AGAINST THE GRAIN: The Role Players

Here's my second AGAINST THE GRAIN of these playoffs. There are two games on the slate today as both the Lakers & Warriors have chances to win each series on their home floor.

MEM/LAL: At this point, I give the Grizzlies a slightly better chance of winning this series compared to the Kings winning the other, but I still feel like the Lakers likely close the Grizz out tonight & could even do so on the road next game if it comes down to it. If you absolutely don't agree with me, then perhaps pick one of your big time Lakers, but I feel the best "against the grain" picks if you've already picked Morant, Bane, Jackson or simply want to avoid them, would be one of the other two starters, Brooks or Tillman. Brooks has had a terrible series, but will play big minutes & is certainly capable of a strong stats, but he seems like a bit more of a risk compared to Tillman who has been solid in every game and has a pretty safe floor.

GSW/SAC: While I fully expect the Warriors to take care of business tonight or next game, not everyone may agree with me & if you actually believe that Sacramento will win this series, then feel free to pick a Warrior. However, I'd say the proper "against the grain" hedge if you don't want to pick Fox / Sabonis just yet or have already, would be Malik Monk. Even though Monk comes off the bench, he's essentially playing starter's minutes & putting up great stats in this series. He's also the main offensive beneficiary if Fox's finger continues to be limiting. Personally, I'm rolling with Fox, but his broken finger is a concern as he got worse and worse as the last game progressed despite starting off strong. Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter & Keegan Murray, although all starting, are just too inconsistent statistically and aren't necessarily guaranteed high minutes.