Sunday Daily Dose: Dose: Cousins' Halloween Scare
Where is Jimmer Fredette’s career? Going second overall in the D-League draft on Saturday afternoon—behind Jeff Ayres (formerly Pendergraph) and in front of Perry Jones III—Jimmer Time is going to try to turn back time as the rest of us reset our clocks.
The candy in your child’s bag (or the one you bought yourself at the grocery store for trick-or-treaters who didn’t come so you ate the entire thing yourself—it’s fine) is guaranteed to be better than what Saturday night offered in the NBA, but a few sweet treats stuck out, ultimately making the evening worth consumption.
Utah @ Indiana: Jazz 97, Pacers 76
Studs: Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood
Duds: Gordon Hayward, Raul Neto
The Pacers again moved PG-13 back to power forward, but a matchup against a dominant Utah frontline took the wind out of George’s (16 points, three rebounds, no triples) sails following two straight stat-stuffing games….C.J. Miles did absolutely nothing (five points, 1-of-9 shooting) despite playing 26.5 minutes in his return to the starting lineup. Ian Mahinmi (six points, five rebounds, two blocks) struggled with foul trouble in 23.5 minutes, but don’t give up on him as anyone going against the mountain known as Gobert will feel all 2,880 seconds of the 48-minute battle.
George Hill’s 1:7 assist-to-turnover ratio takes everything away from the 17 points (three 3-pointers) on 5-of-9 shooting, and Monta Ellis is now averaging 10.0 points on 11-of-37 shooting this season. Owners can’t sell this low, but it’s time for Ellis to start showing some tangible signs of turning it around rather than looking completely lost.
Neto has started Utah’s first three games, but I’ve got to wonder how much longer he can hold off Trey Burke (15 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, three turnovers, 6-of-11 shooting) for the job, especially after the rookie went scoreless with three turnovers in 20 minutes on Saturday. What started as a poor performance turned into another solid game for Favors (18 points, seven rebounds, three steals, one block, 9-of-16 shooting), and he is now reminding owners who got lost in the Gobert hype all about his game. Speaking of The French Rejection, his 17 rebounds (nine points, two blocks, 3-of-5 shooting) shows he’s just fine after a slow preseason. Mr. Hood finally showed up with the type of line (17 points, five rebounds, one assist, four steals, one three, 8-of-13 shooting) that will make him a fantasy star, and Alec Burks (10 points, one steal, 4-of-13 shooting) displayed the very real downside of his game.
If you’re a Hayward owner, I think it’s time to worry, but selling low is impossible given how bad he’s been. A player I steered away from in every draft this season, Hayward is now averaging 12.0 points on 12-of-34 shooting, and hovering around the Ricky Davis equator is not a desirable place to be. Hayward dealt with a shoulder injury last season, and while there is no indication he’s hurt, it’s just something to consider if Hayward continues to struggle with his shot.
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New York @ Washington: Knicks 117, Wizards 110
Studs: Carmelo Anthony, Langston Galloway, Otto Porter
Duds: Derrick Williams, Robin Lopez
This was a classic Carmelo game in which Anthony found his groove. Struggling with his shot and just 1-of-12 from deep coming into this one, Melo went off for 37 points (11-of-18 shooting, 4-of-5 triples, 11-of-12 FTs), seven rebounds, four dimes and a block. So long as he remains healthy, Melo should return first-round value. Despite Jerian Grant (21:10, seven points, three steals) and Jose Calderon (21:02, 10 points, three assists) seeing equal time, it’s only a matter of experience until the rookie takes the veteran’s job…stick with him.
Without Arron Afflalo (hamstring) available, Galloway (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, two 3-pointers) turned in his best game of the season, and he’s now averaging 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 triples on 11-of-22 shooting. It was a rather average evening for Lopez (eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks, 3-of-10 shooting), but with his well-documented love for comic books, perhaps he was saving his best performance of the evening for Halloween. Hopefully you didn’t chase an opening-night 24 points from Williams, as he’s combined for 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting since. O’Quinn’s owners shouldn’t be worried about the return of Kevin Seraphin (knee) who didn’t even play, but KOQ’s four fouls mitigated his role and limited his minutes (15) in this one.
John Wall (25 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, two blocks, two 3-pointers, 8-of-17 shooting, 7-of-11 FTs) could be in the studs category every night, but a lack of assists is a notable shortcoming against a Knicks team that struggles against opposing point guards. Bradley Beal’s 26 points looks good on paper, but his 9-of-23 performance from the field (four rebounds, no assists, no steals) leaves something to be desired.
Without Wall and Beal fulfilling their potential, it was Porter (16 points, nine rebounds, two steals, 7-of-13 shooting) that brought the excitement in the box score. A popular late-round flier who you had on your cheat sheet because you read Rotoworld, Porter made you look good for bragging about the steal you landed on draft day. Drew Gooden is clearly going as himself—the Cleveland version—for Halloween, because that’s the only explanation for his double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) as well as his admit one ticket to the exclusive 1/1/1 (steal/block/3-pointer) group.
Golden State @ New Orleans: Warriors 134, Pelicans 120
Studs: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis
Duds: Festus Ezeli, Klay Thompson, Eric Gordon
I was talking with a friend today about the case for Stephen Curry as the No. 1 overall pick, and after delivering a legendary 53 points (17-of-27 shooting, eight 3-pointers, 11-of-11 FTs), four rebounds, nine assists and four steals in his team’s third game of the season, anyone participating in a delayed draft is likely to report a shift at No. 1. Curry provided a show within a show tonight with his 28-point outburst in the third quarter, and he’s now averaging an absurd 39.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 5.7 3-pointers on 40-of-68 shooting. Chef Curry is eating.
Elsewhere for the Warriors, the human Swiss Army Knife finally got on track with 21 points, six boards, four dimes, one steal, a block and four triples on 7-of-12 shooting, and it’s very encouraging to see Draymond do this on a night where Steph inhaled a 50-burger. I’m not sure how limited Klay Thompson is by his back, but 19 points (two threes) with nothing else in 27.5 minutes is not going to cut it for a second-round selection. We did not have any Festivus miracles despite Ezeli drawing another start in place of Andrew Bogut (concussion), and he really disappointed those who used him as a punt play in DFS with just a point, five boards, a steal and a block in 15 minutes of play.
Omer Asik (calf) finally made his season debut, but he played just 10 minutes off the bench…expect New Orleans to bring him along slowly, but OA could work his way into the starting lineup as soon as next week. Kendrick Perkins left this game with a right pectoral strain, and that makes Asik’s return that much more important. Unlike the big man, Luke Babbitt (hamstring) played a whopping 30.5 minutes in his return, but he didn’t do anything (four points, six rebounds) with the role provided.
So much for Jrue Holiday’s 15-minute hard cap, as the Campbell Hall product played 27 minutes (22 points, six rebounds, 8-of-19 shooting) in what was a promising step forward…that’s two straight games for Holiday with 20-plus minutes. It wasn’t Ish Smith (four points, three assists) who backed up Holiday, but instead the newly signed Toney Douglas (17 points, three rebounds, four dimes, 7-of-12 shooting, 23 minutes) while Gordon’s nine points on 11 shots is the latest evidence that he’s the same player we told you to avoid for the last two seasons. The Brow turned in a massive line (26 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, 8-of-17 shooting, 1-of-2 triples, 9-of-11 FTs) that we’ll barely have a reaction about, and that really speaks to how desensitized we’ve become to Davis’ still budding greatness. It was AD’s 100th career double-double.
Brooklyn @Memphis: Grizzlies 101, Nets 91
Studs: Mike Conley
Duds: Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez
I knew this game would not be fantasy friendly as soon as I saw it on the schedule, and sure enough that’s exactly what we had. Joe Johnson and Thaddeus Young each had 11 points, Jarrett Jack needed 17 shots to score 15 points (nine assists) and Lopez provided fantasy owners a deflating performance a cheap double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) on a lousy 4-of-11 shooting. Sadly, Markel Brown drawing the start at shooting guard over Wayne Ellington wasn’t enough to secure Lionel Hollins’ revenge.
While Conley was very good (22 points, eight assists, one steal, four 3-pointers, 7-of-12 shooting) for the second straight evening, Gasol (seven points, four rebounds, six assists, 2-of-10 shooting) came up on empty for the second time in three games. Gasol has more value in reality to the Grizzlies than he ever will on a fantasy roster, but his ability to contribute across the box score will always provide a nice way to ensure his value doesn’t crater when he turns in a clunker like this. Zach Randolph’s 15-point, 13-rebound effort is about as good as it’s going to get for Z-Bo these days, and at this point in his career, he’s definitely in the Dirk Nowitzki school of fantasy basketball, meaning his name—not his game—is why he’s overdrafted.
Phoenix @ Portland: Suns 101, Blazers 90
Studs: Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Al-Farouq Aminu
Duds: T.J. Warren, Meyers Leonard
After there were nothing but questions about how Bledsoe and Goran Dragic would fit until Dragic was sent to Miami, it doesn’t appear we’re going to have a follow-up act now that Knight is in the fold. Bledsoe lived up to his mini-LeBron nickname with 33 points (12-of-21 shooting, two triples), three boards, six dimes, four steals and two blocks combined with Knight pouring in 27 points (10-of-19 shooting, four triples), five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block of his own, the two carried Phoenix to a second consecutive win against Portland in a home back-to-back set. I targeted Bledsoe aggressively in the second round of fantasy drafts this season just like Klay Thompson last year, and that resulted in several title-winning teams. Go get it, Bled.
The C.J. McCollum (15 points, five rebounds, four assists, 6-of-15 shooting) hype train is beginning to slow after his sizzling hot debut, and owners have to be willing to take the hit in field goal percentage. Damian Lillard (23 points, eight assists, two steals, three triples) was the only other player to join Aminu (16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two 3-pointers) to make a notable contribution, and Aminu looks like he’s going to absolutely hammer his ADP after signing with the Blazers this offseason…FYI, Neil Olshey was responsible for the Los Angeles Clippers drafting Aminu in 2010. After going scoreless in 17.5 minutes on Halloween eve, Leonard provided a frightening stat line again on the 31st: nine points, one steal, one block. The minutes (30:15) are a good sign, but Leonard is going to have to produce—consistently—to justify his aggressive pre-draft ranking.
Sacramento @ Los Angeles: Clippers 114, Kings 109
Studs: Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan
Duds: Ben McLemore, Paul Pierce
With 37 points, nine rebounds, six dimes and two steals on 13-of-22 from the floor, Griffin is now averaging 32.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and a steal on 64.4 percent shooting…he’s showing no signs of slowing down, and the Clippers are using Griffin like they never have prior…you do the math. Jordan’s 15 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks (5-of-6 shooting, 5-of-12 FTs) is the why you invested a top-35 pick when others in your league called you crazy and Redick (23 points, 8-of-9 shooting) must have had dinner reservations somewhere nice for how efficient he was in this one. Chris Paul 23 points, six boards and 11 dimes (five TOs) is the steady hand that keeps on giving…if you’re relying on Pierce (three points, 14 minutes) to be a fantasy contributor, make sure your calendar is set to 2015 and not 2005.
The big news in this game was DeMarcus Cousins’ early departure. On his way to another monster game with 13 points, nine boards and a steal in just 15 first half minutes, Cousins was forced out of the game due to soreness in his right Achilles. Cousins will have an MRI, and we shouldn’t have to wait long for an answer with Sacramento’s next game on Tuesday. If Boogie has to miss extended time, Willie Cauley-Stein (8 points, nine rebounds, three steals, one block) and Kosta Koufos (four points, seven rebounds, one block) would each step into larger roles. Despite Rondo’s second consecutive big night (21 points, five rebounds, eight assists, two steals, 9-of-17 shooting), Darren Collison (15 points, three rebounds, six assists, 35 minutes) continues to have very real value…that’s because McLemore (three points, 10.5 minutes) is not in George Karl’s current plans, and the shooting guard does not belong anywhere near a fantasy roster.
Injury Report
Golden State Warriors
Andrew Bogut (concussion)-Day-to-day.
New Orleans Pelicans
Kendrick Perkins (right pectoral strain)-Day-to-day, expected to be reevaluated.
New York Knicks
Lou Amundson (sore lower back)-Day-to-day.
Arron Afflalo (left hamstring strain)-Targeting November 8.
Portland Trail Blazers
Gerald Henderson (left hip surgery)-Henderson’s debut date is unknown as he’s currently without a timetable.
Cliff Alexander (torn cartilage in left knee)-May need surgery, not even relevant in the famous 30-DEEP league.
Sacramento Kings
DeMarcus Cousins (sore Achilles)-Day-to-day, expected to have MRI.
Washington Wizards
Martell Webster (partially torn labrum in right hip)-Rehabbing in an attempt to avoid season-ending surgery.
Alan Anderson (left ankle surgery)-Anderson’s timetable to return is uncertain after a second procedure on his left ankle in mid-October.
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