The Daily Dose: Dose: Dirk flies past Shaq
So there’s a crazy, summer-like thunderstorm that’s been going on all night and knocked my power out. And with 13 games and 26 teams in action last night, as well as a full night of playing Santa in front of me, this should be an interesting Dose. If my Interwebs are ever working again, I’ll also be hosting a 1 p.m. Season Pass subscribers-only live chat. We’ll see what happens. Here are, roughly, 26 things we learned from last night, as relayed through my tiny cell phone. And keep in mind I basically did this entire thing without the benefit of something called Rotoworld, which was hard. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Four of the five Celtics starters scored in the high double-figures, led by center Kelly Olynyk’s 20 points and nine boards in 30 minutes. He’s been starting lately and if that trend continues, he’s going to be a hot pick up. Get out in front of the post-Christmas rush and grab him now.
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Rookie Frank Kaminsky caught fire off Charlotte’s bench for 23 points and seven boards in 31 minutes, and might finally be ready to give Marvin Williams a run for his money at power forward in Charlotte. Williams has been sputtering over his last several games, and while I trust a guy like Cody Zeller more, the Hornets may feel like it’s finally time to turn Kaminsky loose.
With Carmelo Anthony out and nursing a minor injury, it was pretty easy to see a huge line from Kristaps Porzingis coming. He answered the call with 23 points, 13 boards and a bunch of assorted goodies. What wasn’t easy to see coming was a dud from Lance Thomas, who actually started in Melo’s place. He came in on fire, but hit just 4-of-11 shots for eight points before fouling out. The foul trouble was his downfall last night, but knowing that isn’t going to make his DFS owners feel any better. And I’m right there with you.
LeBron James and Kevin Love basically went crazy against the Knicks, and Kyrie Irving looked like a guy coming off knee surgery. He hit just 1-of-7 shots for five points, and it’s going to take a few weeks before he’s up to speed. But if you’ve held onto him for this long, a couple more weeks probably isn’t going to hurt anything.
DeMarcus Cousins was a beast for the Kings with 25 & 16, Rajon Rondo nearly quadruple-doubled the ugly way with 13 points, eight rebounds, 16 assists and nine turnovers, and Darren Collison was hot off the bench with 24 points. Rondo played 37 minutes and Collison played 35, easily handling the Kings’ sixth-man role.
Paul George was a lot better than his recent 1-of-14 shooting game, which he quietly blamed on the flu instead of great defense from Kawhi Leonard. But he still struggled to 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting. Some of you might remember when I was a little down on PG heading into the season, and while I’m not about to say I was right, if he had played like this all season instead of just the last two weeks, I could say I was right. He’ll get it turned around and be fine. Monta Ellis looked like a basketball player last night and C.J. Miles was back in the starting lineup with 20 points and a nice line. You simply can’t trust him, much like Mirza Teletovic.
James Harden went off, Terrence Jones disappeared and the rest of the Rockets were about as exciting as I am when I’m stumbling around the house at 5 a.m. trying to relocate the freaking Elf on the Shelf. And that, my friends, has been the story of the Rockets this season.
All five Magic starters scored in double digits, Evan Fournier is on the comeback trail, and poor Victor Oladipo is suffering in the Scott Skiles shelter for homeless dogs, missing all nine of his shots and failing to score off the bench. I’m sorry if you drafted Dipo or Danny Green. And yeah, I was kind of high on both of them and have them ruining several solid lineups right now. Happy Holidays to us! If Fournier’s still available in your league, it’s time to pick him up again.
Matt Barnes disappeared for the Grizzlies, ruining a lot of DFS teams in the process, Mike Conley scored 21 and Jeff Green and Zach Randolph are once again showing signs of life for Memphis.
Garrett Temple stayed hot for the Wizards with 20 points and that makes three straight big games. If you were holding Ramon Sessions (who actually scored 16 last night off the bench) or Gary Neal (who returned to action last night), dump them for Temple and ride him for as long as Bradley Beal is out. Kelly Oubre is also worth a deep-league look as long as he’s starting for injured Otto Porter, and Marcin Gortat and John Wall both posted big double-doubles for the Wiz.
With Deron Williams out with a calf injury, it was J.J. Barea, and not Raymond Felton, who went off for the Mavs, who won in overtime over the Nets. JJB exploded for a career-high 32 points in a start, while Felton, who also started, scored just eight points. I had JJB in several daily lineups and then pulled him at the last minute, meaning I’m not very smart some times. Dirk Nowitzki quietly passed Shaquille O’Neal for No. 6 on the all-time scoring list. JJB was a bit fluky, but if Williams is going to miss several games with his calf injury, Barea might be worth a look in many leagues. Just know going in that he played his best game of the season last night, so it’s all downhill from here.
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