Sunday Daily Dose: Dose: Point Guard Rotation
Paul Millsap and Al Horford need to be given more attention when discussing the NBA’s most talented frontcourts, and there is nothing boring about pairing the two in reality or fantasy.
Jimmy Butler’s playing like a man on fire, Ish Smith—who has played for nearly a third of the NBA—has found a home in Philadelphia, Kyle Lowry can be argued as the most overlooked, underappreciated first-round fantasy asset this season and Stephen Curry has entered a new stratosphere as the unquestioned No. 1 pick in 2016 drafts.
Heading into Sunday’s games, here are a slew of notable injury updates:
Anthony Davis (back), Questionable; Dwight Howard (back) Questionable; Deron Williams (elbow) Questionable; Kobe Bryant (shoulder) Probable; D’Angelo Russell (ankle) Questionable; Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) Probable; Jameer Nelson (hip flexor strain) Questionable; Brandon Bass (corneal abrasion) Questionable; Mike Conley (Achilles) Doubtful; Courtney Lee (hip) Doubtful.
Charlotte @ Los Angeles (C): Clippers 97, Hornets 83
When Kemba Walker has a bad game and the Hornets play without Nicolas Batum (toe), it’s going to be really difficult to score points. Jeremy Lin’s short-lived run of fantasy fame—an undoubtedly unfamiliar feeling for the point guard—will come to a close once Batum is back on the floor, but he’s going to keep chugging along with major minutes until that happens.
Jeremy Lamb must have got the message after getting benched for poor defense, because he responded with a monster double-double on an evening when Walker, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller all had more shots attempted than points scored. The production is nice, but Lamb is better suited for DFS matchup plays than season-long formats right now. Despite a clear opportunity without Al Jefferson, Frank Kaminsky has fallen flat on his face and is not worth consideration in standard formats.
The Clippers deserve a lot of credit for how they’ve played without Blake Griffin (quad)—who still doesn’t have a timetable for his return—and Chris Paul has been at the front of the charge. Although his field goal percentage. 3-point percentage and assists per game have all dipped while his turnovers have (slightly) increased, Paul’s been producing paper since Christmas, averaging 18.7 points, 4.7 boards and 11.6 assists over his last seven games. Outside of Paul and DeAndre Jordan (11 pts, 19 reb, 4 blk), J.J. Redick’s career season continues to be an unlikely reason behind the Clippers recent rise. The sniper has now connected on at least 50% of his shots in five straight, averaging a ridiculous 21.0 points and 3.6 triples on 58.7% from the field…I still think he’s a sell-high candidate since Redick won’t be this good or this consistent when Griffin is back in action.
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Chicago @ Atlanta: Hawks 120, Bulls 105
It’s time to break out the Money Mirotic nickname once again because Nikola is straight ballin’. Playing at least 27 minutes in five straight games, Mirotic has averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, a block and three 3-pointers during that stretch…I don’t see Mirotic’s minutes going away when Joakim Noah (shoulder) returns—possibly as early as Monday—but Taj Gibson (10 pts, 4 reb) and Bobby Portis (nine minutes) will certainly be impacted. Portis is an elite stash on fantasy rosters, but he needs a clearer path to playing time before the rookie evolves into more than that. Mike Dunleavy (back) is likely to miss at least another month of time, and a second half season debut appears to be a best-case scenario.
Nobody’s complaining about or even discussing Jimmy Butler’s leadership style anymore, and that’s because McBuckets has backed up his big talk with even bigger play. Over his last six games—in which the Bulls are 5-1 with Saturday marking their first defeat since 2016 began—Butler has averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists with 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.2 3-pointers. That’s what a superstar does…Pau Gasol (10 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) gets a pass after averaging 21.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 blocks in his previous three games. He’ll be better vs. Washington on Monday.
Prince Paulie’s (Millsap) domination of the fantasy basketball world has gone on all season, and a white-hot Al Horford—who scored a season-high 33 points—has recently joined him in their quest to take over the sphere. Over his last five games, Horford has become a lot less boring to roster, checking in with 21.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, a steal, 1.8 triples and 2.2 blocks on 63.8% shooting…You knew Mike Budenholzer was blowing smoke when he sat Dennis Schroder on the end of the bench and in the doghouse, and it’s now two straight games where D.S. has looked like Super Nintendo compared to Jeff Teague’s (12 pts, 6 ast, 5-of-9 FG) Atari game. The charade has to stop eventually, and I’ll place my bet in Schroder’s space for when the wheel finally stops turning.
Washington @ Orlando: Wizards 105, Magic 99
In an interview with the Wizards’ broadcast on Saturday, Bradley Beal (leg) revealed his return should be about a week away. Although Beal is pain-free, he’s expected to be on a rather strict minutes limit for an indefinite period of time, which means both Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat will have to continue to be as consistently excellent as they have been. It’s now three straight games of seven turnovers for John Wall, but he’s averaging 21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.0 blocks and 3.0 triples during that stretch, so is anyone with Wall on the roster really complaining? As an aside, Nene (strained right triceps) played two minutes before departing in this one, and his return to street clothes should open up a few more minutes for Drew Gooden with Kris Humphries (knee) still out. It won’t make Gooden or his reverse soul patch relevant in fantasy, though.
I wonder if Orlando has buyer’s remorse on Tobias Harris. His numbers have taken a step back virtually across the board, and his inability to develop a consistent 3-point shot really limits his fantasy ceiling in the process. A trade elsewhere could unleash some of Harris’ still interesting potential, allowing Super Mario Hezonja to feast on mushrooms, growing into a much larger role in the process. No matter who is around Nikola Vucevic in the starting five, Vucci Mane consistently shows why he’s now a luxury brand…That is good news for Aaron Gordon, who recorded his first double-double of the season and should be soon supplanting Channing Frye in the starting five. Gordon has averaged 10.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and a steal over his last three games, and there’s no question Gordon’s arrow is pointing emphatically in the upward direction. I’ll be stunned if Elfrid Payton (DNP, ankle) gets his starting job back with Victor Oladipo averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and 3.3 triples since being reinserted into the first five. The window to buy low is gone, and Dipo looks far more comfortable initiating the offense than he did playing away from the ball.
Brooklyn @ Detroit: Pistons 103, Nets 89
Shane Larkin’s leash should be a little longer because it is Donald Sloan behind him, but it really hasn’t been a pretty experiment so far. Larkin often gives up too much size to his opposition which limits his ability to do things at both ends of the floor, but he’s worth holding onto for at least a few more games unless someone like Aaron Gordon is still floating freely on the waiver wire. The Nets have nothing to play for, and they’re not going anywhere with Sloan leading the way. Markel Brown replaced Bojan Bogdanovic as Brooklyn’s starting shooting guard, but Wayne Ellington began the second half and is the best option at the position—which is really saying something—moving forward. None of the three are worth a roster spot in standard formats. Now is a good time to buy low on Thaddeus Young, a move you won’t regret if able to execute it successfully.
Marcus Morris’ (DNP, knee) tendinitis got those stashing Stanley Johnson too excited, but Morris expects to be back in the lineup on Tuesday, meaning the rookie will return to the bench. Johnson’s disappointing line comes in his first NBA start just after Stan Van Gundy noted Johnson needed to improve his shooting, and a 4-of-13 showing won’t bulk up his meager 38% mark from the field. You knew the deal with Andre Drummond’s FT shooting upon drafting him, so I don’t want to hear about the 5-of-27 over his last five games. It’s comically bad, but he’s unquestionably dominant everywhere else, averaging 17.4 points, 12.8 boards, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals on 65.1% shooting during that same stretch. He’s got 31 double-doubles on the campaign…The Pistons have played 37 games. Every once in a while, Ersan Ilyasova explodes for a game like Saturday’s and makes you wonder how he’s not a more popular fantasy target. Well, if his consistency wasn’t synonymous with Anthony Randolph, perhaps he would be.
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