The Daily Dose: Dose: Down goes Marc Gasol
LeBron James triple-doubled for the first time this season, Marc Gasol went down with a knee injury, Markieff Morris and Archie Goodwin played well for the Suns, and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook went crazy again for the Thunder on Monday night. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!
Magic 117, Hawks 110 OT – Elfrid Payton torched the Hawks again after Saturday night’s thrashing with 20 points, seven assists and a full stat line, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon (must-own) double-doubled, Evan Fournier started and scored 16 points with three 3-pointers, and Victor Oladipo stumbled with nine points and eight assists on 3-of-12 shooting in the win. The Magic backed up Saturday’s 96-94 win with a 117-110 win in OT last night and the starters all played pretty well again. At this point, Gordon looks like a must-own player, while Fournier is heating up. However, Tobias Harris was out with an ankle injury, allowing Fournier to play well as a starter, and Mario Hezonja to come off the bench with 14 points, nine boards and two 3-pointers in 32 minutes. Hezonja is running hot-and-cold, scoring 14, 0, 9, 16 and 4 points over his last five games. Just keep an eye on him, while Fournier is hot again, scoring 16, 21 and 16 points with 8 3-pointers over his last three games. Fournier looks like a decent pick up right now. Jason Smith had 14 points and four blocks off the bench, but I’m just not feeling him, especially once Harris is back.
Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver all came through for the Hawks and Korver says he’s finally healthy. He had 16 points, two steals and four 3-pointers, and might be ready for a run. Kent Bazemore disappeared on Monday, but had 23 points and eight rebounds on Saturday against the same team, so he was disappointing. The Hawks’ bench did nothing, including Dennis Schroder, and I’m still not a fan of holding him, because I doubt the Hawks are trading Teague.
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Hornets 108, Bulls 91 – Marvin Williams finally cooled off with nine points and five boards, but he also had a steal, two blocks and three 3-pointers. He should be fine. Cody Zeller was also quiet in a start, finishing with five points, eight boards, two blocks and a 3-pointer. Both guys have been hot pickups and should be better in the next one. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hit 7-of-14 shots for 20 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a rare 3-pointer. At least one of the hot pickups in Charlotte (MKG) came through. Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum both went off, as Walker scored 30 and Batum missed a triple-double by just two assists. Spencer Hawes had 13 points, eight rebounds, a block and a 3-pointer, but the eventual return of Al Jefferson is probably going to stop that from happening many more times. If you’re still holding Jeremy Lin, it’s probably time to move on (1-of-7, 18 minutes).
E’Twaun Moore started again for Jimmy Butler (knee) and had 12 points, three boards, two assists, two steals, a block and two 3-pointers in 32 minutes. As long as Butler is out, Moore’s a must-start player. Taj Gibson had 11 points and seven boards in 22 minutes, but I still like him, and Bobby Portis had six points, six rebounds, a block and a 3-pointer. Unfortunately, it looks like that’s as good as it gets for Portis right now. Kirk Hinrich started at point guard for Derrick Rose (knee), but hit just 1-of-8 shots for three points and five assists. Aaron Brooks played 20 minutes and took 12 shots, but hit just 2-of-12 shots. It sounds like this was a maintenance day for Rose, so Hinrich and Brooks should fade. Mike Dunleavy started for the Bulls and had eight points in 16 minutes, but that shouldn’t last once Butler and Rose are healthy again.
Cavaliers 120, Kings 100 – Kyrie Irving had 32 & 12, LeBron James had his first triple-double of the season, and J.R. Smith got hot with 22 points and six 3-pointers in an easy win. Kevin Love hit just 2-of-10 shots for 11 points, Tristan Thompson had just two points in a start and Richard Jefferson led the Cleveland bench with 10 points. Smith is the news here, but is probably already owned in your league.
The Kings were bad in fantasyland, led by Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi, who each scored just 16 points. DeMarcus Cousins was quiet with 14 points and eight rebounds, Willie Cauley-Stein hit 6-of-9 shots for 13 points and four rebounds, and Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double with seven points, eight boards and 16 assists. Marco Belinelli started again, but hit just 3-of-8 shots and a 3-pointer for eight points, and Darren Collison had 11 points and four assists off the bench. WCS is the news here and it’s time to pick him up, while Belinelli’s stock may be a bit overrated right now. This was one of Cousins’ quietest nights of the season and it’s possible the talk of firing George Karl is wearing on Boogie, but he should bounce back in the next one.
Pacers 89, Lakers 87 – The Pacers held on for the two-point win behind 21 points, nine boards and a fat line from Paul George, and a 14 & 13 double-double from Myles Turner. Turner’s been a fun waiver-wire pickup. Ian Mahinmi had 11 points, five boards and a block, so it’s time to give him a look if you’re a Roy Hibbert owner, and Monta Ellis disappointing with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. Ellis went on a tear at the end of January, but has cooled considerably, averaging just 10.4 points on 37 percent shooting in five February games. He should get hot again soon.
The Lakers got 15 points and 19 boards from Julius Randle, who has been a must-own player for a month now, while Kobe Bryant hit just 6-of-25 shots and 4-of-14 3-pointers for 19 points and five rebounds. Kobe came in hot, and as long as you don’t care about field goal percentage, is a guy you’ll want to roll with on his farewell tour. Starters Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams hit just 7-of-23 shots, while D’Angelo Russell played through a groin injury and had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals, a block and a 3-pointer. Make sure he’s not sitting on your waiver wire. Roy Hibbert was out with an ankle injury and Robert Sacre started in his place. You probably couldn’t tell a difference, as Sacre failed to score in his 15 minutes.
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