The Daily Dose: CP3 & Lillard hurt, GSW 19-0
It was a busy eight-game night on Monday to kick off Week 6 and, yes, the Warriors won again and are now 19-0 on the season. The Hawks beat the Thunder, the Celtics downed the Heat, the Spurs lost to the Bulls in a night of mini upsets, while dueling point guards Damian Lillard and Chris Paul both went down in the same game. Let’s dive right in, and you can follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Warriors 106, 103 Jazz – The Warriors won in Utah, but it wasn’t easy. Stephen Curry only had seven points at halftime but came through in a big way in the fourth quarter and the Warriors escaped with another W. Rodney Hood tried an ill-advised 3-pointer late, despite the Jazz only being down a point, Draymond Green had the rebound of the game on the miss and got it to Curry, who promptly iced it with a pair of free throws for the three-point win. Curry led the way with 26 points, four treys and a full line, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both scored 20, and Andre Iguodala failed to score a point off the bench. Harrison Barnes is out, but Iguodala (and Brandon Rush) simply aren’t guys you can rely on in his absence. Ian Clark led the Warriors off the bench, and was the only player not in the Big 3 to score in double figures for the Warriors.
Derrick Favors is back and ready to roll, and had 23 points and 10 boards on 9-of-15 shooting, Gordon Hayward led the way with 24 points, and Rudy Gobert double-doubled with 13 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block. Alec Burks was nice with 19 points and two 3-pointers, while Trey Burke continued his quiet ways with four points and two assists in 22 minutes. Note to self – cut him after this column is done. Hood is worth owning, but will fluctuate from night to night.
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Clippers 102, Blazers 87 – The news of the night, outside of the Warriors’ 19-0 start, was that both Chris Paul and Damian Lillard were unable to finish their game with similar injuries. Paul suffered a rib muscle strain and Lillard has an abdominal injury. Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford would likely excel if Paul’s going to miss time.
Lillard has still never missed a game in his career, so he’ll try to be ready for Tuesday night against Dallas. If he’s out, look for C.J. McCollum to slide over to point guard, with Gerald Henderson and Allen Crabbe stepping up at shooting guard. Owners of the point guards will obviously want to watch for news on Tuesday and this is not the way any of us wanted to see the week get started.
The Clippers got 23 points, eight boards, six assists, a steal and a block from Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan went off for 18 points, a season-high 24 boards, a steal and two blocks in the win. Yeah, he hit just 12-of-34 free throws, which is ridiculous, but you knew what you were getting in that department when you drafted him. J.J. Redick had 14 points and four 3-pointers, but hit just 5-of-14 shots, while Crawford added 11 points, four assists and no 3-pointers on 4-of-10 shooting. Rivers played 25 minutes, but hit just 2-of-8 shots for six points and zero assists, but is still the favorite to start at PG if Paul is out on Wednesday against the Pacers.
The Blazers had a bad night, hitting just 38 percent of their shots and 5-of-23 3-pointers in the loss. Al-Farouq Aminu struggled, hitting just 3-of-15 shots, while Mason Plumlee was solid with 10 points, 13 boards, a steal and two blocks. He shouldn’t be available in any leagues and is averaging 12.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks over his last five games. CJM also struggled without Lillard, hitting 4-of-15 shots and a 3-pointer for 12 points, four rebounds and a steal, but also had a season-high 10 assists. If Lillard is out tonight I’m thinking CJM will go off. Moe Harkless had 15 points and a nice line off the bench, and Ed Davis added 13 points, 10 boards and a block. I have no idea why one of them isn’t starting over Noah Vonleh, who played just 13 minutes. Davis has double-doubled in three of his last five games, averaging 11.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks over his last five games, making him a hot pick up right now if you need a big man. Harkless is too up and down for my taste.
Pistons 116, Rockets 105 – The Pistons got a breakout from Stanley Johnson off the bench, as he connected on 6-of-11 shots and four 3-pointers for 19 points, 10 boards, a steal and two blocks. If you played him last night, congratulations are in order, but I need to see it a few a more times before I’m taking the bait again. Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond were both huge again, while Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova weren’t bad. Ilyasova’s a guy I can roll with or cut, but I still think he could get hot at any time. And while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit just 2-of-8 shots and scored just four points, he played all but four minutes of this game, which is worth noting. In other words, he’s the only SG the Pistons are messing with right now.
James Harden did James Harden things (29 points) and Marcus Thornton stayed hot off the bench with 18 points, six boards, two steals and four 3-pointers. He was really struggling prior to his last two games, and given his bench role and limited minutes, he’s not really reliable in standard leagues. But picking him on the right night in a daily league could reap rewards. Dwight Howard had modest numbers in the second game of a back-to-back and owners have to watch for news on him with another back-to-back set coming up this Friday and Saturday. Friday looks like the favorite for him to get a night off at this point. Trevor Ariza disappeared with two points on 1-of-9 shooting (Thornton), as he is prone to do every few games, and Clint Capela stayed kind of hot with 11 points, five boards and four steals, but played just 22 minutes. That was certainly better than Terrence Jones’ 15 minutes off the bench, and the Rockets are just killing Jones and his owners by not playing him. In fact, he was benched for the entire second half, for reasons I don’t fully understand. Ty Lawson was decent off the bench, but played just 19 minutes, and it’s clear he’s going to have to continue to work himself back into good graces in Houston. For whichever night Howard sits this weekend, I would not be afraid to have either Capela or Jones in my lineup. Corey Brewer played just 16 minutes and can be dropped in most leagues.
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