The Daily Dose: Dose: Holy Draymond Green!
There were 11 games played on Saturday, putting 22 teams in action. Jarrett Jack and Kenneth Faried left with what look to be pretty serious injuries, while the Warriors needed overtime to get by the Nuggets after Stephen Curry left with a shin contusion. Let’s get to it. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!
Nets 100, Celtics 97 – Jarrett Jack left with a non-contact knee injury and will have an MRI, so my gut feeling is we’re going to get bad news. Shane Larkin was immediately a hot pickup when news broke, and I like the idea of grabbing him, despite his two points, four assists and two steals in 24 minutes. He should be the man if Jack’s knee is, um, jacked. Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez had big double-doubles, Bojan Bogdanovic came through with 13 points, six boards and a 3-pointer, and Joe Johnson awoke from his basketball coma to score 20 points. He had scored a total of 20 points in his previous three games, so this one was much needed. Larkin and Bogdanovic, who has been hot for his last five games, are the pickups.
Amir Johnson had seven points, 11 boards and two blocks, Jae Crowder played well despite hitting just 5-of-13 shots, and Jared Sullinger played just 18 minutes and had five turnovers in one of his worst games. Avery Bradley left with a hip injury and Isaiah Thomas played well, as usual. Marcus Smart played 24 minutes and scored 11, but still isn’t quite there on the consistency scale, and Evan Turner had 12 points and seven boards in 37 minutes. If Bradley’s going to miss time, Turner will become a hot pickup. The big-man rotation is becoming messy, as Johnson, Crowder, Sullinger, David Lee, Jonas Jerebko, Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk all got decent run. Sullinger has cooled off to the point where he’s not trustworthy right now, but none of the aforementioned bigs are worth using, either.
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Kings 142, Suns 119 – DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi, Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison, who I like to refer to as the ‘usual suspects,’ all had nice lines – especially Rondo and Cousins. Marco Belinelli also chipped in with 19 points and is officially hot after scoring 28 in his previous game.
P.J. Tucker cooled off after a big game with just five points, while T.J. Warren (19 points) and Devin Booker (21 points) both played very well. I’ve had those guys ranked Booker-Warren-Tucker, and am sticking with that order for now. Booker and Warren should be owned in all leagues, in my opinion. Brandon Knight was solid with 23 points and a nice line, Tyson Chandler was useless in a start at C, and Alex Len got just six minutes as the Suns continue to use a small lineup. Jon Leuer came off the bench, but still had 11 points, four boards, a steal, a block and a three in just 17 minutes. I like him much better when he’s starting, but he’s still in the rotation and Markieff Morris didn’t even play. Mirza Teletovic might be heating up after scoring 15 on Thursday and 13 yesterday, but is still not a guy I’d put much faith in. Just keep an eye on him.
Thunder 109, Hornets 90 – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka led the Thunder to an easy win, while Steven Adams had eight points, nine boards and three blocks in the start. I still don’t trust him, but he’s at least radar fodder after this one. Enes Kanter, Anthony Morrow and Dion Waiters all scored in double figures off the bench, but Kanter’s the only one you want to mess with.
Cody Zeller cooled off with seven points in 23 minutes, but I’m not ready to give up on him with Al Jefferson down and out. Jeremy Lin started with Nicolas Batum out with a toe injury and had 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Batum shouldn’t be out long, but Lin was playing pretty well off the bench coming in, so he’s still worth a look in most leagues. Kemba Walker stayed hot with 32 points and a solid line, while none of the bench players did much. However, Frank Kaminski played 33 minutes and hit 2-of-11 shots, while starter Marvin Williams had just four points and eight boards. With Jefferson out and Marvin struggling, Zeller and Kaminski are both worth owning in most leagues, despite yesterday’s struggles.
Pacers 94, Pistons 82 – Paul George is heating up again and had 32 points, 14 boards, four 3-pointers and seven turnovers, along with a monster fourth quarter. George and Marcus Morris got into it and it escalated, but thankfully no punches were thrown. George Hill stayed hot with 18 points and Monta Ellis scored 14 on 5-of-14 shooting. He’s cooled off, but still played 34 minutes. Ian Mahinmi and Lavoy Allen were both pretty bad in starts for the Pacers, while Jordan Hill is back in action. He had eight points, three boards and a block, which will eventually ruin Allen. Mahinmi just had a bad case of ‘Drummond-itis.’ C.J. Miles and Myles Turner were both very quiet, and I just can’t figure CJM out. He’s all or nothing from night to night.
Starters Ersan Ilyasova, Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all hit double figures and are all worth owning right now. Ilyasova is particularly intriguing after averaging 13.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.0 3-pointers over his last three games.
Cavs 104, Magic 79 – LeBron James had a big game with 29 points and four 3-pointers in a blowout win, while Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson both had low-end double-doubles. Kyrie Irving is getting there and had 13 points and five assists, but is still not the player he will be a month from now. J.R. Smith was terrible, hitting 1-of-7 shots for three points and the Cavs’ bench did nothing. There was absolutely nothing to learn from this game, other than that Thompson might be worth a pick up, and that Smith is a highly frustrating player to own.
I can’t believe Channing Frye is still starting for the Magic, but it’s true. He played just 13 minutes last night, while Andrew Nicholson got 28 minutes. Nicholson had just six points and six boards, but you have to think Scott Skiles is eventually going to give in and play him over Frye. This game was over by halftime and Skiles didn’t play his starters much at all. Evan Fournier led them with nine points in 28 minutes, while Nikola Vucevic had four fouls in 13 minutes. Aaron Gordon had 11 points and seven boards, and Shabazz Napier and Mario Hezonja both scored 10 off the bench, but don’t read anything into this game. It was blowout city. Victor Oladipo got the starter treatment even though he was coming off the bench, and played just 14 minutes.
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