-paced teams butting heads tonight, DeRozan has taken a lot of shots to start the year. He’s taken more shots per game than Zach LaVine and speaking of LaVine, he’s dealing with an injured hand and while it isn’t his shooting hand that’s hurt, his grip on the ball will likely be impacted until he’s healed up. DeRozan has scored 22.5 points per game and he’s grabbed 6 or more boards in 3 of 4 games. He’s also dished six dimes in both of his last two games.
SF: Desmond Bane: Let’s go back to well with Bane because he’s cheap and only played 23 minutes last night so he shouldn’t be as exhausted heading into this game. He’s shot 50 percent from the floor this year and he’s scored 19.3 points per game. He’s the second leading scorer on Memphis and he scored 19 points in 23 minutes in the blowout loss to Portland last night. Bane has also grabbed 4.3 rebounds per battle and he’s recorded 2 multi-steal games in the 4 games that he’s played. He’s shot 40 percent from downtown and is especially cheap on DraftKings at 4900 and this is a pace-up spot for Memphis this evening.
PF: John Collins: The Wizards frontcourt is a mess defensively and even though Collins has been playing 26 minutes per game, he should be in line to grab another 10-plus rebounds tonight. He’s grabbed 12 in 2 of his last 3 games. Collins has scored 15 points per game and he’s shooting 61.4 percent from the floor. Foul trouble has limited Collins in his last few games but Kyle Kuzma plays a good amount on the perimeter and as long as Collins isn’t giving into shot fakes at the arc, he should be able to see more playing time tonight and the pace certainly works in the Hawks favor.
C: Jakob Poeltl: Both the Spurs and the Mavericks suck at defending centers, but Poeltl is more skilled offensively than Dwight Powell. Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a sore Back and might not even play. Poeltl has averaged 16 points and 10.8 rebounds per game through 4 this season. He’s played 32 minutes per game and he’s shot over 72 percent from the field. He’s second on the Spurs in scoring and leads them in blocked shots. He swatted away five shots total in his last two outings and hee’s also grabbed steals in three straight games.