3 MUST HAVES
McCollum – With Dame Lillard dealing with a sore knee, McCollum could be in for big minutes and ball handling duties tonight. CJ put up 30 points the last time these 2 teams met, and Portland will need all the scoring they can get from him if Lillard is slowed by the injury.
Whiteside – This looks like a smash spot here for Whiteside in this matchup against Brooklyn. They rank 30th in the league against Centers and 23rd against opponent rebounding. Whiteside has 2 20 rebounding games in the past week, and could record his 3rd tonight.
Russell – With Caris LeVert going down with that nasty ankle dislocation, Russell should step in as the top scorer on this team. Miami struggles against guards, and Russell has put up at least 14 shots in the last 7 games. Expect a slight bump in shots tonight.
RANKINGS (Without obvious elite plays)
POINT GUARD
Teague/Rose (Both questionable)
Smith Jr/Barrea
Lowry
Kyrie
Sexton
Rubio
T. Johnson (value)
SHOOTING GUARD
Clarkson/Smith
Beal
Booker
Nwaba (value)
DeRozan
Jrue
SMALL FORWARD
Mirotic
Ingles
Warren
Harris
Bertans (value)
POWER FORWARD
Aldridge
Gibson
Jackson
Tatum
Aminu
Grant
Kelly O (value)
CENTER
Embiid
Thompson
Vuc
Horford
Nurkic
