The Bucks will be even more short handed than usual tonight.
UPDATE: Giannis will be in the starting lineup tonight, further proving that he is inhuman. Johnny O'Bryant will also join Giannis in the starting lineup, his first career start).
Sanders suspended. The flagrant 1 foul called on Larry Sanders for shoving Nicolas Batumduring last night's 104-97 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers was upgraded to a flagrant 2 after the game. As a result, Sanders has been suspended without pay for one game and will serve that suspension tonight.
So, uh, who's left? Smallball is quickly moving from the realm of "strategy" to "necessity" for the Milwaukee Bucks, who could be looking at a 9-man active roster tonight. Precious few of those 9 are big men, with Zaza Pachulia likely to move into the starting center spot and Johnny O'Bryant potentially getting significant minutes despite making his 5-minute season debut just last night.
The Bucks don't exactly boast an imposing frontcourt even when healthy, but with DeMarcus Cousins expected to be back on the court for the first time since November 26, every body counts. Instead, Milwaukee will have to rely on a guard-heavy rotation and hope they can cobble together a respectable defensive performance without many of their biggest-impact defenders. Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo will likely be leaned on heavily to create a lot of offense for the Bucks, a tough task against a Kings team ranked in the top-10 in opponent eFG% and top-5 in opponent 3P%.
Fantasy Flash. The Bucks' depleted lineup does give daily fantasy players a shot at getting good value in a FanDuel.com Daily Fantasy League. Pachulia is sure to play heavy minutes and should be a decent source of points and rebounds, while Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo are sure to hoist up plenty of shots. Here's a link to tonight's games with a promo code for new users.
Note: Any opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. See FanDuel.com for all details and official rules. FanDuel gave me some cash to play their daily fantasy games.
| 2014/2015 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | vs. |  |
| December 18, 2014 | ||
| Sleep Train Arena | Sacramento, CA | ||
| 9:00 CT | ||
| FS Wisconsin | 620 WTMJ | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Brandon Knight | PG | Darren Collison |
| O.J. Mayo | SG | Ben McLemore |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | SF | Rudy Gay |
| Johnny O'Bryant | PF | Reggie Evans |
| Zaza Pachulia | C | Jason Thompson |
| 2014/15 Advanced Stats | ||
| 93.7 (12th) | Pace | 92.9 (17th) |
| 104.0 (21st) | ORtg | 106.5 (15th) |
| 105.6 (13th) | DRtg | 107.3 (19th) |
On the Kings: Sactown Royalty | Cowbell Kingdom