The Daily Dose: Dose: Westbrook's World
There were 11 NBA games on a busy Wednesday and a ton of monster performances, as Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry are the talk of the league this morning, but they are not alone. And on the darker side of things, Jimmy Butler was a late scratch, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suffered a nasty groin injury, DeMarcus Cousins returned and got banged up again, and the Wolves wrapped up the night with an unlikely win over the Clippers. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here, and off we go.
Hawks 124, Sixers 86 – The Hawks leading scorers, get this, were Mike Scott and Tim Hardaway Jr., who each scored 13 off the bench. Given the blowout and final score, it’s not hard to see why. This one was over early and there wasn’t anything to learn from it, especially on the Hawks side.
Actually, there wasn’t anything to learn on the Sixers’ side, either. The Hawks were up 27-17 after the first quarter and never looked back, and the benches were cleared for much of the second half. Nik Stauskas led the way with 17 points and two 3-pointers, and Isaiah Canaan scored 11 off the bench. Stauskas has played well in two straight, so give him a look if you need threes. Let’s move on.
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Hornets 106, Cavaliers 97 – Jeremy Lin started in place of Kemba Walker (sore knee) and had 24 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Lin is probably worth owning even when he’s not starting, but Walker’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 11 points and 13 rebounds despite hitting just 5-of-14 shots, and looks like a hot pickup after three solid games. Cody Zeller (shoulder) and Nicolas Batum (toe) were back in the starting lineup, and Jeremy Lamb returned to action from a toe injury. Zeller wasn’t great, but now that he’s starting again he should be ready to roll. And yes, Marvin Williams is still relevant, and had 16 points, four boards and three 3-pointers. Frank Kaminsky also played well off the bench with 15 points and six boards on 7-of-8 shooting, but isn’t a great option with Marvin playing well and Zeller starting.
For the Cavs, Matthew Dellavedova was out with a hamstring injury, allowing Mo Williams to get back into the rotation, but it didn’t matter, as Kyrie Irving led the way with 26 points and five dimes. The Cavs had their five-game winning streak broken and were outrebounded 49-28. LeBron James played well and Kevin Love double-doubled despite hitting just 4-of-12 shots. J.R. Smith scored 14 with four 3-pointers, Tristan Thompson struggled, and the Cavs’ bench didn’t do anything.
Celtics 102, Pistons 95 – Avery Bradley bounced back with a good game, Jared Sullinger put up a nice line, but played just 18 minutes, and Kelly Olynyk fell off with six points and seven rebounds on just 3-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes. I still like Olynyk over Sully here, but this position battle has to be watched closely. Tyler Zeller, who had a big game on Tuesday, played just 14 minutes, so forget about him for now. Marcus Smart had 12 points, four boards, a steal and four 3-pointers in 28 minutes, but is still going to be up and down while playing behind Isaiah Thomas and Bradley. But if one of them goes down, Smart could quickly become a beast.
The Pistons lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a groin injury and it didn’t look good. That should mean more minutes for Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova, and all three of them saw solid minutes last night and had decent production. Ilyasova’s not dead yet (16 points), Morris scored 15 with seven boards and two 3-pointers, and Johnson had 11 points, nine boards and three 3-pointers in 30 minutes. If Johnson’s available in your league, pick him up. Brandon Jennings might also see a boost if KCP’s out long, but had just five points in 20 minutes. And on a side note, just because, Andre Drummond hit 4-of-6 free throws after going 4-of-20 in his previous three games, and also pitched in with 16 points, 13 boards and two blocks.
Pacers 114, Nets 100 – C.J. Miles caught fire to lead the Pacers with 27 points and four 3-pointers off the bench, but had scored just 3, 2, 9 and 5 points in his previous four games. Obviously, last night’s explosion looks fluky. Myles Turner, Paul George and George Hill were solid, if not spectacular, and Monta Ellis scored just 11 points (with six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a 3-pointer). Ellis was cooking last weekend, but has struggled to score in his last two games. Jordan Hill started at center with Ian Mahinmi out again (back), but Mahinmi is expected back on Friday. Lavoy Allen had 12 points and eight boards, but isn’t worth a look with Mahinmi on his way back.
The Nets saw all five starters score in double figures. Thaddeus Young had his best game in recent memory with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Joe Johnson bounced back with 20 points, nine dimes and four 3-pointers after scoring just three points on Monday. Donald Sloan started again and had 11 points and seven boards on 4-of-12 shooting, while Shane Larkin cooled off with three points and two assists in just 16 minutes. Larkin was making noise, but it was Sloan’s turn tonight. This timeshare is going to be rough to own on both sides. Wayne Ellington had 16 points and two 3-pointers in another start, and has scored in double figures in four straight. If you’re just after some points and threes, he’s worth a look.
Warriors 134, Wizards 121 – Stephen Curry, who may or may not have been in a slump, went crazy, hitting 19-of-28 shots and 11-of-16 3-pointers for 51 points, seven rebounds and three steals. He became the first NBA player to hit 11 3-pointers in two different games and also had seven turnovers, but who cares? Klay Thompson had 24 points and six 3-pointers, which was completely lost in the Curry frenzy, and Draymond Green triple-doubled with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, a steal and five blocks, and only took five shots in his 10th triple-double of the season. The Warriors are just a walking ‘wow’ machine right now.
John Wall tried to hang with Curry and racked up 41 points, 10 assists and three 3-pointers, and Bradley Beal chipped in with 18 points, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer off the bench. It’s time to get him back in the starting lineup for the Wizards, coach. Ramon Sessions and Nene scored 12 apiece, but they were the only other Wizards to score in double figures.
Thunder 117, Magic 114 – Kevin Durant hit the game-winning 3-pointer with just 0.5 seconds left and wrapped up a monster night with 37 points, five boards, five assists, two steals, three blocks and six 3-pointers. But that was nothing compared to teammate Russell Westbrook, who posted his third straight triple-double with 24 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, 14 assists and just two turnovers. There’s not much more to say about these two, other than Westbrook is shooting 53 percent from the floor over his last five games. Despite all of that, Serge Ibaka was still able to add nine points, seven rebounds and six blocks, while Dion Waiters played 34 minutes, but scored just eight points.
Aaron Gordon hit just 1-of-10 shots for two points and six rebounds in 26 minutes, and never got it going. He’ll bounce back. On the other hand, Victor Oladipo dropped a season-high 37 points, seven rebounds, four dimes, a steal, a block and three 3-pointers in 41 minutes. I’m so glad he’s back in the starting lineup where he belongs. Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic played pretty well, Elfrid Payton struggled with his shot but still had six points, five rebounds and six assists, and Mario Hezonja had 16 points and four 3-pointers off the bench. He’s eating into Evan Fournier’s minutes, making both of them tough to own or start right now.
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