The Daily Dose: Dose: Bosh & KD hurting
Friday, February 20, 2015
There were 37 players traded on Thursday and many more who saw a boost in value because of a traded teammate. Some of these include Reggie Jackson (Pistons starting point guard), Rudy Gobert (goodbye, Enes Kanter), Isaiah Thomas (Celtics), Isaiah Canaan (now the starter in Philly?) and Jarrett Jack (stayed put). Other guys, like D.J. Augustin (now Russell Westbrook’s backup), Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole (Goran Dragic’s backups) and Enes Kanter (has to compete with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka for shots) all took a hit.
For the complete rundown on every trade you need to know about, check out Aaron Bruski’s once “live blog.” And if you’re a Season Pass subscriber, Mike Gallagher ranked a boatload of players whose value was impacted by the trade deadline right here.
Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $300,000 Fantasy Basketball league for Friday’s NBA games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $30,000. Starts at 7pm ET on Friday. Here’s the FanDuel link.
Since we have already covered the trade deadline on a ridiculous level, I’m not going to rehash it all here. Every move was also blurbed live, as it happened, and the NBA news feed is jam packed with information.
The NBA was finally back in full swing on Thursday night, as the Thunder waxed the Mavs and the Clippers held on to beat the Spurs, despite Pop’s failed Hack-A-Jordan strategy. DeAndre Jordan had 26 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and a block, but hit just 10-of-28 free throws in the win.
OKC 104, DAL 89
The Thunder got 34 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two 3-pointers from Russell Westbrook, who also hit 9-of-17 shots and 14-of-14 free throws for the line of the night. Dallas had no answer for him and OKC was in control of this game from the opening tip. Serge Ibaka went nuts with 21 points and 22 rebounds, the first 20-20 of his career, and Andre Roberson somehow had 12 rebounds in just 15 minutes. Anthony Morrow got loose for 16 points and a couple 3-pointers, while Dion Waiters was quiet with eight points in 27 minutes. The story of the night though, was Kevin Durant. He hit just 4-of-14 shots and was clearly bothered by his nagging, surgically-repaired foot at the end of the game. He had just 12 points and says he’s going to talk to trainers about getting some treatment on the foot, and it’s possible that he could miss some time if they can’t get it feeling better. It may be nothing, but owners will want to watch for news on KD’s foot throughout the day on Friday. Lastly, the Mitch McGary train rolled to a halt last night with four points and three rebounds in 18 minutes, and the arrival of Kanter in OKC is going to ruin him.
For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer with just 14 points, while Tyson Chandler added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo returned to action with five points and six assists on 2-of-9 shooting. Yuck. If you were holding J.J. Barea (14 minutes, 7 points) you can probably move on. Chandler Parsons was awful with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, and Monta Ellis joined him with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, but both players should bounce back in the next one.
Editor’s Note: As you get back into the swing of daily fantasy NBA, be sure to brush up on your overall strategy. Our partners at RotoGrinders have an introductory “How to win at FanDuel NBA” strategy guide, as well as advanced content in their NBA track at “Grinders U.” Check it out and let expert daily fantasy players teach you how to build better NBA lineups.
LAC 119, SAS 115
The Clippers got a late boost from Jamal Crawford, who went off for 26 points, five assists, two steals, a block and five 3-pointers, and he hit several late daggers and also had a huge steal in the win. I mentioned Jordan’s big line and he’s now averaging 17.8 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks over his last five games. And his free throw shooting is digging a hole no fantasy team can climb out of, as he’s hit just 22-of-54 over his last two games. Chris Paul was nasty, as usual, with 22 points, 16 assists, a steal and two 3-pointers, and Spencer Hawes showed signs of life with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 33 minutes. I say hang in there with him, for at least one more game.
It was a tough night for Kawhi Leonard, who hit just 1-of-11 shots for four points, six boards, six assists and a steal, but was also just 2-of-4 from the line and 0-for-6 from downtown. Tim Duncan came through with 30 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block on 12-of-14 shooting, Aaron Baynes got the start at center and had 14 points, four boards and a block, and Tony Parker played well with 21 points, 13 dimes, two steals and a 3-pointer in the loss. Baynes is always worth keeping an eye on, but is also completely unreliable.
News & Notes
Kevin Durant’s foot wasn’t the only injury concern to raise its head on Thursday, as news broke that Chris Bosh has been hospitalized in Miami, possibly with a blood clot in his lung. While there’s no way of knowing how serious Bosh’s situation is, there’s a decent chance this could be a season-ender. Stay tuned for more news on Friday, and if you own Hassan Whiteside, hang on for dear life. If Bosh is unable to play, guys like Luol Deng, Udonis Haslem and James Ennis could see a boost. And in case it wasn’t clear, Bosh will not be playing at New York on Friday night.
Danilo Gallinari looks like the new starting shooting guard for the Nuggets, at least until he gets hurt. It will happen, and then Randy Foye will get a chance to step up.
JaVale McGee is with the Sixers now and I could see him getting some starts over Henry Sims. Is McGee a must-own player? Nah, but if you’re desperate for blocks, a flier might be in order, just in case. Alex Len also gets a slight boost in Phoenix with Miles Plumlee going to the Bucks.
As mentioned above, Reggie Jackson, Jarrett Jack and Isaiah Canaan all look like starting point guards for now, and all should be owned in any league. Goran Dragic is now running the point for the Heat, and Marcus Smart takes a hit with Isaiah Thomas landing in Boston. The Suns are looking a little messy right now, but do have Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe as their backcourt, which should be good news for Bledsoe now that Dragic and Thomas are out of his hair. Also, in case you missed it, Michael Carter-Williams is now Milwaukee’s point guard once his toe is healthy enough for him to play. Until then, it’s possible that Jorge Gutierrez could start at PG for the Bucks, unless they decide to try O.J. Mayo at the point.
Thaddeus Young is in Brooklyn and could start at either forward spot for the Nets. A fresh beginning could do wonders for his game, or he could realize he’s in Brooklyn and continue to underachieve.
Friday brings us a 13-game slate, highlighted by the Raptors at Atlanta, the Bulls at Detroit, the Cavs at Washington, the Rockets at Dallas and the Spurs at Golden State.
There were 37 players traded on Thursday and many more who saw a boost in value because of a traded teammate. Some of these include Reggie Jackson (Pistons starting point guard), Rudy Gobert (goodbye, Enes Kanter), Isaiah Thomas (Celtics), Isaiah Canaan (now the starter in Philly?) and Jarrett Jack (stayed put). Other guys, like D.J. Augustin (now Russell Westbrook’s backup), Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole (Goran Dragic’s backups) and Enes Kanter (has to compete with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka for shots) all took a hit.
For the complete rundown on every trade you need to know about, check out Aaron Bruski’s once “live blog.” And if you’re a Season Pass subscriber, Mike Gallagher ranked a boatload of players whose value was impacted by the trade deadline right here.
Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $300,000 Fantasy Basketball league for Friday’s NBA games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $30,000. Starts at 7pm ET on Friday. Here’s the FanDuel link.
Since we have already covered the trade deadline on a ridiculous level, I’m not going to rehash it all here. Every move was also blurbed live, as it happened, and the NBA news feed is jam packed with information.
The NBA was finally back in full swing on Thursday night, as the Thunder waxed the Mavs and the Clippers held on to beat the Spurs, despite Pop’s failed Hack-A-Jordan strategy. DeAndre Jordan had 26 points, 18 rebounds, three steals and a block, but hit just 10-of-28 free throws in the win.
OKC 104, DAL 89
The Thunder got 34 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two 3-pointers from Russell Westbrook, who also hit 9-of-17 shots and 14-of-14 free throws for the line of the night. Dallas had no answer for him and OKC was in control of this game from the opening tip. Serge Ibaka went nuts with 21 points and 22 rebounds, the first 20-20 of his career, and Andre Roberson somehow had 12 rebounds in just 15 minutes. Anthony Morrow got loose for 16 points and a couple 3-pointers, while Dion Waiters was quiet with eight points in 27 minutes. The story of the night though, was Kevin Durant. He hit just 4-of-14 shots and was clearly bothered by his nagging, surgically-repaired foot at the end of the game. He had just 12 points and says he’s going to talk to trainers about getting some treatment on the foot, and it’s possible that he could miss some time if they can’t get it feeling better. It may be nothing, but owners will want to watch for news on KD’s foot throughout the day on Friday. Lastly, the Mitch McGary train rolled to a halt last night with four points and three rebounds in 18 minutes, and the arrival of Kanter in OKC is going to ruin him.
For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer with just 14 points, while Tyson Chandler added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo returned to action with five points and six assists on 2-of-9 shooting. Yuck. If you were holding J.J. Barea (14 minutes, 7 points) you can probably move on. Chandler Parsons was awful with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, and Monta Ellis joined him with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, but both players should bounce back in the next one.
Editor’s Note: As you get back into the swing of daily fantasy NBA, be sure to brush up on your overall strategy. Our partners at RotoGrinders have an introductory “How to win at FanDuel NBA” strategy guide, as well as advanced content in their NBA track at “Grinders U.” Check it out and let expert daily fantasy players teach you how to build better NBA lineups.
LAC 119, SAS 115
The Clippers got a late boost from Jamal Crawford, who went off for 26 points, five assists, two steals, a block and five 3-pointers, and he hit several late daggers and also had a huge steal in the win. I mentioned Jordan’s big line and he’s now averaging 17.8 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks over his last five games. And his free throw shooting is digging a hole no fantasy team can climb out of, as he’s hit just 22-of-54 over his last two games. Chris Paul was nasty, as usual, with 22 points, 16 assists, a steal and two 3-pointers, and Spencer Hawes showed signs of life with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 33 minutes. I say hang in there with him, for at least one more game.
It was a tough night for Kawhi Leonard, who hit just 1-of-11 shots for four points, six boards, six assists and a steal, but was also just 2-of-4 from the line and 0-for-6 from downtown. Tim Duncan came through with 30 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block on 12-of-14 shooting, Aaron Baynes got the start at center and had 14 points, four boards and a block, and Tony Parker played well with 21 points, 13 dimes, two steals and a 3-pointer in the loss. Baynes is always worth keeping an eye on, but is also completely unreliable.
News & Notes
Kevin Durant’s foot wasn’t the only injury concern to raise its head on Thursday, as news broke that Chris Bosh has been hospitalized in Miami, possibly with a blood clot in his lung. While there’s no way of knowing how serious Bosh’s situation is, there’s a decent chance this could be a season-ender. Stay tuned for more news on Friday, and if you own Hassan Whiteside, hang on for dear life. If Bosh is unable to play, guys like Luol Deng, Udonis Haslem and James Ennis could see a boost. And in case it wasn’t clear, Bosh will not be playing at New York on Friday night.
Danilo Gallinari looks like the new starting shooting guard for the Nuggets, at least until he gets hurt. It will happen, and then Randy Foye will get a chance to step up.
JaVale McGee is with the Sixers now and I could see him getting some starts over Henry Sims. Is McGee a must-own player? Nah, but if you’re desperate for blocks, a flier might be in order, just in case. Alex Len also gets a slight boost in Phoenix with Miles Plumlee going to the Bucks.
As mentioned above, Reggie Jackson, Jarrett Jack and Isaiah Canaan all look like starting point guards for now, and all should be owned in any league. Goran Dragic is now running the point for the Heat, and Marcus Smart takes a hit with Isaiah Thomas landing in Boston. The Suns are looking a little messy right now, but do have Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe as their backcourt, which should be good news for Bledsoe now that Dragic and Thomas are out of his hair. Also, in case you missed it, Michael Carter-Williams is now Milwaukee’s point guard once his toe is healthy enough for him to play. Until then, it’s possible that Jorge Gutierrez could start at PG for the Bucks, unless they decide to try O.J. Mayo at the point.
Thaddeus Young is in Brooklyn and could start at either forward spot for the Nets. A fresh beginning could do wonders for his game, or he could realize he’s in Brooklyn and continue to underachieve.
Friday brings us a 13-game slate, highlighted by the Raptors at Atlanta, the Bulls at Detroit, the Cavs at Washington, the Rockets at Dallas and the Spurs at Golden State.
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