The Daily Dose: Dose: Deron Isn't Hamstrung
Deron Williams hasn’t been the story of the night in quite some time. Veteran fantasy owners might remember him being a first-round target about five years go or you might remember him dropping 40 points in the second half during a game against the Bobcats on Mar. 4, 2012 — yes, the Bobcats. Well, Deron was the story on Tuesday with a fadeaway 3-pointer to give the Mavs a double-overtime 117-116 win over the Kings.
Here’s what his shot looked like, if you missed it:
Nasty. He also almost knocks coach George Karl over, too. Williams aggravated his hamstring injury over the weekend, but he put up a gem with 25 points, two boards, four assists, two steals and three 3-pointers in 43 minutes. That amount of playing time is all you need to know about how minor his hamstring tightness was the other night. He should be ready to roll, but selling high is always a good idea for the injury-prone Deron.
Dirk Nowitzki was also very important for the Mavs with 23 points, five boards, three assists and two 3-pointers in 43 minutes. He was really struggling, so this was a great turnaround game. Zaza Pachulia (nine points, 17 boards, five steals and three turnovers) played 40 minutes and Wes Matthews (20 points, three boards, four assists, two steals and two 3-pointers) played 43 minutes, so four of the five starters were very busy.
The fifth? Well, Chandler Parsons hurt his hip on a rough screen from DeMarcus Cousins. It doesn’t sound serious, but the Mavs are on a back-to-back for Wednesday. Also, there’s a chance any starter gets rest on Wednesday, so fantasy owners will have to keep an eye out.
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Perhaps the most interesting part from the pickup side of things was JaVale McGee. He had season highs basically everywhere with 13 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 minutes. If you’re in a deep league, adding Pierre isn’t the worst idea. Besides, how fun is this?
Boogie Boards
As for the Kings, holy cow(bell) they were thin. Rajon Rondo (back), Omri Casspi (back) and Willie Cauley-Stein (hand) were all out. That means there were a lot of responsibilities up for grabs.
We have to start DeMarcus Cousins. He went bananas with 35 points, 17 boards, four assists, six steals, one block, 10 turnovers (!) and two 3-pointers in 49 minutes. He is coming off a 19-board game and he’s doing a much better job living under the basket. Check out his shot chart in his last three (top) compared to before that this season (bottom):
It’s a small sample, but that’s a nice bump with more efficient work in the paint. Expect to see a Boogie explosion with consistency soon. Rudy Gay was also terrific with 31 points, five boards, one assist, one steal and three 3-pointers. He should be a top-35 player going forward.
We still don’t know if Rondo will miss more time, so it’s tough to say if Darren Collison can build off his line of 14 points, four rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and three turnovers. He should be owned in all standards regardless.
After that, it gets wild. Ben McLemore is wasting his playing time and only played 19 minutes while Quincy Acy played just 16 minutes as a starter. Who stepped up? Well, that was Marco Belinelli with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and four 3-pointers, and Seth Curry with nine points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers. McLemore might be out of the rotation soon, which might get Curry in the starting lineup. Bello is worth owning in standard leagues until Casspi gets back while Curry is only a radar guy right now.
Jimmy’s jumping for dollars
After scoring 40 points in the second half on Sunday, he was awesome on Tuesday with 32 points, two rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and two 3-pointers. We don’t need any analysis at all here. Butler is arguably the best fantasy asset in standard leagues for the Eastern Conference, which is kind of crazy to think about for a guy who went in the middle rounds last year. He’s for real and he’s not just a scorer either.
Derrick Rose made his return and he looked OK with 16 points, one rebound, six assists, five turnovers and nothing else. He didn’t go to the line and was just 8-of-17 from the field. Hey at least he knows he’s not the best Bull anymore. “[Jimmy’s] balling right now. So keep going to him until he doesn’t want the ball anymore,” Rose said. There is no way to trust Rose in fantasy anymore.
Nikola Mirotic was at rock bottom last week, but he’s really turned it around. On Tuesday, he played 29 minutes with 14 points, six rebounds, one steal and one 3-pointer. if he’s out there, pick him up and worry about Joakim Noah’s (shoulder) return later. As for the rest of the frontcourt, Taj Gibson (11 points, 14 boards, one assist, one steal and six blocks) and Pau Gasol (26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal, three blocks and two 3-pointers) were wonderful. Playing Gasol this much is a little scary, but he’s going off and shouldn’t slow down. Bobby Portis was the only other big man with 21 minutes, eight points, eight boards and a steal. He should still be owned for the stashing upside.
Khris Middleton has been a monster lately and he did it again, scoring 26 points with four rebounds, seven assists, one steal and five 3-pointers. In his previous eight games, he averaged 22.9 points, 3.6 boards, 5.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.8 treys on 55.8 percent from the field and 90.6 percent from the line. Not too shabby with a 23.9 usage rate and a 68.8 true shooting percentage (TS%) in 35.8 minutes per game.
What’s up with the bump? He is really doing a little bit of everything and has become the focal point of the offense, which was necessary the whole time in this offense. Middleton has been lights out on catch-and-shoot 3s, making 47.9 percent of those this season — that also jumped up to 53.8 in that eight-game hot streak. He’s also been unbelievably efficient when left open in that span, making 16-of-25 on those threes. That’s kind of the key here for Middleton.
Just about all the data is pointing up and there’s really no reason to think he falls off in a big way. He probably won’t be the second-round player he’s been lately, but top 40 should be attainable going forward. Hopefully, Jason Kidd doesn’t mess him up.
The other impressive Buck was Michael Carter-Williams, scoring 20 points with three rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and one 3-pointer. The Bucks point guard situation is about as thin as Bambi legs right now, so MCW will get plenty of burn. He’s really solved his shot selection issues and has performed very well in games against non-elite defending point guards. Here’s what his shot looks like in his last 13 games.
Pretty good stuff. A lot of that has to do with the spacing because of Middleton getting hot, but he won’t be able to get all those shots. I’d call him a sell high for now, but he should be owned.
Besides those two, not much doing here. Jabari Parker (11 points and seven boards) has been bad on defense, Greg Monroe (13 points and 12 boards) was overmatched at times, and Giannis Antetokounmpo (18 points, seven boards, two dimes and four steals) was fine. O.J. Mayo (six points and three boards) was the backup point guard with some combo guard minutes, but he’s not a strong add in most leagues.
Blazin’ Arron
Arron shot down the Hawks again on Tuesday. After a 38-point game on Sunday, he scored 23 points with seven boards, four assists and two 3-pointers. I still don’t buy him as a big add in standard leagues, but he should be owned in points leagues, of course. Robin Lopez is getting bigger minutes again, playing 35 minutes with nine points, eight boards, one assist, one steal and two blocks on Tuesday. If you need a low-ceiling big with good percentages, he’s worth a look. His defense has been very good and he’s earning his minutes.
Carmelo Anthony (23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, two blocks and three turnovers) and Kristaps Porzingis (17 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one block in 32 minutes) put up decent lines. Three 6 Latvia’s minutes are rising again, which was inevitable.
The big story for ATL was Jeff Teague sitting in the clutch, finishing with 16 points, one rebound, no assists (!), one steal, four turnovers and three 3-pointers in 23 minutes. His stat line wasn’t bad, but he really had some bad possessions. There’s no reason to think he won’t be back and we’ve seen Teague get benched before. Don’t worry.
As you could expect based on the low minutes on Teague, the Hawks also got pretty funky with their rotation. In the previous two games, Shelvin Mack was ahead of Dennis Schroder, but that changed with Mack being the DNP-CD guy on Tuesday. After two DNP-CDs for Schroder, he was out there for crunch time finishing with seven points, four boards, eight assists and three turnovers in 25 minutes. He and Teague didn’t play next to each other, so he’s only a handcuff at best. Don’t let one bad Teague game fool you here.
One other fun part of Tuesday for the funky Hawks rotation was Edy Tavers getting the most non-garbage minutes of his career. He is long. He’s a vine of him from last month.
He still only has value in Dynasty unless you’re in a super deep league. Paul Millsap (19 points, seven boards, two assists and one steal), Kent Bazemore (15 points, five boards, one steal and three 3-pointers)
and Al Horford (13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and one trey) were OK while Kyle Korver (12 points and two treys) wasn’t good. Korver should still be owned in standard leagues.
Curry Worry?
The big story from the late game was Stephen Curry hurting his leg. It really didn’t look too bad, but he really shouldn’t be playing through injuries. He’s way too valuable. Maybe GSW sits him, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Besides him, the Warriors wings were the story. Klay Thompson is just tearing it up right now, scoring 36 points, two rebounds, one assist and six treys. Remember when people were freaking out? Yeah. Also, Harrison Barnes was very good with 10 points, eight boards, one assist and two steals on 5-of-7 from the field. He should be owned everywhere.
Sad face emoji here. Draymond Green did not have a trip-dub with nine points, 12 boards, five dimes, one block and one trey. He’s still a monster and should flirt with first-round value.
The Lakers did not have Kobe Bryant (shoulder) or D’Angelo Russell (illness). Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points with five boards, two assist and two 3-pointers. Nobody else really did anything of note, so let’s just move on.
News and notes from Tuesday
I wrote a column yesterday about injuries and multiple-position players, so check that out here.
Kevin Durant (toe) is listed as out on Wednesday against the Grizzlies. His toe injury isn’t serious, but OKC won’t be in any rush to bring him back. He probably won’t be out long, though.
Anthony Morrow stepped up the most on Monday in the starting lineup and could be decent, but he’s not a great add unless KD is ruled out for at least a few more. Russell Westbrook was also bad on Monday, but you have to use him in DFS today.
Tyreke Evans (knee) is questionable again for Wednesday against the Mavs. On Saturday, it was Norris Cole who stepped up the most with Jrue Holiday also playing really well. It sounds minor, so Cole is really only a DFS option. If you have Evans in season long, this could be the beginning of the end considering he has a ton of knee injuries in his career.
Quincy Pondexter (knee) might debut on Wednesday. He could start eventually and might even get decent minutes, especially if the Pelicans unload Ryan Anderson down the road. You would have to be in a very deep league because there will be no shots for him.
Jusuf Nurkic should have an uptick in minutes and he looks to have the inside track. He still is a huge injury risk, so Nikola Jokic owners probably shouldn’t cut bait unless you’re in a shallower league. Although, there sure are a lot of pickups out there these days. Stupid injuries.
Kenneth Faried is probable, so he should be ready to roll.
Jeremy Lamb (wrist) is doubtful for Wednesday. He doesn’t have any structural damage, so he shouldn’t be out long. Without Lamb, Jeremy Lin will get major playing time while there would be more minutes for P.J. Hairston, Brian Roberts and maybe Troy Daniels will get in the mix. We’ll also see a ton of Marvin Williams at the three and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start there. Frank Kaminsky should play a bunch and is a decent pickup despite not playing well.
Blake Griffin (quad) is still not going to see a doctor this week. His owners will have to keep him stashed. With Blake out, there really isn’t a pickup to make in most leagues. In deeper leagues, Wes Johnson looks like the best add. Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan all have added value in DFS.
C.J. Miles (shoulder) is questionable for Wednesday against the Magic. He is the king of the in-game injury, so he he’s still not someone to trust in DFS even if he plays — Rodney Stuckey is probably the best play. If you own Miles, just stick with him.
Tony Parker (hip) is out for Wednesday against the Jazz. Patty Mills should be better than a 10-point game on Monday because the Jazz might not get blown out. Jonathan Simmons is also interesting.
Nikola Pekovic (ankle) could debut today. Analysis on adding him: No.
Joe Johnson (quad) is dinged up, so that would mean more run for Wayne Ellington. If Iso-Jone misses games, Ellington may be a decent short-term add, too.
DeMarre Carroll (knee) sounds like he’s going to be out for a while. Terrence Ross is a decent pickup right now.
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