What a difference a week makes. This time seven days ago we were asking what was wrong with the Milwaukee Bucks, who, at the time, looked to be in an absolute free fall. Well, when you have two of the best players to ever lace them up, things tend to get remedied pretty quickly.
Behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks jumped an unprecedented 13 spots to take the crown in this week’s NBA Power Rankings. They drubbed the previous No. 1 Boston Celtics to start the week, then Lillard put the icing on the cake with a deep, game-winning 3-pointer to beat the Kings in overtime.
The Celtics didn’t fall far, landing at No. 2. But the big surprise in the top five is the presence of the red-hot Utah Jazz, who are absolutely clobbering everyone in their path. They jumped 12 spots to No. 5 thanks to four more wins, including one over the defending champion Nuggets.
We can’t talk about risers without talking about fallers, and that’s where the New York Knicks come in. It wasn’t a horrible week by any stretch, but they dropped 10 spots as they came back down to earth following the OG Anunoby trade.
The other big news this week is that the Detroit Pistons are no longer in the cellar. Another win means that they climb ahead of the Wizards, Blazers and Hornets into relatively rarified air. Breathe it in, Detroit.
Without further metaphorical ado, here are this week’s NBA Power Rankings.
The Warriors have been hearing a lot of boos recently. Unfortunately, most have been from their own fans. On Monday, however, the boos were sweet music to their ears, as Draymond Green was greeted with a chorus of them by the Memphis Grizzlies fans at FedEx Forum, who clearly had a photographic memory of Green’s “Whoop That Trick” antics during the playoffs a couple of seasons ago.
Even the boost provided by Green in his return from a 12-game suspension (16-game absence) — his play, his leadership and his communication — wasn’t enough to get them past a skeleton Grizzlies crew without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart and a host of others. In the end, it was a 116-107 Golden State loss in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day national TV showcase. The fact that you have to check if this is the Warriors’ worst loss of the season tells you everything you need to know about their troubling state.
What was supposed to be a beacon of hope — proof that when Green is on the court with the other vets, this team is different — instead turned into what could have been the final straw. If we can’t beat this team, how can we conceivably consider ourselves even remotely in the championship conversation?
In terms of basketball, Green was just fine in his return on Monday — seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a plus-one in 24 minutes off the bench. He, Andrew Wiggins and Lester Quinones (who played five minutes) were the only players to finish with a positive plus-minus in the box score.
Especially with Chris Paul out, the Warriors need Green to be the secondary playmaker who allows Stephen Curry to work his magic off the ball, and the chemistry between the two longtime teammates returned immediately.
Defensively, Green took on his normal role as the anchor and small-ball center, communicating with teammates to get them in the right position in the Warriors’ switching defense. The fact that he was plus-one in a nine-point loss shows how effective he was on both sides of the ball.
Ultimately, though, it didn’t matter.
The Warriors were plagued by the same problems that have crushed them all year — too many turnovers, too many fouls, not enough help for Curry, not enough athleticism. Golden State had 19 turnovers, gave up a season-high 20 3-pointers and allowed 40 free throw attempts. They looked ill-equipped to handle the energy and pace of the young and largely unproven Grizzlies.
“We have to understand where we are as a team — what our record is, where we are in the Western Conference,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the loss. “What that means is we have to be sharp. We have to play a smart, clean game. We can’t turn it over. We can’t reach. We can’t foul. We did all those things.”
Once he gets back to speed, Green will increasingly provide help. But Monday’s terrible loss shows that even with Green firing on all cylinders, this team is still far from contention. Perhaps a trade deadline move is the answer, with plenty of targets out there who can potentially make a difference. If it isn’t, however, the Warriors have to face the reality that they simply aren’t good enough, and think about what that means for the future of the franchise.
“You just gotta have pride in yourself as a man that I’m not gonna let my guy score,” Green said after the game. “Our closeouts [were] too soft. Our rotations were too slow. So there’s just no pride. Until every guy takes pride in themselves, and wants to stop the guy in front of him, we’ll suck.”
There was a bit of confusion when it came to Darvin Ham’s starting lineup on Monday. During his pre-game press conference, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin asked the Los Angeles Lakers’ coach if they were going back to last season’s starting lineup of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves. Ham confirmed that was the plan “for the foreseeable future,” but that group ultimately didn’t even start the game. Ham would later clarify to McMenamin after the press conference that he had misheard the question and that Taurean Prince, not Vanderbilt, would be the team’s fifth starter.
It was a somewhat fitting sequence of events for a Lakers team that has been defined by its inability to settle on a starting lineup. The Lakers, who rank 29th in the NBA with a minus-12.8 first-quarter net rating, have now used 11 of them on the season, and on the night in which they were expected to return to the lineup that took them to the Western Conference Finals last spring, they instead returned to the five they used on opening night. It worked in a 112-105 Lakers win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the group as a whole has had mixed results this season.
That unit played a major role in the Lakers setting records for first-quarter futility early in the season, but don’t expect it to go anywhere any time soon. Ham again confirmed that he plans to stick with this group moving forward, and he’s already shared his beliefs on the subject this season. “You can’t just keep, on a whim, changing,” Ham said after a Dec. 20 loss to the Bulls. “That’s a big deal when you change your starting lineup at this level.”
Of course, Ham wound up changing his lineup again three days later, when the Lakers faced the Thunder. As they did on Monday, the Lakers defeated Oklahoma City. But for a variety of reasons, they have thus far been unable to maintain continuity in their starting lineup.
While Ham noted that the goal of Monday’s lineup was to put “as much skill and shot making around our two captains as possible,” it’s worth noting that the absence of former starter Cam Reddish, who is dealing with a knee injury, likely played a part in the change. Reddish has started 24 of the last 25 games he’s played in.
Reddish isn’t the only notable injury to deprive the Lakers of starting lineup consistency. Last year’s starting group has played only nine total possessions together this season, and Vanderbilt’s absence when the season began is part of what prompted the move to Prince in the first place. Vanderbilt is back now, and the option to return to that group —which outscored opponents by 37 points in 77 total regular-season minutes a year ago— has been available to Ham. He still hasn’t gone to it, and it’s just about the only lineup he hasn’t yet used.
The Lakers initially moved off of this group for defensive purposes. Reaves and Russell are both below-average defenders, and without Vanderbilt to protect them defensively, Reddish was inserted in Reaves’ place to provide theoretical balance. The Lakers have spent the season trying and largely failing to achieve that balance, with the offense most often suffering as a result. Russell in particular has seen his minutes yanked around. He’s played 77 in the last two games, but averaged just 22.8 in the seven games that preceded them.
And then there’s the matter of the trade deadline, now less than a month away. Russell has been involved in just about every Lakers rumor. His $17 million salary will be needed for just about any trade of note, particularly those that involve a guard. The Lakers have been heavily linked to Zach LaVine and Dejounte Murray, both scoring guards in Russell’s mold. Any significant deal would further destabilize the Lakers’ starters, but as they learned last season, that might not be the worst thing.
The Lakers are 20-21. If there was a solution to their problems as simple as “revert to the opening night lineup,” they likely would have landed on it before the halfway point of the season. They landed on a solution to the specific problems that the Thunder posed on Monday. Their own recent history suggests that the solution is closer to temporary than it is to being permanent.
We’ve got another exciting Pacific Division matchup on Tuesday’s NBA schedule as the Phoenix Suns will host the Sacramento Kings. Phoenix is 21-18 overall and 11-11 at home, while Sacramento is 23-16 overall and 10-9 on the road. The Kings have won four straight meetings between the two, including a pair of victories in Dec. 2023. Sacramento is 21-18 against the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while the Suns are 14-24-1 ATS.
Tip-off is at 9 p.m. ET at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The Suns are favored by 4 points in the latest Kings vs. Suns odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 243.5 points. Before entering any Suns vs. Kings picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 13 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 42-23 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,000. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Sacramento vs. Phoenix. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Kings vs. Suns:
Suns vs. Kings spread: Suns -4 Suns vs. Kings over/under: 243.5 points Suns vs. Kings money line: Suns: -179, Kings: +149 Suns vs. Kings picks: See picks at SportsLine What you need to know about the Suns Winning is just a little bit easier when your shooting is a whole 15.6% better than the opposition, a fact the Suns proved on Sunday. They came out on top against the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 127-116. It was another big night for Devin Booker, who scored 34 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds, while Bradley Beal had 23 points.
Beal now has 60 points over his last two games, shooting a blistering 12 for 16 (75%) from beyond the arc. Though he’s missed lots of time and has played in just 15 games, Beal has career highs in both field goal percentage (51.2%) and 3-point percentage (42.4%) this season. However, the trio of Beal, Booker and Kevin Durant has vastly underperformed relative to expectations when they’ve shared the court together, as Phoenix is just 1-7 against the spread when all three are in the starting lineup. See which team to pick here.
What you need to know about the Kings Meanwhile, the Kings fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They lost 143-142 on a last-minute jump shot From Damian Lillard. The Kings have struggled against the Bucks recently, as their match on Sunday was their 11th consecutive lost matchup. Even though the team lost, it still had its share of impressive performances as Domantas Sabonis dropped a triple-double on 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists, while Kevin Huerter had 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Sacramento has yet to find the offensive rhythm that powered the league’s highest-scoring offense last season with the best offensive rating. The Kings rank just eighth in points and 14th in offensive rating this year, and a big reason for the dropoff is the team’s struggles from the charity stripe. Sacramento ranks last in the NBA with a 73.3% clip from the free throw line as its top two scorers in De’Aaron Fox and Sabonis are combining to shoot just 70% from the line. Keegan Murray (hip) is questionable for Tuesday. See which team to pick here.
Key Betting Info Booker will likely loom large in the final result, win or lose. For the season, he has averaged 26.6 points and 7.7 assists.
The Suns have struggled as the favorite so far this season and are currently 11-17-1 when expecting a win. Meanwhile, the Kings are 7-4 as underdogs.
Some of the betting trends to consider are:
The Suns are 3-11 against the spread in their last 14 games vs teams that win more than 55 percent of games. The Kings are 6-2 against the spread in their last 8 games as the road underdog. The Suns are 7-15 against the spread in their last 22 games when at home. How to make Suns vs. Kings picks The model has simulated Kings vs. Suns 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Monday’s loaded 11-game slate featured 22 of the league’s 30 teams, so it makes sense that Tuesday’s NBA action will only consist of three games. Fantasy managers can take advantage of the small field by stacking strong plays on the same team, and one squad stands out from the rest of the field. The Oklahoma City Thunder have a strong trio worth rostering in tournaments and cash games when it comes to DFS after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in Monday’s last game.
Here’s the full breakdown of the three players you might want to group together for your lineups on Tuesday:
Thunder stack Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Chet Holmgren Jalen Williams The Thunder face the Clippers on Tuesday night, and SGA has had no problem torching his old team since they sent him to OKC. The Thunder point guard has totaled at least 30 points, four rebounds, and three assists in four of his previous five meetings with the Los Angeles Clippers. His pesky defense helped him amass an impressive 19 stocks (steals + blocks) during that span. Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting a season-high 59.5% from the field and 38.2% from deep in January. Josh Giddey’s diminishing on-ball role should make for a big night for SGA, as his ability to create off the dribble will be crucial to breaking down the opposition’s capable perimeter defenders.
Holmgren tallied 23 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in his first matchup with the Clippers and his mobility gave Ivica Zubac fits. Zubac has improved tremendously in pick-and-roll sets with James Harden, but that doesn’t make him equipped to stick with Holmgren outside of the painted area.
Then there’s Williams, who’ll likely have the most difficult job out of this group. He’ll likely be assigned to guard Kawhi Leonard, who missed the first pairing between this teams this season. However, Williams is amid what’s arguably the best month of his career so far. He’s averaging 19.9 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 63.5% from the field and 57.9% from beyond the arc in January. The Thunder are letting him serve as the primary ball handler and initiate the offense more and more. Over 30% of his assists this season have gone to Holmgren.
Three games make up Tuesday’s NBA slate with matchups tipping off between 7:30 and 10 p.m. ET. There aren’t a ton of options to choose from, but there is value on the table for sports bettors. Are you looking to find an edge? We’ve gone over each pairing to identify a moneyline, spread and player prop pick worth considering.
Moneyline: Denver Nuggets (+105) @ Philadelphia 76ers The 76ers are entering the second night of a back-to-back following a nine-point win against the Houston Rockets. They’re 0-3 straight up against teams that currently have winning records when they have no rest. This won’t be an easy matchup for Joel Embiid, who’s been battling knee soreness as of late. Nikola Jokic and company had Monday to rest and can go all out knowing they won’t have to play again until Friday. All the Nuggets’ starters have been upgraded to probable after initially carrying injury designations. Philly, on the other hand, won’t have role players De’Anthony Melton or Robert Covington. I like Denver’s odds of winning a third straight contest here, even if it’s on the road.
Spread: Phoenix Suns -4 (-115) vs. Sacramento Kings The Suns’ new big three is entering its fifth straight game together. Phoenix is 21-18 despite its health issues and will get to host a Kings team that’s dropped two straight road games. The home team has more firepower in its starting lineup and Sacramento will be at a huge disadvantage if Keegan Murray (hip) joins Kevin Huerter among the inactive players. Phoenix has all the momentum following two consecutive double-digit victories.
Player prop: Jalen Williams over 8.5 rebounds + assists (+100) Williams has fallen short of this total just once in his previous seven outings. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward posted seven rebounds and four assists in his first meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers this season and has averaged 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per contest since Jan. 3. OKC could need him even more now than they did in December, as the Thunder will face Kawhi Leonard for the first time in 2023-24. Trends suggest that Williams’ more involved role should help this prop cash with relative ease. Three games make up Tuesday’s NBA slate with matchups tipping off between 7:30 and 10 p.m. ET. There aren’t a ton of options to choose from, but there is value on the table for sports bettors. Are you looking to find an edge? We’ve gone over each pairing to identify a moneyline, spread and player prop pick worth considering.
Moneyline: Denver Nuggets (+105) @ Philadelphia 76ers The 76ers are entering the second night of a back-to-back following a nine-point win against the Houston Rockets. They’re 0-3 straight up against teams that currently have winning records when they have no rest. This won’t be an easy matchup for Joel Embiid, who’s been battling knee soreness as of late. Nikola Jokic and company had Monday to rest and can go all out knowing they won’t have to play again until Friday. All the Nuggets’ starters have been upgraded to probable after initially carrying injury designations. Philly, on the other hand, won’t have role players De’Anthony Melton or Robert Covington. I like Denver’s odds of winning a third straight contest here, even if it’s on the road.
Spread: Phoenix Suns -4 (-115) vs. Sacramento Kings The Suns’ new big three is entering its fifth straight game together. Phoenix is 21-18 despite its health issues and will get to host a Kings team that’s dropped two straight road games. The home team has more firepower in its starting lineup and Sacramento will be at a huge disadvantage if Keegan Murray (hip) joins Kevin Huerter among the inactive players. Phoenix has all the momentum following two consecutive double-digit victories.
Player prop: Jalen Williams over 8.5 rebounds + assists (+100) Williams has fallen short of this total just once in his previous seven outings. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward posted seven rebounds and four assists in his first meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers this season and has averaged 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per contest since Jan. 3. OKC could need him even more now than they did in December, as the Thunder will face Kawhi Leonard for the first time in 2023-24. Trends suggest that Williams’ more involved role should help this prop cash with relative ease.
It took LA Knight exactly half of his life to experience the height of his career. Twenty years after starting his professional wrestling journey, Knight gets the biggest opportunity of his career to date at WWE Fastlane when he teams up with all-time great John Cena.
“I have been at this for so long…” Knight, 40, told CBS Sports ahead of WWE Fastlane on Saturday. “That’s the craziest part about this. In a weird way, it’s like an overnight success, but it was also 20 years in the making to get to an overnight success. It’s such a juxtaposition in a strange way. I still have a habit of looking over my shoulder and waiting for somebody to pull the rug out from under me.
“I’m used to, ‘No, no, no’ and me having to push, ‘Yeah, yeah!’ It’s me having to create my own opportunities. Even when I’m now put into bigger opportunities, it’s still not a point where I can relax.”
Check out the full interview with LA Knight below.
Knight’s role in one of Saturday’s big matches is particularly unique. He will team with Cena, the shared record holder for most recognized world championship reigns in WWE history and a legitimate Hollywood star, as part of Cena’s brief two-month return to action. They battle Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso representing The Bloodline, one of the most significant stables in WWE history. Knight’s relentless dedication has carried him here, but self-belief can wane at times after such an arduous path.
“In a weird way, I’ve got no business being here,” Knight said. “Looking just a year ago at where I was and what I was doing, what a hell of a turnaround. It’s damn near unheard of.
“I’m not the best at letting myself really feel that. Maybe 10 years down the road when I look back. But right now in this situation, I’m just so — I don’t know if you’d say — maniacally focused on making sure that everything hits the mark and that everything is the way I want it to be. It’s tough for me to step back and be like, ‘Wow, this is great!’ Occasionally, I might have that thought but it’s very fleeting.”
Knight’s success was the prophecy of late WWE Hall of Famer William Alvin Moody, better known to fans as Paul Bearer, the legendary manager of The Undertaker and Kane. Moody’s last television appearance was managing Knight in an independent wrestling promotion called Championship Wrestling from Florida. According to Knight, Moody left him a letter of encouragement in his final moments. Knight said it feels “pretty incredible” to live up to his deceased friend’s expectations.
“Part of the message was that he loved me and he knew I was going to go on to do big things,” Knight said. “That was insane that he was thinking of me at that moment.
“The fact that this guy that I watched growing up was thinking about me at that time, that was crazy. That was an enormous thing to consider and an enormous thing to think about. I feel like I’m bastardizing it to make it about myself, but in a weird way, it’s like my work had paid off in a certain sense that I’d garnered that kind of respect and friendship from somebody in the business.”
It’s evident that Knight operates with a chip on his shoulder, one formed from relentless passion and constant rejection. Knight headlining Fastlane is galaxies ahead of the guy released from his WWE NXT contract in 2014 or the male modeling manager gimmick he was saddled with in early 2022. Despite newfound heights, Knight’s hunger is far from satiated.
“I don’t know that with my personality I’ll ever be satisfied,” Knight said. “I have such a habit of nitpicking everything and getting down to nitty-gritty details… Obviously, for me, I want to be at the top of the mountain. There are a lot of hurdles to get there but I always wanted to be there.
“If you’re not aiming to be the WWE champion, if you’re not aiming to be that top guy, the face of the company and in the conversation as far as some of the greats, that would be at least close to that goal line. Maybe it would get me there. Maybe it wouldn’t.”
John Cena has a friend to ride with on the road to WWE Fastlane. Cena teams with LA Knight to battle the Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
Cena and AJ Styles vs. Sikoa and Uso was teased as one of Fastlane’s main events, but The Bloodline removed Styles from the equation. Cena, a 16-time world champion, found a formidable replacement in Knight, one of the company’s fastest-rising stars.
Another tag team match is getting plenty of attention as well when Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso challenge Damian Priest and Finn Balor for the undisputed titles. Uso has sent shockwaves through the Raw locker room since moving on from his Bloodline brethren to branch out on his own, but has been supported throughout the change by Rhodes. They continue to find animosity in the form of Judgement Day as the duos have feuded for months. Now, they look to settle the score, but you can be sure that women’s champion Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio will play some role in the match.
Payback is in the past but things are far from settled between Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura. The bitter rivals meet in a world heavyweight championship rematch under Last Man Standing stipulations. The winner is declared only once their opponent fails to answer the referee’s 10-count.
Take a look below at the confirmed matches for Fastlane. The event streams live on Peacock on Oct. 7 with the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET.
2023 WWE Fastlane matches John Cena & LA Knight vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso): Cena was stranded on the island of relevancy when LA Knight came along with a lifeboat. The framework was set for a massive tag team match pitting Cena and AJ Styles against Sikoa and Uso. The Bloodline forced the disadvantage by attacking and hospitalizing Styles with a backstage attack. Cena already signed the contract for Fastlane, meaning he would need to find a partner or go at it alone against Sikoa and Uso in a handicap match. As The Bloodline were attacking Cena the following week, Knight made the save and signed his own name to the contract as Cena’s partner.
World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Man Standing match): It’s been a long, long time since Nakamura has looked this dangerous. “The King of Strong Style” has rekindled a killer instinct that led to a competitive match against Rollins at Payback. Nakamura fell short in his pursuit of the title, but his mind games spurred Rollins into wagering the world heavyweight title a second time. Rollins and Nakamura look to settle the score for good in a grueling Last Man Standing match at Fastlane.
WWE Women’s Championship — IYO SKY (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair: It seemed that Flair was set to challenge SKY one-on-one after beating Bayley on SmackDown. As Damage CTRL was about to pounce on Flair after the match, Asuka ran in to make the save. A frustrated Bayley then declared — without SKY’s input — that both Asuka and Flair could challenge for the WWE women’s championship.
Undisputed Tag Team Championships — Judgement Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) (c) vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso: Rhodes was instrumental in bringing Uso from SmackDown to Raw. Uso is short on friends but he counts Rhodes among them. The Judgement Day’s failed attempts to recruit Uso have led to ongoing turmoil between the two sides. It was announced on the Oct. 2 episode of Raw that Uso and Rhodes will challenge Priest and Balor for the undisputed tag team titles.
LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde and/or Cruz Del Toro) vs. Bobby Lashley and Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford): The new trio of Lashley and Street Profits are out to establish themselves as SmackDown’s number one stable. Their hostile takeover has put them at odds with LWO. A six-man tag team match is scheduled for Fastlane. Three members of LWO, yet to be determined, will take on Lashley and the Street Profits.
WWE is bringing Fastlane to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. The card is stacked with some big matches, including John Cena returning to action for his first televised match since WrestleMania.
Cena will be teaming with LA Knight to take on Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso of The Bloodline. Knight and Cena had previously had some tense interactions when Cena reffed Knight’s match with The Miz at Payback. Despite that, Knight came to Cena’s rescue after The Bloodline injured AJ Styles, knocking him from his planned spot as Cena’s tag partner.
Another tag team match is getting plenty of attention as well when Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso challenge Damian Priest and Finn Balor for the undisputed titles. Uso has sent shockwaves through the Raw locker room since moving on from his Bloodline brethren to branch out on his own, but has been supported throughout the change by Rhodes. They continue to find animosity in the form of Judgement Day as the duos have feuded for months. Now, they look to settle the score, but you can be sure that women’s champion Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio will play some role in the match.
The card also has two more intriguing matchups set to take place. The WWE women’s championship is on the line when IYO SKY takes on both Asuka and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match. SKY earned the title after cashing in her Money in the Bank contract against Asuka at SummerSlam. Ironically enough, that was also a triple threat match involving Flair. Plus, an interesting tag match is scheduled when LWO takes on Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits.
Let’s take a look at who the CBS Sports experts are picking to win each match at WWE Fastlane, which streams live on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday with a kickoff show beginning one hour before.
2023 WWE Fastlane card, predictions World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE has done a good job resurrecting Nakamura into a threat to a top championship. It hasn’t been believable that Nakamura would beat Rollins for the belt, but the story of Nakamura knowing Rollins’ back is injured and targeting the injury has carried a top-of-the-card program well for months. Rollins losing the belt will happen at the appropriate moment to a man who can be trusted to be the face of Raw. That isn’t now and that isn’t Nakamura. Pick: Seth Rollins retains the title — Brent Brookhouse (also Shakiel Mahjouri)
John Cena & LA Knight vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa)
It seems WWE is finally ready to give Knight his breakout moment. Knight has been getting some of WWE’s biggest crowd reactions all year and fans have been clamoring to see his rise. Pairing him with 16-time world champion and Hollywood star John Cena is a befitting coming-out party. The Bloodline group has elevated each of its members, but Sikoa and Uso’s place in the pecking order requires them to lose occasionally. Cena’s two-month run with the company wraps at the end of the month, so giving the heroes a win sets the stage for both Cena and Knight to battle Roman Reigns in the final quarter of 2023. Pick: Cena & Knight win — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c) vs. Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso
Judgment Day remains the primary focus of Raw most weeks and there’s a slow-burn story with tensions between Balor and Priest. Despite that, Saturday is probably the story of a different turn. Drew McIntyre has been showing signs that he’s about to turn heel and has had issues with Uso specifically. It seems as though the most sensible approach is for McIntyre to make an appearance and cost Rhodes and Uso the win. This would set up a solid program for Rhodes’ next rival as he continues the story of trying to work toward a world title victory. Pick: The Judgment Day retain the titles — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
WWE Women’s Championship — Iyo Sky (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Sky is a breath of fresh air in a women’s division that desperately needs it. Asuka’s run at champion wasn’t spectacular and Flair’s act has unfortunately grown stale. Sky has lots of fresh matchups and storylines ahead of her, including an eventual split from Damage CTRL and Bianca Belair’s revenge tour. Sky is loaded with talent and dripping with charisma. Let her shine. Pick: Iyo Sky retains the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Latino World Order vs. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits
The union of Lashley and the Street Profits immediately caught people’s eyes. It was the perfect amalgamation of a Hurt Business reunion and a much-needed character change for the Profits. It’s clear by WWE’s booking that LWO is designed as a midcard stable: one that can win important matches but is generally used to lift others. The Lashley-Profits organization is far too new to take a loss at a major show. This should be competitive at times but generally a strong showing for SmackDown’s new bullies. Pick: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits win — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
WWE Fastlane comes to Indianapolis on Saturday night. The card features five matches, three of which are for championships, including a world heavyweight title match that is set to be contested under Last Man Standing rules.
In one of the night’s headline matches, Seth Rollins will defend his world heavyweight championship against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match. Nakamura came up short against Rollins at Payback but has continued to taunt Rollins over the champion’s injured back. After refusing to fight Rollins for weeks, Nakamura goaded the champ into accepting any match Nakamura wanted.
In the other featured match, John Cena returns for is first televised match since WrestleMania when he teams with LA Knight to take on Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso of The Bloodline.
The card also has two more intriguing matchups set to take place. The WWE women’s championship is on the line when IYO SKY takes on both Asuka and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match. SKY earned the title after cashing in her Money in the Bank contract against Asuka at SummerSlam. Ironically enough, that was also a triple threat match involving Flair. Plus, an interesting tag match is scheduled when LWO takes on Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits.
Below is how you can catch all the action on Saturday night.
Watch 2023 WWE Fastlane Date: Oct. 7, 2023 Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse — Indianapolis Start time: 8 p.m. ET Watch live: Peacock
2023 WWE Payback match card John Cena & LA Knight vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa) World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Man Standing) WWE Women’s Championship — Iyo Sky (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) (c) vs. Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso Latino World Order vs. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits
