Charlotte Hornets & Milwaukee Bucks

Spread: Bucks -10

Total: 241

Injuries:

Charlotte Hornets:

Gordon Hayward - Out

Milwaukee Bucks:

Pat Connaughton – Out

Brook Lopez - Out

*Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/CPT

 

LaMelo Ball, PG (CHA) – Don’t worry, the obvious choice is coming, but Ball allows us to save a substantial amount of cash, and the game script sets things up perfectly for him. Charlotte will be playing catchup, which means playing fast, and Ball will be leading the attack in what projects to be a very high scoring game. Ball did come back from the All-Star game cold from a shooting perspective (five of 16 from the field), but we also have seen the upside he is capable of this season. 

 

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C (MIL) – Antetokounmpo didn’t miss a beat on Saturday as he scored 29 points to go along with 14 rebounds and six assists in what was a surprising Milwaukee loss. I would expect the Bucks to come out motivated tonight, and Antetokounmpo should have plenty of opportunities to fill the stat sheet. As of late, Antetokounmpo has been a monster on the boards, and that should continue against Charlotte. 

 

 

Bobby Portis, C (MIL) – Charlotte did upgrade a little in the post, but it is still a situation worth targeting. The full array of Portis’ skill set was on display Saturday as he made eight of 14 three-point attempts on his way to a 30-point, 12 rebound outing. While we certainly don’t go into tonight expecting a repeat from downtown, Portis should have another big game and also represents a nice cost savings. 

Util

 

Montrezl Harrell, C (CHA) – Harrell’s price point works for just about all lineup constructions tonight. Charlotte traded for Harrell with a purpose, and he has lived up to their expectations thus far. On Friday, Harrell only needed 23 minutes of action (the Hornets blew out Toronto) to post a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. I would expect Harrell to at least put up a similar performance tonight.  

 

 

Terry Rozier, PG/SG (CHA) – There are a lot of different directions we can go in for tonight’s Showdown Slate, and a multi-entry situation might be the best bet. Rozier came out of the All-Star break shooting the ball well going 10 for 16 from the field on Friday to go along with nine assists. The volume and the pace should be there for Rozier, and we just need the guard to be efficient from the field once again like he also was last night with 33 points. 

 

 

Khris Middleton, SG/SF (MIL) – Middleton doesn’t have the same upside as a lot of the other options, but his floor is also pretty high. On Saturday, Middleton scored 25 points along with seven assists and three rebounds, and a similar performance can be expected tonight against the Hornets. 

 

 

Miles Bridges, SF/PF (CHA) – Bridges does benefit from Gordon Hayward being out, but there is some variability in both his shooting volume and efficiency. The forward can very easily go from 25 points to eight, and then back up to games of 28 and 29 pants before dipping down to 11 points. Bridges does have double figure rebounds in his last three games so we do get a solid floor and he also bounced back offensively last night with 29 points and another 10-rebound performance. 

Dart Throws

 

Cody Martin, SG/SF (CHA) – The Hornets are a little shorthanded tonight and Martin should get a workload similar to the 32 minutes he played last night. Martin was perfect from the field as he put up 13 points and the swingman should repeat that effort tonight. 

 

 

Wesley Matthews, SG/SF (MIL) – It’s hard to argue with Matthews’ price and the minutes (28 on Saturday), but the problem is that he only took four shots and finished with five points, two rebounds, one assist. Matthews hasn’t shown much as of late that makes us feel comfortable with seeing much more than that, but again, the price is right.