The Daily Dose: Dose: Thorny Rose with a DNP
Kawhi Leonard is back, Stephen Curry is still the man and Derrick Rose was a last-minute DNP for the Bulls, who still managed to win. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Cavs 114, Hornets 103 – LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both scored 23 and had nice stat lines, and J.R. Smith got hot for 16 points, a couple 3-pointers and three steals for the Cavs. Tristan Thompson had six points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Love disappeared with just eight points, two rebounds and zero 3-pointers on 4-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes. He’s not hurt, but this was disappointing, at best. Channing Frye played just 18 minutes off the bench, but came through with 15 points, six rebounds and four 3-pointers, which is why the Cavs went after him. I still don’t like Frye for fantasy use, but a few more games like this could change my mind.
The Hornets got 20 points, six assists and three 3-pointers from Kemba Walker, but starters Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, Nicolas Batum and Courtney Lee all failed to score more than nine points. Williams and Batum still put up solid numbers and are both worth using in most fantasy leagues. Frank Kaminsky had 16 points, four rebounds and three 3-pointers in 23 minutes off the bench, Al Jefferson had 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes off the pine, and Jeremy Lin had 10 points and four assists in 25 minutes as a reserve. This is pretty ugly all the way around, as Williams, Cody Zeller, Kaminsky and Jefferson will all hurt each other, and Lee and Lin will also be in a timeshare at shooting guard. The only trustworthy players here in the short term are Walker and Batum, as far as I’m concerned. The Hornets had their five-game winning streak stopped by the East’s best team last night.
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Pacers 108, Knicks 105 – The Pacers overcame a slow start from Paul George and won by three, as PG-13 finished with 27 points, seven boards and six dimes. He hit just 10-of-23 shots and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, or his line would have been better. Myles Turner went off for 24 points and six boards, and George Hill wrapped up the double-digit scoring with 10 points and two steals. Monta Ellis continues to struggle and Ian Mahinmi had just eight points and seven boards, but the Pacers still won. You don’t want to mess with any of the Pacers’ bench players, and only George and Turner, and maybe Ellis, are must-starts right now. Ellis has scored just seven or eight points in his last two, but should heat up again soon.
The Knicks got 22 points, two 3-pointers, two steals and a block from Kristaps Porzingis and Jose Calderon had 20 points, four boards, four assists and four 3-pointers on 6-of-10 shooting in another start. I have no idea how Calderon did it, but he looked like a player last night. And no, I don’t expect him to do this again anytime soon, and prefer to own Langston Galloway. Carmelo Anthony scored 14 points, but hit just 5-of-20 shots as the Knicks took another playoff hit tonight. He has ‘shutdown’ written all over his face. Starters Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo were virtually invisible last night, while Kyle O’Quinn went off for 19 points and six rebounds. Ignore him as long as Ro-Lo is healthy. Galloway came through with 17 points, six boards, four assists and three 3-pointers in 29 minutes, and is still the guard you want to own in New York.
Pistons 111, Sixers 91 – The Pistons killed the Sixers and all five starters hit double figures in scoring. Andre Drummond had 18 rebounds to go along with his 12 points and a block, and Reggie Jackson had three rebounds and five assists to go with his 17 points. Tobias Harris was the starter of the night for the Pistons, hitting 9-of-12 shots for 22 points, eight boards and a 3-pointer. He’s locked and loaded in Detroit, especially with Stanley Johnson hurt, so get him into your lineup. Marcus Morris had 13 points, a career-high eight assists, three steals and two 3-pointers. Reggie Bullock came off the bench for 16 points and three 3-pointers in 26 minutes, but played just two minutes over his previous four games. Forget about him for now.
The Sixers were simply a mess. Jahlil Okafor had 13 points and just two rebounds, and was the only starter to score in double figures. Off the bench, Hollis Thompson had 19 points and three 3-pointers, Kendall Marshall had 12 points, four assists and a 3-pointer, and Carl Landry scored 10 points in just 10 minutes. Jerami Grant played 24 minutes, but had just nine points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench. Starters Robert Covington (8 points, 2-of-9 shooting), Ish Smith (4 points, 4 assists, 2-of-9 shooting), and Nik Stauskas (1-of-7, 3 points) were all bad last night. I’m not sure what else to say here, other than that Nerlens Noel (1-of-6, 3 points), Covington, Okafor and Smith should be better than this on most nights.
Warriors 118, Heat 112 – The Warriors didn’t make things easy on themselves in this one, but pulled off the come-from-behind win on a Stephen Curry 3-pointer over Hassan Whiteside, the league’s leading shot blocker, with 38 seconds left. Curry finished with 42 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, six 3-pointers and seven turnovers, Klay Thompson had 33 points, four threes and four steals, and Draymond Green added 10 points and 11 rebounds (just three assists). The only other thing worth noting for the Dubs was that Anderson Varejao made his debut and scored one point in 10 minutes. A great grab for the Warriors, but he’s unlikely to become a fantasy factor any time soon. Oh, and Curry tied Kyle Korver’s record of a 3-pointer in 127 consecutive games. Barring a miracle, expect to see him break it on Thursday.
Dwyane Wade had 32 points and seven assists, Luol Deng came through with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Justise Winslow stayed hot with eight points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, as did Hassan Whiteside with 21 points, 13 boards, a steal and two blocks. This ‘bringing him off the bench’ nonsense should be coming to an end soon for Whiteside, who started the second half. Goran Dragic came in red-hot but was due for a letdown and had just 13 points and seven dimes on 5-of-17 shooting. Amare Stoudemire “started” but played just six minutes in the loss. He’s healthy, but running with the Warriors is not something Amare can do these days. With Winslow and Whiteside rolling, Stoudemire is useless in fantasy. Gerald Green didn’t take a single shot in 25 minutes, which I don’t understand, and Josh McRoberts played 14 minutes and scored seven points. Josh Richardson, who didn’t score a point in nine minutes on Monday, played 29 minutes and had 15 points and three 3-pointers on 5-of-6 shooting. Forget about him and Green for now.
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