The Daily Dose: Dose: Devin Booker Goes Off
Goran Dragic and Rajon Rondo got some revenge against their former teams, Kawhi Leonard dominated the Pelicans and Stephen Curry returned from an ankle injury to lead the Warriors past the Thunder. Meanwhile, Alex Len and Devin Booker continued to show why they’re must-own players, while Chandler Parsons and Kevin Durant both posted monster lines despite their teams falling short. If you guys have questions or need advice, click here to follow me on Twitter!
Heat 108, Suns 92
Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic were unstoppable, combining for 52 points to help the Heat earn their third straight win. Dragic is ballin’ right now with averages of 17.8 points and 6.6 assists, and his touches on offense are safe with Chris Bosh’s (blood clots) season in jeopardy. Luol Deng was somewhat quiet with 12 points, four assists, four boards and two treys, but he’s thriving as Miami’s stretch four and is a must-own guy right now. Hassan Whiteside’s streak of six straight double-doubles came to an end, but he still had nine points, 11 boards and five blocks. Foul trouble was an issue tonight, but he’s going to be a beast if he stays healthy, especially now that he’s hitting his free throws. In fact, Whiteside is shooting 81.8 percent from the line since the All-Star break.
Joe Johnson didn’t do much with just eight points in 31 minutes, and even though he scored 24 points last game, I don’t trust him at all. After all, this isn’t 2010 anymore. Justise Winslow saw solid minutes once again, but he didn’t do much with just nine points, seven boards and not much else. The rookie isn’t ready for standard-league consideration yet. Josh Richardson dislocated his left middle finger and x-rays were negative, but he did return and should be fine moving forward.
As for the Suns, they’re still the biggest mess in fantasy and there are only a couple of players worth owning in all leagues right now, and that’s Alex Len and Devin Booker. Brandon Knight (groin) is supposed to come back next week, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Booker has been cold since the All-Star break with averages of 10.8 points, 2.3 assists, 2.2 boards and 1.3 triples on just 28.4 percent shooting from the field, but he finally got loose for 34 points, four assists and three treys in the loss. I have been getting a lot of questions on whether or not it’s time to move on from the rookie, but this performance should answer all of those. He’s a must-own player. As for Len, he had yet another solid game with 12 points, 13 boards and one block in a career-high 40 minutes, and the Suns are going to run their offense through him on a nightly basis.
Tyson Chandler had another pathetic game with six points and three boards, and it’s safe to say that he has one of the worst contracts in the NBA. Mirza Teletovic stayed relevant with 11 points, five boards and two triples, and he’s still worth owning for the time being. It helps that the Suns have very little talent in their frontcourt besides Len. Archie Goodwin’s move to shooting guard has buried him in fantasy, and I’m ready to move on from him in most leagues after he scored 10 points with three assists in 24 minutes. This is random, but I really wish T.J. Warren never got hurt, as he could’ve made some noise down the stretch.
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Spurs 94, Pelicans 86
This was the second night of a back-to-back set for the Spurs, but coach Gregg Popovich surprisingly decided not to rest any of his players. Kawhi Leonard led the way with a dominant 30-point, 11-rebound double-double, adding three assists, two steals, two blocks and six 3-pointers. Needless to say, Leonard is a top-3 player for the final stretch of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge was awesome with 26 points and eight boards, and he has now scored 23 or more points in each of his last three games. His days of being an elite fantasy asset ended when he left Portland last summer, though.
Danny Green was decent with 11 points and four assists, but he was held without a single point in two of his previous three games. He’s as streaky as they come and I don’t think that will change. Tim Duncan didn’t do much with seven points and five boards, but at least he had two blocks. Expect Papa Duncan to get some rest soon.
Anthony Davis had to go to the locker room for the 412th time this season, but all he had was a busted lip and was able to return. The Pelicans have lost three straight games and are 6.5 games away from the eighth seed, so the shut-down risk will grow if they keep losing. Regardless, Davis had 17 points with 13 rebounds, one assist, two steals and two blocks, so he is still playing well. Ryan Anderson had eight points and four boards, but he only played 13 minutes and there is no report of an injury. Hold onto him and expect a bounce-back performance vs. the Jazz on Saturday.
Alexis Ajinca was diagnosed with a broken sternum on Thursday and has no timetable for a return, so Kendrick Perkins was forced to play 27 minutes and had two points and four boards. How is he still in the NBA? Anyways, Eric Gordon scored 23 points with three treys and four assists, and he looks like he could be a nice player to own the rest of the way. It also helps that he’s playing for a new contract. Norris Cole was quiet with 11 points and five assists, while Jrue Holiday finished with 13 points and seven assists in 28 minutes. He’s healthy and doesn’t have any restrictions, so I have no idea why he’s not playing more.
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Kings 104, Mavs 101
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 22 points, 13 boards, five assists, two blocks and one steal, helping his team snap a brutal four-game losing streak. The Kings’ next three games are against the Spurs, Pelicans and Cavaliers, so Boogie will have to post some monster lines to give his team a chance. He’s my second favorite nightly play in DFS behind Russell Westbrook. Rajon Rondo was booed all night in his return to Dallas, but he didn’t let that bother him and he finished with 18 points, 12 assists, five boards and three steals. He is banged up right now with ankle, thumb and toe issues, but he will keep playing if the Kings can stay competitive in the West.
Rudy Gay (shoulder) returned from a two-game absence and was really quiet, scoring nine points with seven boards in 36 minutes. He wasn’t 100 percent and the Kings probably didn’t use him much on offense on purpose, so his owners should give him a pass. Darren Collison chipped in with 14 points and two assists, and I still think he needs to be owned considering Rondo isn’t completely healthy. Omri Casspi added nine points, four boards and one trey and Marco Belinelli added 16 points and three triples off the bench.
Chandler Parsons was awesome for the Mavs with 28 points, nine boards, five assists and three triples, and he’s probably my favorite Maverick to own down the stretch, even over Dirk Nowitzki. Parsons is expected to opt out of his contract this summer and will reportedly be pursued by the Mavs, Magic, Lakers, Nets, Heat, Knicks, Blazers, Rockets, Nuggets and Thunder, so he could have a max deal coming his way. Nowitzki had 16 points, six boards and five assists, but his workload may begin to decline now that Dallas has some decent depth with David Lee in town. Speaking of Lee, he double-doubled with 12 points and 11 boards, but he still played low minutes (18) and is more of a handcuff for Dirk’s owners.
Deron Williams scored 15 with five dimes, while Wesley Matthews was held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting. This was a brutal night for Matthews, but he was averaging 15.7 points and 2.8 3-pointers in his last six games and his owners just need to stick with him.
Warriors 121, Thunder 106
Stephen Curry (ankle) returned from a one-game absence and didn’t miss a beat, scoring 33 points with four assists and five 3-pointers in 37 minutes. His ankle looked great and he was crossing up guys all game long, so he’s going to be fine. With the Warriors going for the all-time record for wins in a season, Curry should remain the top player in fantasy the rest of the way. No one in the NBA can guard him right now…
Klay Thompson looked great with 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Harrison Barnes finally had a strong game with 14 points, seven boards, five assists, one steal and two treys. Barnes tends to disappear and it’s not easy to get touches with Curry and Thompson around, but it makes sense to pick him up if he was dropped in your league. If he stays aggressive, Barnes has mid-round upside.
Andre Iguodala (hamstring) also returned to action tonight, but he played just 14 minutes and the Warriors were probably just being cautious. He may have a couple more maintenance days coming his way, so he’s a low-end asset going forward. Andrew Bogut had 19 points and seven boards in his previous outing, but he cooled off tonight with seven points and six boards. Shaun Livingston came out of nowhere with 11 points and eight dimes, but he can be treated as Curry insurance in deeper leagues.
Kevin Durant finished one assist shy of a triple-double, scoring 32 points with 10 boards, nine assists, one steal and two blocks. The Thunder have lost six out of their last eight games, so that’s only going to fuel the rumors about KD possibly bolting OKC this summer. Russell Westbrook was cold from the field, shooting just 8-of-24 and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. He still added seven assists, six boards and one block, so there’s no reason to worry about Westy. He’s a top-5 player going forward. Serge Ibaka had a productive evening with 20 points, six boards and one block, but let’s see if he can finally string together several good games in a row.
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