The Daily Dose: Dose: Pau messes around!
The Warriors are still setting records, Pau Gasol messed around and got a you-know-what, and centers DeMarcus Cousins and Karl-Anthony Towns all went crazy on Monday night. You can follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Warriors 120, Magic 110 – The Warriors set another record last night, logging their 45th straight win at home. No team has ever accomplished the feat in the history of the NBA and while it wasn’t easy, they got it done. It took a Klay Thompson 3-pointer from the corner on a broken play to secure the win after the Dubs blew a double-digit lead they held for most of the game. Nobody puts Klay in the corner (wink). They committed an uncharacteristic 24 turnovers, but the number could have been even higher. Yes, GSW is struggling right now, going to overtime with the Hawks, losing to the Lakers and barely holding off the Magic last night, but you can trust that they’re learning from these games and the struggles will probably make them better in the playoffs. Stephen Curry hit 14-of-24 shots and seven 3-pointers for 41 points, 13 assists and four steals, and Thompson had 27 points and five triples. They combined to hit just 1-of-18 3-pointers in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers. Draymond Green was iffy coming in with an illness and had 10 rebounds and nine assists to go along with just nine points. He may have lost his confidence in his shot, but it will come back. Andre Iguodala sat out with a hamstring injury, forcing an ill Green into 35 minutes. Hopefully the Warriors will go for the all-time record and keep playing the studs until they secure it. Stay tuned. Oh, and Curry hit his 300th 3-pointer of the season, becoming the first player in history to ever do that.
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For the Magic, center Nikola Vucevic was out with a groin injury and Jason Smith started in his place, finishing with 13 points, two steals and a block. Vuc is day-to-day, so there’s probably no reason to run out and pick up Smith or Dwayne Dedmon, who played just nine minutes. Aaron Gordon stayed hot with 20 points, 16 boards, a steal and a block, Evan Fournier had 20 points, two steals and two 3-pointers, and Victor Oladipo came through with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, coming up just short of a triple-double. Elfrid Payton, who came in hot, didn’t play in the fourth quarter and Scott Skiles rolled with Brandon Jennings, who helped engineer a comeback that actually had more to do with sloppy play from GSW than great play from the Magic. Jennings finished with 20 points and two 3-pointers in 25 minutes off the bench, while Payton hit just 2-of-7 shots for six points, seven assists, three steals and just one turnover. The Payton benching burned me in DFS, but I don’t get the sense he’s in the doghouse. But Jennings is a Skiles guy, so just keep an eye on this situation going forward.
Bulls 100, Bucks 90 – Jimmy Butler was out due to swelling in his knee, although tests came back to show that it’s structurally sound. This is good news, but we still don’t know when he’ll play again and an MRI may be coming on Tuesday. E’Twaun Moore started and had 16 points, seven dimes and two 3-pointers in 36 minutes. Moore’s averaging 12.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.2 3-pointers over his last five and is worth a pickup until we know how long Butler will be out. All five Bulls’ starters played well as Taj Gibson (hamstring) returned from a missed practice for a 12 & 10 double-double with three blocks, Pau Gasol went off for 12 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists (triple-double), a steal and five blocks, despite hitting just 4-of-14 shots, and Derrick Rose added 22 points and seven assists. Mike Dunleavy even came through with 18 points and four 3-pointers, and is another guy worth a close look right now (12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.4 3-pointers over his last five games). Bobby Portis played just four minutes after getting popped in the eye, but with Gibson and Nikola Mirotic healthy, Portis will be a risky start when healthy. Mirotic was solid with 14 points, six boards, two blocks, a steal and two 3-pointers in 20 minutes. Dropping Portis for Mirotic or Gibson makes sense to me. The Bucks are terrible against opposing centers, so this big game from Gasol was pretty easy to see coming if you were paying attention.
The Bucks lost Michael Carter-Williams (hip) for the season and Jerryd Bayless stepped up with 20 points, four assists, a steal and five 3-pointers in 38 minutes off the bench. O.J. Mayo is starting, but Bayless is the PG you want to own in Milwaukee. Jabari Parker stayed hot with 18 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points, five boards, 10 assists, three steals and a block, and has been otherworldly lately. Khris Middleton also kept it going with 18 points and a full stat line (including 7-of-21 shooting). Greg Monroe had 11 points, 14 boards and a block off the bench, and is still the center you want to own here, even though Miles Plumlee is starting. In short, Giannis, Parker and Middleton are must-starts every night, while Bayless and Monroe are pretty close to joining them on that list.
Hornets 108, Timberwolves 103 – Kemba Walker scored 34 and added seven rebounds, six dimes and six 3-pointers as the Hornets held on to beat the Wolves on Monday. Marvin Williams had 15 & 7 and Nicolas Batum filled the stat sheet with a little bit of everything, including a 3-pointer, two steals and three blocks. Al Jefferson was pretty good off the bench with 20 points and six rebounds, but I still don’t really trust him. But this was his highest-scoring game since November and Jefferson is playing well enough over his last four games to be picked up if you need a center. Courtney Lee has done nothing with his starting gig in Charlotte, except for hurt Jeremy Lin’s and Jeremy Lamb’s numbers. Walker, Williams, Batum and Jefferson are really the only Hornets you want to mess with on most nights, as Jefferson is hurting Cody Zeller’s value with his nice play.
Despite the loss, the Wolves seem to have more reliable starters right now. Gorgui Dieng had 12 points, nine boards, four steals and two blocks, Karl-Anthony Towns stayed hot with 28 points, 14 boards, a steal and a block, Ricky Rubio double-doubled with 10 points and 10 assists, Zach LaVine had 19 and a fun stat line, but hit just 7-of-20 shots, and Andrew Wiggins stayed hot with 25 points, a 3-pointer, a steal and a block. Shabazz Muhammad came in hot, scoring in double figures in four straight, but hit just 2-of-6 shots for five points in 18 minutes. I hope you weren’t like me and avoided him in DFS last night. Start all five starters with confidence and ignore the Wolves bench going forward.
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