Head-To-Head is a new fantasy game that is centred around how many points players score. Every Monday, starting Jan. 18, 2021, through the remainder of the 2020-21 NBA season, five new matchups will be presented. All you have to do is pick which player you think will score more points in each matchup.
Prizes will be awarded to the top 10 users with the most points every week. There will also be prizes for the 10 users with the most points at the season's end. The season-long prizes include two courtside tickets to a game in the 2021-22 season and a video call with an NBA All-Star.
You can get started here!
Week 5's matchups are as follows: Trae Young vs. Jaylen Brown (Wednesday), Kyle Lowry vs. Khris Middleton (Thursday), Kyrie Irving vs. LeBron James (Thursday) and Kristaps Porzingis vs. John Wall (Friday). Julius Randle vs. Nikola Jokic (Wednesday) is the tiebreaker.
Here's what you need to know about each matchup.
All times Eastern.
Trae Young vs. Jaylen Brown
Matchup: Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m.
Channel: SN 360
Only 13 players are averaging more points per game than Young (25.9) on the season. One of those players? Brown, who is averaging 26.0 points per game.
Young has been in a little bit of a slump lately, shooting 38.8 percent from the field over his last five games, but he's proven time and time again that he can score with the best of them when he gets going. Both Young and Brown will be hungry for a victory, with the Hawks riding a four-game losing streak and the Celtics riding a two-game losing streak.
Julius Randle vs. Nikola Vucevic
Matchup: New York Knicks at Orlando Magic
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 7:00 p.m.
Channel: League Pass
Randle is in the midst of the best season of his career, averaging 23.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. In his last outing, he led the Knicks to a victory over the Hawks with 44 points on 14-for-22 shooting from the field and 7-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. Vucevic is in the midst of a career year as well. While the Magic have struggled, he's an All-Star candidate with averages of 23.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
This is a tough one.
Kyle Lowry vs. Khris Middleton
Matchup: Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Channel: TSN 1 / TSN 3 / TSN 4
Middleton is averaging 20.7 points per game on the season to Lowry's 17.7 points per game. Middleton has been the more consistent and efficient scorer, but Lowry has taken his game to another level lately, averaging 23.0 points over his last three games.
In 21 career matchups against each other, Lowry is averaging 15.5 points per game compared to 13.8 points per game for Middleton.
Kyrie Irving vs. LeBron James
Matchup: Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 18, 10:00 p.m.
Channel: TSN 1
Irving (28.3) has the scoring edge on James (25.5) this season — he's also coming off of a 40-point performance against the Sacramento Kings in which he shot 15-for-22 from the field — but James has dominated this matchup in the past. To boot, the Lakers will be without Anthony Davis, so there will be even more of a scoring burden on James if the Lakers are to defeat the Nets.
Kristaps Porzingis vs. John Wall
Matchup: Dallas Mavericks at Houston Rockets
Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 19, 8:00 p.m.
Channel: League Pass
Porzingis has been up and down since his return in the second week of January, but he's had some big games lately, the highlight being a 36-point outing in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans last week. Wall has led the Rockets in scoring in six of their last seven games, averaging 24.3 points per game during that stretch.
On the season, Porzingis is averaging 20.5 points per game to Wall's 20.0 points per game.
