The Daily Dose: DubsDose: 36 straight @ Oracle
There were only three games on the NBA schedule on Monday due to the CFP National Championship Game, so that will give us some room to go over the injury report after the game breakdowns. The Warriors have won 36 straight at home, LaMarcus Aldridge is rolling, and the Wizards won without Marcin Gortat. You can follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Spurs 106, Nets 79 – LaMarcus Aldridge went off for 25 points, 11 rebounds and zero blocks on 12-of-17 shooting. The concerns with him playing for the Spurs and alongside Tim Duncan have been nothing to worry about, as Duncan has been MIA for much of it, and Aldridge has played at a very high level. Kawhi Leonard was quiet with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but also had eight boards, a steal and two 3-pointers. Tim Duncan showed signs of life with eight points, four boards, two assists, a steal and two blocks in just 22 minutes, and Tony Parker was disappointing with six points and four assists on 2-of-7 shooting. Our guy Danny Green was 0-for-4 and didn’t score, and I’m still feeling very good about dropping him across the board a couple weeks ago. Center Boban Marjanovic had 13 points, three boards and two blocks in just 13 minutes, but his lack of minutes still overshadows his production on most nights. Boris Diaw scored 11 in 18 minutes and Manu Ginobili had nine points, five dimes, two steals and a 3-pointer on 4-of-5 shooting, but played just 18 minutes. Aldridge and Leonard are the only two Spurs who are fully reliable these days, yet they still have just six losses on the season.
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The Nets were pretty bad across the board tonight. Brook Lopez scored 18 points but added just five rebounds and two blocks, and Thaddeus Young had just nine points with nine boards and four turnovers. Donald Sloan started at point guard over Shane Larkin, and both played 24 minutes. Sloan was 1-of-4 for two points and five dimes, while Larkin was 2-of-3 with five points and six assists. I still like the idea of holding Larkin, but really, you can probably do better off your waiver wire. Joe Johnson was solid with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and has been playing better lately, but didn’t do much besides score, and Wayne Ellington scored eight points in a start and 29 minutes. Bojan Bogdanovic lost his starting job to Ellington and failed to score a point (0-for-5) in 21 minutes, and should not have been in starting lineups after falling off a cliff last week. BB is now 0-for-16 in his last three games. The only Nets I trust enough to put in a starting fantasy lineup right now are Young, Lopez and Johnson.
Wizards 114, Bulls 100 – Starters Otto Porter, Nene, John Wall and Garrett Temple all played well for the Wizards, while Jared Dudley added eight points, four assists and two 3-pointers. Porter had 14 points, eight boards, two steals and two 3-pointers, Nene had 14 points, a steal and a block on 7-of-11 shooting in a start for Marcin Gortat (knee), Wall double-doubled with 17 & 10 and a full stat line, but hit just 7-of-19 shots, and Temple scored 14 with a couple 3-pointers in 30 minutes. Gortat is day-to-day with his knee injury, and while Nene was kind of fun in this one, his next missed game should be right around the bend. Drew Gooden stepped up with 10 points, 12 boards and a block in 27 minutes, but is far from trustworthy, Gary Neal scored 11 points in just 15 minutes, and Ramon Sessions came through with 16 points, five boards, four assists and a steal in 24 minutes. This was only Gooden’s second double-double of the entire season, so I’m not rushing to grab him or Nene at this point. Hopefully the swelling in Gortat’s knee goes down soon. Wall, Porter and Sessions are the guys I trust out of this group, but Nene can be deployed on nights when he’s playing and Gortat is sitting. Temple is also worth a look, but Sessions feels safer to me. Bradley Beal (leg) is hoping to return some time in the next week, which will hurt Sessions, Temple and Neal.
The Bulls didn’t have it last night, as starters Taj Gibson (4 points, 4 rebounds) and Nikola Mirotic (7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 3-pointer) were both disappointing, although Mirotic at least filled the stat sheet in 29 minutes. Gibson played just 19 minutes with Joakim Noah back in action, so it looks like his run could be nearing an end. Pau Gasol had 15 & 10 and a block, Derrick Rose hit 8-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers for 23 points, but added just one assist, four turnovers and not much else. Jimmy Butler hit 6-of-15 shots and a 3-pointer for 19 points, four boards, seven assists and three steals. More scoring would have been nice, but it’s hard to complain too much about his line. Noah played 19 scoreless minutes on 0-of-7 shooting, Bobby Portis played just 11 minutes, and Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and Aaron Brooks all played decent bench minutes, but didn’t do anything too noteworthy. Mirotic and his minutes are still a good hold, while Gasol, Rose and Butler are must-starts on nights they’re starting for the Bulls. If you want to stash Noah, feel free, but don’t plan on being able to start him right now. As for Portis, it’s status quo – he’s a luxury stash without a defined role on this team.
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