The Daily Dose: Dose: Rubio down, LaVine up?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I’m back from my trip aboard my son’s aircraft carrier and ready to roll. There are no NBA games on Thanksgiving Day, so we’re going to skip the Season Pass Live Chat on Thursday, but Jared will be hosting one on Friday. There were 12 games on Wednesday night, so let’s dive into the things we learned from them. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!

Wolves 99, Hawks 95 – Tough loss for the Hawks. Kyle Korver has been playing a bit better and might be ready to get hot, while Thabo Sefolosha has been starting for injured Kent Bazemore. Thabo had 10 points, six boards and two 3-pointers, has hit double figures in three straight games, and added some blocks, steals and threes. As long as Bazemore’s out, Thabo’s worth a fantasy look. Baze has missed five straight and it remains to be seen when he’ll be back from his ankle injury.

Ricky Rubio went down with an ankle injury tonight so Zach LaVine stepped up with 18 points, six dimes and two 3-pointers. He’s worth a pick up in case Rubio is going to miss multiple games. Gorgui Dieng had 10 points, 11 boards, two steals and three blocks, and is averaging 8.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.0 blocks over his last five. If he was dumped in your league, think about grabbing him. Karl-Anthony Towns has struggled in two straight games, but should bounce back sooner than later. Tayshaun Prince has finally been tossed from the starting lineup, and hopefully Kevin Garnett is next in line for a bench role. Kevin Martin is starting, but struggling for the Wolves.

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Hornets 101, Wizards 87 – Marvin Williams, Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum all double-doubled, as Batum had a season-high 11 assists to go with seven boards and 16 points, while Kemba Walker added 16 points and five dimes in the win. Jeremy Lamb added 18 points, seven boards, a steal, a block and a couple 3-pointers off the bench, and continues to be relevant in fantasy.

The Wizards got 17 points, 12 boards, a steal and two blocks from Marcin Gortat, and he’s finally living up to the hype, averaging 13.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks over his last five games. John Wall had a fat line featuring six steals, while Otto Porter’s slump continued on 1-of-6 shooting and just three points. Gary Neal played well for the second straight game with 18 points and two 3-pointers, but I’m still not ready to grab him in standard leagues.

Magic 100, Knicks 91 – Nikola Vucevic led the way with 22 points, 12 boards, a steal and two blocks, while Victor Oladipo was benched in favor of Channing Frye. Frye had three points, while Dipo went off for 24 points, but added just two assists and hit 5-of-15 shots (and 13-of-15 free throws). Don’t expect to see Dipo coming off the bench for long. Evan Fournier also disappeared, hitting just 1-of-9 shots for three points, while Elfrid Payton double-doubled with 12 points, six boards and 11 dimes. Forget about Frye and look for Oladipo to bounce back into the starting lineup soon for finicky coach Scott Skiles. Fournier should also bounce back, while Aaron Gordon was 0-for-4 with two points in just 17 minutes, and it might be time to move on from him.

Carmelo Anthony went off for 28 points, 13 boards and three 3-pointers and Jose Calderon added 23 points, four dimes and four 3-pointers on 8-of-14 shooting. This was easily Calderon’s best game in a long, long time, so do yourself a favor and let someone else pick him up. Kristaps Porzingis stayed hot in fantasy with 10 points, eight boards and six blocks, but hit just 3-of-13 shots. He’s been fun to own. The rest of the Knicks were pretty bad.

Celtics 84, Sixers 80 – Isaiah Thomas bounced back from a tough couple games with 30 points, four 3-pointers and a full stat line, while Avery Bradley cooled off by hitting just 4-of-15 shots. They are my favorite two Celtics right now, and only Evan Turner, who isn’t trustworthy, joined them in double-digit scoring. Jared Sullinger had nine points, 15 boards, a block and a 3-pointer, but the rest of the Celtics were pretty bad. They shot just 34 percent for the game, but that was still good enough to beat the lowly Sixers, who are now 0-16.  Jae Crowder hit the game-winning three, but I don’t trust any Celtics’ bigs. The Sixers tied the longest losing streak in NBA history and have lost 26 in a row going back to last season.

Jahlil Okafor led the way for the winless Sixers with 19 points, nine boards and four blocks, Robert Covington hit just 4-of-16 shots, but still finished with 11 points, 14 boards, six steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers, and might be the hottest pickup in fantasy right now. Nerlens Noel had an off night and Isaiah Canaan stayed relevant with 12 points and a full stat line in a start. Hollis Thompson had 15 points and three 3-pointers off the bench, but isn’t to be trusted unless he’s starting. And yes, I’m off the Nik Stauskas bandwagon, obviously. He was out with a knee injury.

Pistons 104, Heat 81 – Andre Drummond crushed with 18 points, 20 boards, two steals and five blocks, while Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, and even Ersan Ilyasova played well for Detroit.

Hassan Whiteside held his own against Drummond with 15 points, 13 boards and three blocks, and Gerald Green had 16 points and a decent line in a spot start for injured Luol Deng. Goran Dragic (13) was the only other Heater in double digits. Deng is day-to-day with a hamstring injury, making Green worth a short-term look.

Raptors 103, Cavaliers 99 – The Raps handed the Cavs their fourth loss of the season as all five of the starters scored in double figures. They were led by Kyle Lowry’s 27 points, six dimes, four steals and two 3-pointers, while Luis Scola (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Bismack Biyombo (11 points, 12 boards) both played well in the absence of Jonas Valanciunas. Both are worth a look right now if you need a big man. DeMarre Carroll is back from his foot injury, but didn’t have one of his better games last night.

LeBron James led the Cavs with 24 but didn’t have a steal or block, Kevin Love stayed hot with 21 points, 13 boards and five 3-pointers, and Tristan Thompson had eight points, 11 boards, a steal and a block in another start (Timofey Mozgov is out with a shoulder injury). J.R. Smith is relevant again and had 15 points and three 3-pointers, and Jared Cunningham played 21 minutes with Matthew Dellavedova out with a calf injury. Kyrie Irving will hopefully be back soon for the Cavs and Mo Williams returned from his ankle injury and had 15 points off the bench, and should be back in the starting lineup shortly.

Grizzlies 102, Rockets 93 – Matt Barnes made another start with Zach Randolph still out with a knee injury and had 13 points, eight boards, a steal and two 3-pointers. He’s worth a look as long as Randolph is out. All five starters scored in double figures for the Grizzlies, as Jeff Green led the way with 20 points and seven boards. Courtney Lee got hot off the bench with 19 points and five assists, but he’s been wildly inconsistent. Mario Chalmers was disappointing with six points on 2-of-7 shooting, and he’s going to be a tough start in fantasy as long as he’s not starting.

Terrence Jones disappeared for the Rockets, hitting just 1-of-5 shots for three points in 19 minutes, but there was no report of an injury. James Harden scored 40 with a fat line and nice shooting, but only Jason Terry (13) and Dwight Howard (12) joined him in double-digit scoring. Patrick Beverley (ankle) returned for 19 quiet minutes, while Ty Lawson got just three minutes. Something’s going to have to give with the Rockets’ point guards, but for now, they’re all pretty much dead in the water.

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