The Daily Dose: Dose: Warriors improve to 29-1
Twenty-two teams were in action on Monday night and the news was plentiful. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here! Here we go.
Pacers 93, Hawks 87 – C.J. Miles was out for Indy with a sore back so Lavoy Allen started and didn’t do much. Paul George was awful (3-of-14, 9 points), yet the Pacers still won the game. Monta Ellis hit four 3-pointers on his way to 26 points, a couple steals and a block in one of his better games this season. Maybe he’s ready to get hot. Ian Mahinmi just missed a double-double, Jordan Hill and George Hill were quiet, and Solomon Hill had 10 points in 26 minutes while helping fill in for the absence of Miles. Looking at the box score, it’s still hard to believe the Pacers won.
The Hawks got pretty solid lines from Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, Al Horford and Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver was terrible again. Thabo Sefolosha filled the stat sheet off the bench and Dennis Schroder was quiet in just 12 minutes, which is why I’m not a fan of owning him. If you want to drop Korver for a hot free agent, I’m in. Thabo belongs on waivers for now.
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Hornets 108, Lakers 98 – Marvin Williams hit just 1-of-4 shots for two points, but did have 11 rebounds to barely hang onto some value. Cody Zeller started despite the return of Al Jefferson and had 16 points and eight boards, and Kemba Walker had the stat line of the night with 38 points, six boards, five assists, three steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers. If you didn’t have him in DFS, you probably didn’t win. Nicolas Batum was great again with 15-5-11, but was also 0-for-6 from downtown. Frank Kaminsky was quiet off the bench and Jefferson had just three points and four rebounds in 15 minutes. Give him a week or so. Jeremy Lin stayed hot with 13 points and a full stat line in 35 solid minutes.
Michael Jordan said goodbye to Kobe Bryant, who hit just 5-of-20 shots for 20 points in the loss. He’s been playing much better, but didn’t have his legs tonight. Larry Nance Jr. started and hit 6-of-7 shots for 12 points and seven boards, and could make some noise if he continues to start over Julius Randle. Roy Hibbert was actually serviceable with 8-8-3, but he’s been shaky, at best. Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams both struggled, hitting a combined 6-of-27 shots, and both players have cooled off a bit. D’Angelo Russell wasn’t much better, hitting 2-of-5 for five points, four assists and three steals off the bench. Let the three guards get hot again before deploying them in DFS.
Magic 104, Pelicans 89 – Tobias Harris, Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic all played very well and it’s been nice to see Fournier back to form. Vuc was a beast with 28 points, eight boards and seven assists on 14-of-21 shooting. Elfrid Payton was invisible last night, along with Victor Oladipo, and Andrew Nicholson had 13 points, five boards and a 3-pointer. Just keep an eye on him.
Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans were solid, but not spectacular, and Eric Gordon was 1-of-6 for three points in 24 minutes. Yuck. He scored 26 in his last one, so don’t panic. Ryan Anderson was also a no-show, hitting 1-of-8 shots for three points in one of his worst games of the season. Norris Cole got hot off the bench with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a 3-pointer, but simply cannot be trusted on nights when Jrue Holiday is playing. It’s hard to imagine the Pelicans winning on nights when Anderson and Gordon are this bad.
Clippers 108, Wizards 91 – Josh Smith got a DNP and I have already cut him where I picked him up. Paul Pierce started, but played just 17 minutes, and it was Wes Johnson and Cole Aldrich who picked up Blake Griffin’s minutes last night. DeAndre Jordan historically plays better when Griffin is out and had 15-13-1, while Chris Paul tore it up with 23 points and a fat line. J.J. Redick was quiet, mainly because Jamal Crawford stepped up with 21 points and three 3-pointers on 9-of-12 shooting. That won’t happen very often. Johnson had 14 points, four boards and a 3-pointer, and Aldrich added 13 points, six boards, four steals and a block in 20 minutes. Keep an eye on both guys, as it appears Smith is not going to be involved very much, if at all.
Jared Dudley didn’t score a point and played just 13 minutes, but there were no reports of an injury. Marcin Gortat and John Wall double-doubled, while Otto Porter got hot off the bench with 21 points, eight boards, two steals and three 3-pointers on 8-of-12 shooting. Expect him to replace Dudley in the starting lineup soon. Ramon Sessions outplayed Garrett Temple, and it appears that Temple’s hot run is officially over. Both he and Sessions are worth using in spots as long as Bradley Beal’s out.
Nets 111, Heat 105 – Brook Lopez and Jarrett Jack had nice lines for the Nets, while Joe Johnson was awful, hitting 1-of-6 shots for four points in 35 minutes. He’s not even starting for me in a 30-team league, which should tell you how he’s playing these days. Thaddeus Young was just OK, but at least had a 3-pointer and three steals, while Wayne Ellington caught fire off the bench with seven 3-pointers for 26 points and seven rebounds. He could eventually overtake Johnson if he doesn’t get it going soon. Ellington scored just six and seven points in his previous two games, so I’m not rushing out to pick him up, but I am keeping an eye on him. Shane Larkin had eight points and seven assists off the bench, but he’ll only be worth holding if Jack goes down.
The Heat got good things from Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade, but the bench did nothing and Goran Dragic had just nine points and five assists. Gerald Green went to the bench, but still played 33 minutes. The problem was he hit just 2-of-11 shots for seven points, but as long as the minutes stick off the bench, he should bounce back. Wade suffered a hip injury, so watch the player news feed on Tuesday for updates.
Bulls 104, Raptors 97 – Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose led the way for the starters, while Jimmy Butler had one of his worst lines of the season and just five points. Nikola Mirotic disappeared again and played just 17 minutes. Until he gets consistent minutes, he’s going to be impossible to trust from game to game. He scored two points last night, 23 on Saturday, and six on Friday. Taj Gibson had 11 boards, a steal and two blocks, but scored just four points. He played 38 minutes and could still get hot at any time while filling in for Joakim Noah (shoulder). Tony Snell ripped off 22 points, seven boards and four 3-pointers off the bench, but didn’t even play in their last game, and had scored a total of 10 points in his previous four. No thanks. Bobby Portis played 27 minutes for 12 points and nine boards, and Aaron Brooks had 17 points and five dimes in 27 minutes. Portis is worth a luxury hold if you have room on your bench, but will continue to be wildly inconsistent until a trade is made. Brooks was fluky and can only be trusted if Rose is out.
Kyle Lowry had a monster line with 28 points, DeMar DeRozan flirted with a triple-double with 19-8-8, and Luis Scola was solid with 13 points, eight boards and two blocks. DeMarre Carroll was back in the starting lineup and had 10 points and two 3-pointers, but he’s still not back to his old self just yet. Bismack Biyombo started, but didn’t score in 18 minutes. He did have nine rebounds, but the BB party has come to an end, thanks to the return of Jonas Valanciunas. He played 21 minutes and had nine points, four boards and two blocks, and should be back in the starting lineup soon. And with Carroll back in the starting lineup, Terrence Ross came off the bench He played 30 minutes, but hit just 3-of-9 shots for six points and not much else. As long as he gets 25-30 minutes, he should still be serviceable.
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