The Daily Dose: Dose: Carter-Williams Injury
It was a relatively busy Monday night in the NBA with seven games on the schedule. It looks like we avoided major injuries and the players just played. Which in today’s climate, is a good thing. Let’s dive in to what you might have missed while you were watching Andrew Luck and the Colts nearly pulling themselves out of the grave in the second half, although it didn’t ultimately matter in the end.
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Cavs 107-Sixers 100 – Kevin Love stayed quite relevant, LeBron James just missed a triple-double, and Mo Williams got hot for 21 points, three assists and two 3-pointers on 8-of-10 shooting in 28 minutes. He’s a must-own player until we see Kyrie Irving back on the court. As for Irving, he’s “ramping up” his activity, but we still don’t have a return date for the stellar point guard as he recovers from knee surgery. While no one on the Cavs’ bench is worth a look, J.R. Smith left with a right knee injury and will likely have an MRI, while LeBron became the youngest player in history to hit 25,000 points. Nice. If you want to drop Smith for a hot free agent, feel free to do so. Matthew Dellavedova appears to be the winner if Smith is going to miss time, and hit 5-of-8 shots and a 3-pointer for 12 points, five rebounds and nine assists, so think about grabbing him, especially if Smith is going to be out. Center Timofey Mozgov also had six points, seven boards and four blocks.
Robert Covington was back from his knee injury for Philly, but hit just 1-of-9 shots for four points, and Isaiah Canaan struggled again with seven points and one assist on 2-of-8 shooting. He’s the only point guard in Philly right now, but hasn’t looked good since opening night. Having said that, T.J. McConnell played 23 minutes off the bench and racked up six points, seven boards, 12 assists and a steal on 3-of-4 shooting. If Canaan doesn’t get hot again soon, McConnell might steal his job, so give him a close look. Covington should be better than this on most nights. Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas all looked good tonight, and if you’re looking for a J.R. Smith replacement, Stauskas is a good place to start. He had 15 points, four boards, a steal and three 3-pointers in 29 minutes and a start. Put Hollis Thompson on your radar, as he played 31 minutes and had 12 points, six boards, four dimes, a steal and a 3-pointer on 3-of-7 shooting, while JaKarr Sampson played just four minutes. Okafor scored 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting, but added just three rebounds, no steals and no blocks. I’m not worried and love the offense. The rest of his numbers should follow. Noel, on the other hand, had 14 points, eight boards, a steal and three blocks in a team-high 33 minutes. Go!
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Bucks 103-Nets 96 – The Bucks got nice output from their starters with Jerryd Bayless leading the way with 26 points and six 3-pointers. Michael Carter-Williams suffered a left ankle injury, and was limited to just 23 minutes. If he’s going to miss time, Bayless looks like a great plug-and-play. He might play on Wednesday, but owners should keep an eye on the Rotoworld News Feed on Tuesday. Khris Middleton had 17 points, five boards, a steal, a block and two 3-pointers, Giannis Antetokounmpo stayed hot with 21 points, eight boards, two blocks and a 3-pointer, and Greg Monroe also stayed hot with 23 points, 13 boards, a steal and a block. No on off the Bucks bench did much of anything, although Greivis Vasquez might be worth a look if MCW is going to miss time. Vasquez missed all eight of his shots, but did have eight dimes in 27 minutes. Jabari Parker is expected to play on Wednesday, but with a 15 to 20-minute cap, you can probably do better off your waiver wire. Bayless might be one of the hotter pickups in fantasy hoops right now, but he had just two points and two assists in his previous game.
The Nets saw four starters hit double digits in scoring, led by Brook Lopez with 18 points, nine boards and two blocks. Thaddeus Young had a nice line, Joe Johnson scored 14 with six dimes and two 3-pointers in a game-high 41 minutes, and Jarrett Jack added 15 points, three boards, four assists and a 3-pointer with five turnovers in 35 minutes. Make sure he’s not available in your league. Bojan Bogdanovic played 25 minutes and had 14 points, two steals and two 3-pointers, and should at least be on your radar off the Nets’ bench. Shane Larkin hit all five of his shots for 10 points, but as long as Jack’s healthy, you can forget about Larkin.
Spurs 94-Knicks 84 – The Spurs got big lines and double-doubles from Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, while Leonard added two steals, four blocks and a 3-pointer in the win. He’s been phenomenal and the hype is real. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and six boards, and Tony Parker had 16 points and three assists for the Spurs. The struggle is real for Danny Green and I don’t have an answer. He hit just 2-of-6 shots and didn’t hit a 3-pointer for four points, five boards and a block. He’s scored eight or fewer points in all four of his games thus far, which tells me that it’s time to buy low on him. Make some low-ball offers and hope his slow start is a fluke. I’m pretty sure it is, although he’s really killing me in about five leagues.
The Knicks got 13 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and a 3-pointer from Kristaps Porzingis, but he suffered a neck injury when Carmelo Anthony fell on his head last night. He may not miss time and is one of the more intriguing rookies this season. Melo scored 19, but hit just 4-of-17 shots and those of us who passed on him don’t feel too bad about it right now. Starters Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic were useless, while waiver darling Jerian Grant finished with 12 points, four boards and three assists in 23 minutes. Langston Galloway deserves as much attention as Grant, and had six points, five boards and a steal in 29 minutes. Those minutes are the key, so keep an eye on him. Derrick Williams was a dud again with six points and two boards, and I’m on my way to dropping him where I picked him up.
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