Saturday Dose: Dose: David Blatt's Departure
Maybe it’s sadistic symbolism that Steve Kerr made his much-anticipated season debut on the same night David Blatt was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers considering the result of the 2015 NBA Finals, but the marriage between Blatt and LeBron’s team was always destined to wind up in divorce. As Charles Barkley said during a Friday segment on NBATV, you don’t see a team hire its second choice for head coach as a lead assistant/associate head coach all too often. After GM David Griffin openly said the locker room he assembled hasn’t been “connected,” the pendulum of pressure is now swinging in his direction. And if you believe that Griffin didn’t consult LeBron James about this decision before it was made, I have a group of bridges to sell you at a discounted price.
In addition to coaching news, we had Stephen Curry ballin’, DeMar DeRozan making his All-Star bid, Kemba Walker doing the same and Manu Ginobili hopping in the hot tub time machine on a fire nine-game Friday.
Charlotte @ Orlando: Hornets 120, Magic 116
Playing without Nicolas Batum (toe), Kemba Walker again took over the game with an absolutely huge performance: 40 points, seven boards, nine dimes and four steals on 14-of-28 shooting, including 10-of-12 from the foul line…it’s just the latest enormous effort in what has been a truly spectacular breakout season, and Walker has now scored an unbelievable 113 points over his last three games. As good as the point guard was, he got help in the form of two unlikely double-doubles in Marvin Williams (11 pts, 14 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk) and Spencer Hawes, who came out of nowhere for 16 points, 10 boards and a block in a spot start at center for Cody Zeller (shoulder). Despite his recent downward trend, Williams just keeps on going for a team that needs his versatility in the frontcourt and is a recommended hold since you’re not going to trade him for anything of value, but Hawes is not a recommended pickup because like teammates Frank Kaminsky, his upside just isn’t there with Zeller and Al Jefferson (knee) set to re-enter the picture. Jeremy Lamb (toe) returned to action, but he failed to make an impact and was benched after picking up three fouls in four first half minutes.
In a move that was long overdue, Aaron Gordon was finally put in the starting lineup and responded by picking up three fouls in his first four minutes on the floor. After settling down, Gordon finished with a decent line (10 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast) in 24.5 foul-plagued minutes…The upside is obviously there, but Gordon’s athleticism is not going to translate to sustainable fantasy production immediately. My advice: Navigate the ups and downs and don’t get impatient. Victor Oladipo (knee) returned to the first five with a bang with 29 points, five triples, four boards and three assists, and that’s especially noteworthy with Elfrid Payton starting alongside him and also turning in a good game with 11 points, nine rebounds and 10 dimes (two 3PM). If Nikola Vucevic (15 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 6 blk) doesn’t make the All-Star team, the coaches will have missed what should be one of the more obvious selections.
Chicago @ Boston: Celtics 110, Bulls 101
Derrick Rose has averaged 25.3 points in his last three games, and while it’s good to see D-Rose scoring 20 or more in three straight like was once a regular theme, it’s still hard to get too excited about his fantasy potential when he’s got nine assists compared to seven turnovers during that same span of time. Also without a steal or block during this run, Rose’s name has more value than his current game. The same can’t be said for Jimmy Butler, who played through an illness and is averaging 24.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.8 steals over his last five games. The best part: Butler is a smooth 43-of-51 (83%) from the charity stripe during that run. Pau Gasol bounced back from his Wednesday dud with 18 points and 11 boards (five TO), and he’s going to get all of the run he can handle with Joakim Noah out and Bobby Portis on the outside looking in. Nikola Mirotic’s 25.5 minutes were his most in five games, but his confidence just isn’t there right now. That could change in a hurry if Taj Gibson’s right eye injury forces him to miss time and Mirotic again finds himself in the starting four spot.
Jae Crowder’s (illness) understandable dud didn’t prevent the Celtics from rolling, and a large part of that is because the starting backcourt of Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley—which has been rolling—combined for 43 points on just 29 shot attempts. Thomas deserves a spot on the All-Star team, and if Thomas is not selected for the roster, it will be hard to disagree with his assessment as to why he’s not there. The Celtics also got a big game from Jared Sullinger (18 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk) on a night where Amir Johnson (personal) was out of the lineup, which also opened the door for Kelly Olynyk to again tease those who have flirted with rostering him all season. Johnson is only expected to miss a single game, but rookie Jordan Mickey (ankle) is expected to miss at least two weeks, meaning his hype train will continue to stay parked at the station.
Utah @ Brooklyn: Jazz 108, Nets 86
The only bad news for Utah from this one was that Derrick Favors (back) spent another game on the sidelines, but this was otherwise a game that the Jazz had won before the fourth quarter began. Gordon Hayward had another good showing with 21 points, four boards and nine dimes, putting together a nice three-game run with averages of 28.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.3 triples on 50.9% shooting. Trevor Booker finally had the double-double (13 pts, 10 reb) that everyone had been waiting for with Favors sidelined, but he’s really failed to do anything of note with The Party Man sidelined. Rudy Gobert is now averaging a familiar 3.0 blocks over his last four games after three more swats on Friday, turning the ball over just three times total during that run.
It’s all bad in Brooklyn right now, and this Nets team has the bleakest outlook in fantasy or reality of any team in basketball. Shane Larkin is now an afterthought even when Donald Sloan falls flat on his face, Brook Lopez failed to crack 10 points for the first time since December 10 and Joe Johnson—who had eight points, five boards and four dimes—delivered Brooklyn’s best fantasy line of the night. The Nets are 11-33 in the season and trending in the worst kind of direction.
Los Angeles (C) @ New York: Clippers 116, Knicks 88
It was a forgettable night for the Knicks, and with the exception of rookie Jerian Grant (13 pts, 8 ast), this was an effort the team would like to drop off at the Port Authority bus station and see ride out of town. Carmelo Anthony’s new and improved all-around game (16 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast) is paying dividends in reality and fantasy, but when he and Kristaps Porzingis combine to shoot 8-of-25, it’s going to be a long night against a team as talented as Los Angeles. Robin Lopez didn’t help matters by getting ejected (two technical fouls) after playing just 17.5 minutes, and although Derrick Williams—who has been playing better than expected—saw increased run off the bench with nearly 30 minutes of action, his fantasy ceiling remains low and Lance Thomas (knee) wasn’t active to challenge him for playing time.
The Josh Smith trade clearly wasn’t a distraction of any kind to a Clippers team that has been rolling since Blake Griffin (quad) went down. Chris Paul, who again looks primed to deliver in the second half, flirted with a triple-double scoring 16 points, grabbing six boards and handing out 13 helpers to go along with two triples, while DeAndre Jordan shifted the focus away from the free throw line for a night with 20 points and eight boards on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. I can’t advocate J.J. Redick as a sell-high candidate enough with Griffin on the verge of a return, and you should have plenty of room to negotiate a two-for-one deal in which you land the best player in the trade using J.J. as the secondary bait considering the season he’s enjoyed.
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