The Layup Line: Sunday, March 22nd, 2025

  • The Layup Line: Sunday, March 22nd, 2025

    By Pedro Oliveira

    Last Updated on March 23, 2025 1:38 pm by Keston Paul | Published: March 23, 2025

    Injury Report

    To stay up-to-date on all of the injury news with up-to-the-minute updates, make sure to check out our LIVE Injury Report!

    Note that teams have until 1 p.m. local time on the day of a game to submit their report for the second leg of a back-to-back, so look out for updates throughout the day as appropriate.

    Teams that have a Saturday-Sunday B2B:
    Hawks

    New Orleans Pelicans @ Detroit Pistons

    Game Time: 03:00 pm ET

    BetMGM Lines

    NOP +13.5 (+625), DET -13.5 (-1000)
    Game Total 228.5

    Key Storylines

    One of the best spots to stream: Due to the season-ending shoulder injury suffered by Trey Murphy III, the Pelicans now have three starters ruled out for the season (Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones), there’s plenty of minutes at hand for widely available New Orleans players like Kelly Olynyk, Jordan Hawkins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (deep leagues only) and Bruce Brown, even those not as widely available like Yves Missi and Jose Alvarado, are still reachable in many leagues and if cleared to play (both are listed as questionable due to a hip injury and illness respectively).

    Update: Alvarado is playing while Missi and Zion Williamson are out.

    Now, with so many options available, you’ll have to be certain on who to choose. Missi and Alvarado are a tier up from the rest under normal conditions, but the minutes could be inconsistent as it’s questionable that the Pelicans will continue to risk their main players to high minute counts if they’re getting blown out.

    Tim Hardaway Jr. is the missing piece: The veteran guard has been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup due to a right ankle sprain, and will be the lone rotation member (if we don’t count Jaden Ivey’s long-term injury) available against the Pelicans.

    Detroit should still be in the same realm of fantasy production as usual which is very limited to their starters and sixth man only, although Isaiah Stewart and Ronald Holland II have seen great performances as of late. They could be very useful for deep leagues, but their contribution isn’t consistent enough to gather enough trust to stream in standard 12-team leagues.

    Stream of the Game

    Anything you can pick up from the Pelicans should be a great opportunity even if they are handicapped to 20-25 minutes on the night. I’d go with Jordan Hawkins for wing production in the absence of Murphy III.

    Alternatives: Jose Alvarado (points, 3s, steals), Kelly Olynyk (points, rebounds, assists, steals), Bruce Brown (points, 3s, steals), Isaiah Stewart (rebounds, blocks), Ronald Holland II (points, rebounds, steals).

    Cleveland Cavaliers @ Utah Jazz

    Game Time: 03:30 pm ET

    BetMGM Lines

    CLE -16.5 (-2000), UTA +16.5 (+950)
    Game Total 240.5

    Key Storylines


    Want to get access to the rest of this game preview Layup Line article? You’ll need to have an NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!
    Premium Access Required

    Click here to join us on Discord! And Follow us on Twitter by clicking here!
    Join the SportsEthos team by filling out an application by clicking here!

    March 23, 2025, 1:38 pm