The Daily Dose: Dose: Hand Down, Man Down
The NBA is where amazing happens, but it’s also where astonishment happens… and sometimes it’s for the wrong reasons. Blake Griffin is going to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a spiral fracture of his fourth metacarpal because he hit an equipment manager in Toronto over the weekend. Coach Doc Rivers hinted that prognosis might not even happen, so we might not see Griffin until April. If you have him in fantasy, you probably have to consider cutting him.
As for the rest of the Clippers, it’s basically all about three players and they looked good in a win over the Pacers on Tuesday. Chris Paul (26 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four treys) looks like a lock to be a top-five player going forward, DeAndre Jordan (nine points, 19 boards, two assists and three blocks) has seen an increase in usage sans Blake, and J.J. Redick (19 points and four treys) has seen an increase in usage and efficiency. Expect those guys to be very good. After that, it’ll be messy and the only player I kind of like is Wesley Johnson, who scored 15 points with one assist, one steal and five 3-pointers. He’s only a deep add.
On the Pacers side, Myles Turner looked like he was on his way to a monster game, making his first seven shots for the field for 16 points in his first 11 minutes. After that, he missed his next four shots and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and one block in just 18 minutes. His upside is so nice due to all those blocks that he’s still a hold. I would rather have Alex Len, for what it’s worth.
Paul George was expected to have his minutes monitored because of fatigue, but he played 38 minutes with 31 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and two 3-pointers. If you can flip PG-13 for a top-10 player, I’d be all about it.
With eight games on the schedule for Tuesday, I’m going to try to just hit on the fantasy relevant stuff here. Also, you can check out a podcast with some in-depth stuff on a lot of topics (link at the bottom).
All the way live in the 2-1-5 (Suns 103 at 76ers 113)
As expected, the fantasy goodness was plentiful in Philly on Tuesday. The main guy has to be Archie Goodwin, who scored 26 points with six rebounds, six assists, two steals and one 3-pointer on 11-of-15 shooting. With Brandon Knight (groin) out for at least three games and being a major shutdown candidate, Goodwin has to be owned everywhere right now.
The other noteworthy output on the Suns came from Alex Len. After playing 55 minutes combined next to Tyson Chandler in the previous two games, Len started at power forward again with 16 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 34 minutes There aren’t many bigs who are good for both percentages, have double-double potential and can flirt with two blocks per night, but Len is one of them. If he gets his 24-26 minutes, he’ll be awesome. Add him.
Markieff Morris made his return from a shoulder injury, scoring eight points with seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and three turnovers. He’s been bad all season and it’s not like a trade will save him. Tyson Chandler’s playing time dropped from 44 minutes on Saturday to just 19, scoring five points with five rebounds, one assist and one block. It looks like he’s going to be annoying to own. Devin Booker made 5-of-15 from the field for 12 points with four rebounds, seven assists and one 3-pointer. He played 36 minutes and even ran some point tonight. T.J. Warren also saw some SG minutes tonight, so that’s a great sign for him. Still, he’s only a stash right now until P.J. Tucker is traded. Tucker played 33 minutes with a career-high eight dimes, adding seven points, two steals, one block and one 3-pointer. Mirza Teletovic returned with nine points in 16 minutes, but he’s losing a lot of steam.
The 76ers did not have Jahlil Okafor (illness) tonight and he’s also unlikely tomorrow. JaKarr Sampson was sick and Isaiah Canaan also hurt his ankle in this game. As per usual, Nerlens Noel thrived without Okafor with 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist, three steals and three blocks. Ish Smith should never have to pay for anything ever again when Noel is around. Ish was pretty good too with 20 points, five boards, nine assists and one turnover in 32 minutes.
Robert Covington was poked in both eyes, but he still managed to put up 19 points, five rebounds, one assist and five 3-pointers. He’s made just two field goals inside the arc in his last four games, but he has 16 treys. He has to be owned everywhere, but selling high makes sense because he’ll go south at some point. Nik Stauskas played 38 minutes with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and one 3-pointer, but we have to see it again and again.
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Too many Urkels on the Nets (Heat 102 at Nets 98)
The Heat are finally starting to get healthy with Chris Bosh (27 points, five rebounds, four assists and one 3-pointer) and Dwyane Wade (27 points, four rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks) carrying the offense. Wade’s shoulders are probably going to he a problem at some point, so he’s kind of an obvious sell-high guy. That said, it’s so obvious that it’s probably just best to stick with him. We still didn’t have Hassan Whiteside (oblique) and Goran Dragic (calf), but they could be back for the weekend. There really isn’t a pickup to make there.
Justise Winslow may have played his best game, making 6-of-7 from the field for 13 points with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one 3-pointer. He only had a 10.4 usage rate in this game and it’s just 10.3 in his last five. He just doesn’t do enough on the stat sheet.
To nobody’s surprise, Donald Sloan is cooling off with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two 3-pointers in 23 minutes. If you can drop Sloan for Goodwin, do it.
Unicorn Slayers (Thunder 128 at Knicks 122 in OT)
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 44 points with 14 rebounds, five assists, one steal and four 3-pointers at MSG. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook flirted with a triple-double with 30 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and five turnovers. No analysis needed here for these two mega studs. Serge Ibaka also grabbed a season-high 17 boards with 12 points, two assists and two blocks. He’s still capable of being a top-25 guy going forward, but the blocks haven’t been there.
With Andre Roberson (knee) out until the break, coach Billy Donovan went with Dion Waiters in the first unit and gave him 43 minutes. Waiters had a decent game on the stat sheet with 14 points, three rebounds, one assist and two 3-pointers, but he did not look good in reality. Expect him to lose some run, which makes him more of a 16-team guy. Steven Adams returned with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. He and Enes Kanter (two points and seven boards) aren’t the strongest adds.
The Knicks did not have Carmelo Anthony (knee), which led to a ton of Arron Afflalo post-ups. Afflalo was not good, making 6-of-21 from the field for 17 points with five rebounds, two assists and one 3-pointer. For my money, his upside isn’t high enough to keep over hot adds like Goodwin and Len.
Lance Thomas got the start for Melo with 16 points, four rebounds, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer in 41 minutes. Derrick Williams also turned in a nice game with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and two 3-pointers. It doesn’t sound like Melo will be out long, so neither guys are great adds. Kristaps Porzingis turned in a nice game with 15 points, five boards, two assists, one steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers. He’s a unicorn.
The interesting thing here was Langston Galloway scoring 21 points with five rebounds, three assists, three steals and four 3-pointers. Jose Calderon was destroyed on defense in 21 minutes, so it was Galloway on Westy late in the game. Galloway still has a long way to go to usurp the starting job from Calderon, so just keep an eye on it. Calderon is still the better guard to own.
Battle Raptors (Wizards 89 at Raptors 106)
The Wizards are pretty bad. They’re 20-23 and they got smoked yet again. Really the only interesting thing happening here was Otto Porter looking good with 15 points, eight rebounds, one assist, four steals and one 3-pointer. Otto should be very good going forward. Gary Neal was OK with 14 points in 22 minutes, but hopefully Bradley Beal (nose, concussion) won’t be out for long.
Kyle Lowry gave us a scare down the stretch as he went to the locker room with a wrist injury. X-rays were negative and he only has a sprain, so he could be ready for Thursday against the Knicks. Lowry put up 29 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and five 3-pointers.
Terrence Ross is starting to impress again, scoring 15 points with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and three 3-pointers. He’s up to fifth-round value in his last six games, so he should be owned right now. Jonas Valanciunas has also been really good with 13 points, 12 boards and one block. Expect JV to have a big finish.
Magic disappearing act (Magic 100 at Bucks 107)
Yeah, so about that impressive December. The Magic have gone 1-11 in this last 12 games and it’s not like they had a really tough schedule either.
Scott Skiles was in full effect with Elfrid Payton being benched late in favor of Shabazz Napier. This probably is going to happen on occasion, but Payton’s owners shouldn’t freak out or anything. Tobias Harris was also benched late, playing just 24 minutes for 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and two 3-pointers. He’ll be fine.
Aaron Gordon took some of Tobias’ minutes, scoring nine points with nine rebounds, three assists, one steal and one 3-pointer in 37 minutes. The more the Magic keep losing games, the better it is for Gordon. He should be owned in all standard leagues. Mario Hezonja played a decent game with 11 points in 17 minutes, but he’s a huge project right now.
Jason Kidd was back on the bench and thankfully he didn’t mess with Khris Middleton’s mojo. Khash scored 25 points with five rebounds, seven assists, one steal and two 3-pointers in 36 minutes. He’s having a breakout year.
Kidd actually ran the rotation fairly tight with only seven guys getting more than 10 minutes. Jerryd Bayless hit a dagger trey, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and two other treys. He’s still going to be too inconsistent off the bench. Giannis Antetokounmpo was awesome with 25 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
Trillmatic (Kings 97 at Blazers 112)
Willie Cauley-Stein was the story for the Kings again on Tuesday, scoring 12 points with seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and four blocks. Rudy Gay (eye) did not play, so that helped out Trill slightly with shots. However, he’s had consistent minutes for four games, so he should be owned for his blocks, high field goal percentage and boards. He also had four stitches above his right eye, but he’s fine.
Omri Casspi is basically the loser of the Trill freedom and he scored 10 points with eight rebounds and two 3-pointers. He’s still worth owning despite how he hasn’t been the same since his back injury.
DeMarcus Cousins was on the other end of the spectrum in the loss, making 4-of-21 from the field for 17 points with five rebounds, four assists and two turnovers. He is worse on the road, did play 46 minutes last night, and he’s been bad on back-to-back sets. One other thing worth mentioning is Boogie had a couple minor injuries. He collided with Rajon Rondo and he was also dealing with some right arm issue. He should be fine, but all these close calls on injuries are scary.
Not much of note on the Blazers’ side. They had seven guys in double-digit scoring with C.J. McCollum leading the way with 18. Damian Lillard added 15 points with 13 dimes. Meyers Leonard had a solid game with nine points, seven boards, three assists, one steal and three 3-pointers. I’d rather have guys like Goodwin and Len over The Legend.
Dirk’d (Mavs 92 at Lakers 90)
Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-winning fadeaway, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, one assist and no turnovers. He was 2-of-10 from the field before the clutch minutes, but he finished 3-of-4 when the Mavs needed him. Nowitzki’s knee issue is concerning, so we’ve probably seen the best from him this year. He should still be a mid-round guy.
The Mavs did not have Zaza Pachulia (Achilles) and Devin Harris (toe), so that opened up time for Salah Mejri (nine points, four boards, one assist and one turnover in 23 minutes) and J.J. Barea (18 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal). The Mavs went small a lot and continued to use Chandler Parsons at the four. Parsons continues to step it up and posted 17 points, nine boards, four assists and two treys. That buy-low window is closed. Barea and Mejri aren’t great adds.
We might have seen our last game of Dirk vs. Kobe Bryant (shoulder). The Mamba did not play due to a sore shoulder, which put Anthony Brown (three points in 21 minutes) in the starting lineup and Nick Young (eight points, six boards and two treys in 26 minutes) in the rotation. Hopefully, Kobe’s shoulder feels better. Nobody else on the Lakers did anything noteworthy here.
Tuesday’s news and notes
Raul Neto (concussion) is not going to play on Wednesday due to a concussion. Trey Burke will likely move into the starting lineup with Erick Green getting in the rotation. Burke is risky play while Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward should also benefit. Side note: It’s pretty wild we saw three concussions on Monday.
The Hornets and their bad right toes are questionable against the Jazz. Nicolas Batum (toe) and Jeremy Lamb (toe) are both likely going to be game-time calls. If they can’t go, Troy Daniels can get a chance to build off his 28-point game on Monday.
Mike Dunleavy (back) is getting closer. Tony Snell is basically just the placeholder for him, so he will likely move out of the rotation upon Dun-Dun’s season debut. Derrick Rose (hamstring, back) is also up in the air for Thursday, so there might be a lot of Aaron Brooks.
Doctor A and I also did a podcast.
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