Michael Alexander

Rating: 4 Unit NBA Total of the Day

All reports indicate that neither Lebron James nor Dennis Schroeder will suit up for the Lakers tonight. Those are the two guys for whom the offense flows its best. They won a game vs. Denver the other night without them, when both teams scored less than 100 points. When you have good defenders, you give yourself a chance to win that way. Kahwi Leonard has been deferring to Clippers’ teammates lately while he plays with a nagging injury.

Rating: 3 Units

After last night’s 104-93 loss to the Kings, the Pacers are 11-20 SU on their home court. This team is a joke. But – you had a feeling we were going to pivot and talk up a distasteful team, didn’t you? -- the best thing Indiana has going for it tonight is that the Hawks shot 63.1% at home last night in their most dominant win of the season, while the Pacers underperformed offensively in all four quarters vs. the Kings. It’s a zig-zaggy, bouncy spot: What went up must come down, while what went down must come up

Rating: 3 Units

The Mavericks ended a long winning streak for the Nets the last time they were matched up. Dallas forced 19 turnovers in that win, were a plus 7 in steals and a plus 4 in blocks. In that game, Kristaps Porzingas had 18 points, a steal and 3 blocks but he will be missing in action for this. As talented at Brooklyn is across the board, there still is only one ball and that issue may come up when the Big Three on the Nets get on the court at the same time. Brooklyn just lost a pair to the Bucks and will be trying not to drop their fourth straight game. The motivation should be there. In that Dallas win in February, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant didn’t play and only one player for Brooklyn had more than 12 points. This is an important game for both clubs as the Nets are eyeing the top Eastern seed and Dallas is trying to avoid ending up in a ‘play in’ situation.

Rating:  2 Units

The Braves insist on putting Drew Smyly out there. Since signing him for one year at $1 million, they are 0-4 in Smyly’s starts that have totaled 19 innings, and
Smyly himself has a frown-inducing ERA of 8.05 and WHIP of 1.53. He’s a lefty. Probably not as good a lefty as Max Fried, who the Nats lost to yesterday. Washington is still batting .300 against lefties after last night, tied with the Chicago White Sox for best average in that category. What we hope is a happy coincidence is that as lefty Jon Lester takes the mound for the Nationals in his second start of the season following a terrific first outing, the Braves are on the opposite end of the “Vs. Lefties” spectrum with a Major League low .174
batting average against them.

Rating: 4 Unit MLB Play of the Day

As duly noted on this page five days ago, life generally yields better results to people when they’re not waking up in parked cars at 5 am. For lefthanded starter Danny Duffy of the Royals, currently tied for first place with the White Sox and Indians in the American League Central, this change has resulted in a 4-1 record with a 0.60 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, with 34-9 K-BB. He got it all started with 6 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball at Cleveland in KC’s 3-0 win on April 5. The Indians are hitting only .198 vs. left-handed pitching and offer up Tristan McKenzie on getaway day of a series they lead 3-0. So, the Royals are playing to avoid being swept in addition to getting a one-game lead on the Indians. McKenzie’s control, or lack of it, suggests that he ain’t up to the task: 18 walks in 18 2/3 innings. Ya’ can’t walk that many guys and expect to win in this league.

Rating: 2 Units

It’s getaway day in Philadelphia and the two starters have good control to stay ahead of the hitters by getting the calls from the home plate umpire. Brandon Woodruff is going longer than ever so far this season — 6 innings in each of his last four starts, 7 innings before that. He has walked only 9 in 35 innings and has a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, plus a good bullpen behind him. Zach Wheeler has pitched 8 innings of 1-hit ball, then 7 innings, in his last two starts. Both offenses are in the bottom third of MLB in Hits per Run. Strand those few baserunners you put on, guys!

Rating: 2 Units

The Cardinals remain atop the NL Central after yesterday's doubleheader split. They have won 9 of their last 12 (+$615) while averaging almost 5.0 runs per game at the plate. The Mets can't hit, averaging just 3.1 runs per game, and they'll face a capable right-hander in John Ganr, who checks in with a 2.16 ERA in his five outings. We get a terrific price on a hot home team, as they look to make it 3 out of 4 in this series.