Warriors 105, Mavericks 98

Before the season began, the Golden State Warriors were my pick for the best team in the Western Conference. Now with a 20-2 record and a winning streak that has reached an impressive 15 games, the only thing some were able to point to was a Charmin-soft schedule to begin their season. But with wins over the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets & Dallas Mavericks in three of the last four games, the Dubs are showing that this team is very much for real and Steve Kerr is looking like a genius in the process.

Kerr’s coaching tweaks have had an undeniable impact, but as Kerr has even said repeatedly, he inherited a pretty good team after taking over for Mark Jackson. And while it’s still on the strength of the Splash Brothers that the Warriors are winning games (combining for 54 points, eight three-pointers in this one), the emergence of Draymond Green (20 points, eight rebounds, two blocks vs. Dallas) is a big part of what has contributed to the rise of Golden State into the elite ranks.

Chef Curry’s owners have been cooking with the pot all season, and with 29 points, eight assists, three triples and two steals in this one, there are again no complaints. Reaching for Klay Thompson (25 points, five triples, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block) continues to look like a great move for fantasy owners, while Green has been a ridiculous steal for his owners. Harrison Barnes followed up a 20-point effort with 12 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block, but the Warriors were again without Andrew Bogut (knee).

The Mavericks were without Chandler Parsons (back), so Richard Jefferson brought out his time machine and logged a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double on an efficient 5-of-8 from the floor. That’s the last time I’ll dedicate this space to RJ this season, but it does give us a reason to watch this. Classic. Dirk Nowitzki dropped 23 points and eight rebounds, but nothing from behind the 3-point line. Tyson Chandler had his usual double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds), but no defensive stats leaves owners wanting more. Monta Ellis needed 22 shots for 24 points, but with two three’s, five assists and a few steals, his owners will forgive him.

Blazers 95, Pacers 85

Portland doesn’t get enough credit, but perhaps the Blazers will start to appear on the national radar now that the club has won 75 percent of their first 24 games. As has been the case, LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but he shot just 8-of-22 from the field. Damian Lillard (7-of-22, 18 points) also had a rough shooting night after he and LA combined for 70 points on Friday night. The Blazers have continued to get nice production from the center spot, and tonight Robin Lopez (4-of-4, eight points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and Chris Kaman (5-of-11, 10 points, six rebounds) combined for 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Too bad fantasy owners can’t combine them into one player.

Indiana was without CJ Miles (knee), and it shouldn’t surprise you when I tell you the Pacers lost in a game where CJ Watson (23 points, 8-of-11 shooting, four triples, five assists) led the team in scoring. Watson is someone worth real short-term consideration (and addition, depending on the depth of your league) while George Hill (knee) remains sidelined. Reggie Miller’s former team also got a surprise double-double from Rodney Stuckey (14 points, 14 rebounds), but he shot just 6-of-19 from the field. Roy Hibbert (10 points, 10 rebounds) also had a double-double, but like Stuckey, he had a miserable night from the floor, making just 4-of-11 shots.

The Pacers shot 38.6 percent as a team in the loss.

Nets 114, Hornets 87

The Buzz is not anywhere close to being back in Charlotte. I’m among the many who swung and missed in projecting what the Hornets would do after bringing Lance Stephenson into the fold, but to pin the team’s struggles on him is asinine, unfair and a cop out. It’s far more than that.

The game was over after three, so the starters on both sides didn’t play as much as they otherwise would have. Born Ready had more shots (13) than points (11), Kemba Walker was once again an inefficient mess from the field (3-of-11, 11 points, four assists) and Al Jefferson needed 10 shots to record eight points, five boards, three assists and two blocks. For an off night, at least Al contributed something. He was the only one to do so on Charlotte’s side.

The Nets got 22 points (four triples), seven boards and two steals from Iso Joe Johnson, and both Mason Plumlee (11 points, 13 rebounds) and Deron Williams (18 points, 10 assists) got to the double-double mark. Brooklyn was once again without Brook Lopez (back) and Kevin Garnett (rest). I wouldn’t even own Lopez in a standard league at this point—that’s how far I’ve come to sour on him and his outlook.

Magic 100, Hawks 99

Nikola Vucevic (back) returned to Orlando’s lineup after missing six games, and after talk of him being limited pregame, Vooch logged a whopping 35 minutes. With 18 points, 11 boards and a block, it looks like he’s poised to pick back up where he left off. Tobias Harris had a nice game with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks, while Evan Fournier followed up an 18-point effort with a 19-point output tonight. Perhaps he’s getting back on track, but I’m still not investing stock into Champagne or his ponytail.

Atlanta got just nine points from Paul Millsap (3-of-12 shooting), and it’s hard not to point to that as a reason the Hawks lost this game. Al Horford had 18 points and eight rebounds to go along with a couple of blocks, and that makes two straight strong games. There’s still a shot to buy low here, but it may not be open for much longer.

Jeff Teague continues to produce for the Hawks and for fantasy owners, and Saturday was no exception with 24 points, eight dimes, three steals, two triples and a block. That’s called a ‘Big Bertha’ line because Teague was eating all night. Kyle Korver (11 points, 2-of-5 shooting) has slowed down, but he can always heat up at a moment’s notice.

Bucks 111, Clippers 106

The Clippers aren’t doing much to inspire the idea that they’re among the truly elite teams, and back-to-back road losses vs. Washington and Milwaukee won’t help in that regard. Blake Griffin (10 points, six rebounds, nine assists, 4-of-12 shooting) struggled despite approaching a triple-double statistically, but he at least contributed for his owners across the board. Chris Paul also had just a lousy 10 points before fouling out, and he very uncharacteristically struggled in this game with his shot (5-of-15) and his handle (seven assists, six turnovers).

Matt Barnes blew up for 26 points and six triples out of nowhere, JJ Redick hit 25 points and five trey balls, and even another strong game from DeAndre Jordan (seven points, 15 rebounds, two steals, two blocks) wasn’t enough to keep Los Angeles in this one with CP3 and BG struggling so mightily.

Milwaukee’s impressive frontline continued to flash their potential with a combined 32 points and 10 rebounds on 14-of-22 from the floor. Jabari Parker was responsible for 12 points and five boards, while Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 20 points, five boards, three assists, two steals and a block. He’s really starting to come on with his consistency, and that’s what will elevate his game to an entirely new level.

There was also a LARRY SANDERS! sighting (15 points, nine boards, two blocks) in this one, and Brandon Knight (22 points, five dimes) continues to look like a new player under Jason Kidd’s watch.

Grizzlies 120, Sixers 115

Michael F. Conley came out as a man on a mission in this game, and he finished by leading the overtime win with an emphatic 36 points and nine assists with five three-pointers. It won’t surprise anyone if that’s his highest-scoring game of the season, and the Grizzlies needed the big-time effort to squeak out the win in extra time.

Zach Randolph (24 points, 11 rebounds, 10-of-14 shooting) and Marc Gasol (18 points, nine rebounds, 6-of-11 shooting) combined for an efficient 42 points and 20 rebounds, so it was just another night at the office for the Memphis frontline. Despite 120 points, the Grizzlies had just one other player in double figures: Courtney Lee (19 points, three triples, five assists, two steals).

Big Shot Rob Covington is making a bid for early-season waiver-wire pickup of the year after dropping an impressive 24 points and nine rebounds (three triples) in the loss. Covington clearly has the green light from Brett Brown (11 3-point attempts), and he played a whopping 45 minutes in this game. You need to be sure that Covington is owned in your league, and if he’s somehow still available, find a spot for him on your roster.

Another day, another triple-double for Michael Carter-Williams. This time, MCW had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also had an unsightly six turnovers to go with the fat stat line, but owners who waited for his return have to be happy despite the inefficiency.

Rockets 108, Nuggets 96

James Harden is being called the MVP of a lot of fantasy teams, but it’s about time he was more frequently in the discussion when talking about the actual award as well. Although the story was supposed to be about Dwight Howard’s (knee) return (26 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks), Harden hijacked the headlines with an emphatic triple-double: 24 points (two triples), 10 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with two steals and two blocks. He’s playing an outstanding brand of basketball, and the Rockets owe their impressive 18-5 start largely to The Beard.

With Terrence Jones (leg) still sidelined, Donatas Motiejunas has continued to take advantage of an opportunity. With 25 points (11-of-19 shooting) and five boards, D-Mo should see plenty of work right now, and he’ll get even more time until Kostas Papanikolaou (knee) gets back into action.

Denver got yet another double-double from Ty Lawson (19 points, 12 assists) in what feels like a nightly occurrence, but he didn’t get much help from a starting lineup that saw Arron Afflalo (12 points) and Wilson Chandler (nine points) combined to shoot 7-of-30 from the floor.

Pistons 95, Kings 90

Still playing without DeMarcus Cousins as he recovers from viral meningitis, Sacramento is still leaning (too) heavily on Rudy Gay and Darren Collison, and the two combined to shoot just 7-of-32 for the evening, with Collison responsible for an especially lousy 1-of-10. The Kings shot under 36 percent for the game, so it’s not as if anyone lit it up, but Sacramento has no prayer to win a game where Gay and Collison combine for under 10 field goals without Boogie available.

Jason Thompson had eight points and seven rebounds, but he probably would have had a much better night had he been able to stay out of foul trouble (five in 19 minutes). Ben McLemore chipped in a decent enough game with 14 points and six boards (four triples) on 5-of-14 shooting. It was a night to forget for the Kings and fantasy owners.

For Detroit, now 2-0 in the Jodie Meeks era, Josh Smith turned back the clock with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists without attempting a single three-pointer. The seven turnovers are terrible, but with two steals and five blocks, Smoove’s owners have to be satisfied. Andre Drummond continues to trend in the positive direction, and he had another nice night on Saturday with 12 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block. Greg Monroe rounded out the three-headed big man monster with 24 points and eight boards in 32 minutes off the bench.

Keep an eye on the Pistons’ point guard situation, as Brandon Jennings and DJ Augustin split the playing time right down the middle in this one. Jennings had three points and eight assists, while Augustin contributed eight points and six dimes in his time on the floor.