The Daily Dose: Dose: More Klay, mmmKay?
Klay Thompson had the line of the night, Kevin Love, Avery Bradley and Jerami Grant played well, and we actually had a Danny Green sighting on Wednesday. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!
Cavaliers 115, Suns 93 – Kevin Love and LeBron James (sat out fourth quarter) both scored 21 points in the easy win, as Love also pumped up 11 boards, two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers. The Raptors are staying in touch with the Cavs in the race in the East, which might work in the favor of Cavs’ owners, if they have to keep playing well to finish with home court through the East. Tristan Thompson started over Timofey Mozgov, but neither player is a favorable fantasy play right now. Kyrie Irving still has yet to dazzle us and had just eight points and three assists on 4-of-11 shooting. I’d like to think the Cavs would like to get him rolling before the playoffs, but it hasn’t happened yet. J.R. Smith scored 18 with four treys and has now hit double figures in four straight games with 14 3-pointers. As long as he’s hot, he’s worth playing. And yes, new coach Ty Lue will coach the Eastern All Stars.
The Suns are a mess, struggling with staying competitive while playing the young guys. Devin Booker led the way with 16 points, five assists and a 3-pointer, and looks like a strong play in all formats, and Archie Goodwin 12 points, five assists, two steals and a 3-pointer, hitting just 3-of-10 shots. Goodwin was on fire coming in and Brandon Knight is a shutdown candidate, meaning both Booker and Goodwin look like strong adds in any format. P.J. Tucker had 13 points, seven rebounds, one steals and three 3-pointers in 35 minutes, and T.J. Warren added 11 points in 26 minutes. We’ve been kind of hard on Tucker, but he keeps getting minutes and keeps playing well. Think about adding him if you’re holding a dud. Tyson Chandler played 34 minutes but had just six points, seven rebounds and a block, and Alex Len hit just 2-of-9 shots for four points, four boards and zero blocks in 27 minutes. Both Chandler and Len were hot coming in, so don’t be too discouraged after tonight’s bad game against the Cavs. They both played solid minutes and should continue to do so. Markieff Morris had 13 points, five boards, three assists, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer, but is helped by the fact Mirza Teletovic and Jon Leuer (could play Friday) have been sidelined lately. But the Suns are shopping Morris and showcasing him, so now is a good time to roll him out there if you’re in a deeper league with a bare wire.
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Celtics 111, Nuggets 103 – Avery Bradley is getting back to form after injury and tied his season high with 27 points and five 3-pointers, hitting 11-of-20 shots. Isaiah Thomas took a backseat to Bradley tonight, hitting just 5-of-13 shots and a 3-pointer for 16 points and five dimes. He’s fine. Jared Sullinger played just 18 minutes and hit 2-of-8 shots for six points, but also had 11 boards, a steal and a block. He’s still being outshined by Kelly Olynyk, who had 17 points, seven boards and two 3-pointers in just 17 minutes off the bench. Both players are worth holding until we see how this is going to shake down. Amir Johnson threw a wrench in things last night with nine points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in 30 minutes. Johnson was pretty awful in his previous five games, so I’m not getting too excited by this explosion. Jae Crowder was decent with 13 points and a very full stat line, but hit just 4-of-13 shots, while Evan Turner played 30 minutes and hit 7-of-11 shots for 14 points, six assists and two steals. He’s still worth a fringe look in 12-team leagues. Marcus Smart cooled off with just four points after missing all five of his shots, but came in hot and played 28 minutes. Hang in there with him. The Celtics have won four straight games.
Danilo Gallinari had 23 points, seven boards and a 3-pointer, and Kenneth Faried came through with 15 points, 15 rebounds, a steal and a block in 28 minutes. Nikola Jokic disappointed with just three points, seven boards, a steal and a block on 1-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes, leaving with a tibia (knee) injury. Jusuf Nurkic had two points, five boards and a block in 12 bench minutes, but could be forced into more action if Jokic is going to miss time. Jokic was cooking, so owners have to hope that the injury isn’t serious. Gary Harris had 15 points, seven boards, two steals and a 3-pointer, as he continues to garner attention as a fantasy shooting guard, and Emmanuel Mudiay had 13 points and four assists in 26 minutes. He’s the only point guard available in Denver right now, which should mean decent things for him going forward. Will Barton had 23 points, five boards, four assists, a block and three 3-pointers on 8-of-12 shooting, and he’s still hanging in there after a slump.
Pistons 110, Sixers 97 – Reggie Jackson had 27 points and four 3-pointers, but just three assists, and Andre Drummond came through with 25 points, 18 rebounds, two steals and a block on 9-of-16 shooting in the Pistons’ win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 points and didn’t hit a 3-pointer, and Ersan Ilyasova and Marcus Morris were both disappointing. They combined for just 13 points, but also had 15 rebounds between them. Both players should bounce back in the next one. With Ilyasova hitting just 1-of-6 shots, Stanley Johnson got 32 minutes and hit 8-of-16 shots and a 3-pointer for 18 points, three boards, three assists and a steal. He’ll need an injury to really break loose, but the potential is certainly there.
Jerami Grant, who wasn’t feeling all that well, made another start for Jahlil Okafor and hit 8-of-13 shots and a 3-pointer for 21 points, eight boards, two assists, three steals and a block. Unfortunately, Okafor is expected back for the next one, so I hope you played Grant last night. Nerlens Noel came through with 20 points, seven boards, a steal and a block on 9-of-11 shooting, and Ish Smith hit just 6-of-18 shots for 13 points, six assists and a 3-pointer. Robert Covington cooled off by hitting just 2-of-6 shots for eight points and eight rebounds, but still led the team with 36 minutes. He’ll bounce back.
Thunder 126, Wolves 123 – Serge Ibaka backed up one of his best games of the season with a dud, finishing with just six points, four boards and zero blocks on 2-of-7 shooting. Maybe he was tired. Kevin Durant had 27-9-5 and Russell Westbrook added 24-8-15 in the win. Dion Waiters started at SG again and hit 6-of-14 shots and four 3-pointers for 16 points, and looks like an interesting pickup with the injury to Andre Roberson. Steven Adams was quiet and in some early foul trouble, which freed Enes Kanter up to get loose for 23 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. He scored a total of 10 points in his previous two games, so this looks fluky, at best.
The Wolves started Gorgui Dieng alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Dieng hit 10-of-13 shots for 21 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block. If Dieng finally moves into the starting lineup over Kevin Garnett (knee) for good, look out, but we don’t know if that’s going to happen. If you want to add him, do it and see what happens. KAT went off for 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, and Andrew Wiggins scored an empty 20 points in the loss. Ricky Rubio wasn’t happening, hitting just 1-of-6 shots for four points and 10 assists, which allowed Zach LaVine to bust out for a season-high 35 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. He scored 21 on Monday, and Sam Mitchell might finally be ready to turn him loose. However, I’m not convinced that’s the case, so don’t cut a sure bet to take a flier on LaVine just yet. LaVine had scored a total of 13 points in his previous three games before the mini-breakout, but set a Wolves record for the most points in team history for a reserve. He hit 14-of-17 shots and was, as they say, feelin’ it. Kevin Martin sat out with a sore wrist, so it’s possible LaVine is about to go on a run.
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