Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: ATL-DET dub-dub fest
It was a busy Wednesday night as the Warriors took care of business, the Cavs won without the King, the Celtics succumbed to the Thunder and the Hawks stayed hot with a win over the Pistons. Follow me on Twitter here!
Thunder 130, Celtics 109 – The Thunder got 28 points and a nice line from Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook had 24 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and four 3-pointers in the easy win. Serge Ibaka was quiet, but Enes Kanter got hot for 17 points, 12 rebounds and a block off the bench. The Celtics were the third-best team in the East coming in, but were no match for the third-best team in the West. Dion Waiters returned after the death of his younger brother and played 11 minutes.
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The Celtics got 29 points, just one assist, no steals and three 3-pointers from Isaiah Thomas, and Amir Johnson came through with 11 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and a block. Johnson should see a boost with Jae Crowder (ankle) out, but I still don’t trust him. Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley hit double digits in scoring, but didn’t have great games for Boston. Marcus Smart started, but continues to struggle, finishing with two points, seven rebounds and a steal on 1-of-10 shooting. I’m not a huge fan, at least for now. Smart’s averaging just 6.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 3-pointers on 28 percent shooting (not a typo) over his last five. Kelly Olynyk was back in action after a 12-game absence and had eight points on 1-of-7 shooting, Evan Turner was very quiet with four points and not much else, and Tyler Zeller had 16 points, three boards and two blocks in 18 minutes. Turner’s been pretty bad in three straight games, but I’m guessing he gets hot again soon. Olynyk, Smart and Zeller are simply worth keeping an eye on. Boston has lost two straight at home after winning 14 in a row there.
Hornets 107, Magic 99 – Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum both scored 26 points and had nice stat lines in the win. I was all in on Kemba Walker last night and while he had 16 points, eight rebounds and three 3-pointers, I was looking for a lot more. Cody Zeller double-doubled with 13 points, 13 rebounds and a block, while Courtney Lee struggled for six points on 2-of-9 shooting. The Hornets bench didn’t do much at all and the only reliable Hornets right now are Williams, Walker and Batum, while Zeller is worth a look in most leagues.
Aaron Gordon got into some early foul trouble for the Magic and was a disaster, finishing with zero points and two rebounds in just 13 minutes. Blame this one on Scott Skiles, as Gordon was expected to see big minutes with Ersan Ilyasova (knee), Nikola Vucevic (groin) and Elfrid Payton (elbow) out, but Skiles saw it differently. Evan Fournier, who went off for 30 points and five 3-pointers on Tuesday, hit just 4-of-11 shots for nine points and zero 3-pointers. Both of them should be fine going forward, but this was a tough DFS/playoffs hit for owners. On the flip side, Victor Oladipo had a big night with 25 points and contributed in every single stat category, and Brandon Jennings made another start for Payton and came through with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three 3-pointers. He’s been hot for two straight games, but Payton should be back from his elbow injury soon. Andrew Nicholson took over for the benched Gordon and had 13 points, seven boards, a steal, two blocks and a 3-pointer, while Jason Smith cooled off after a Super Tuesday for eight points and four rebounds on 2-of-11 shooting.
Cavaliers 99, Mavericks 98 – With LeBron James resting the Cavaliers still opened an 18-point fourth-quarter lead on the Mavericks, but it took a Kyrie Irving steal of Dirk Nowitzki in the closing seconds for the Cavs to secure the victory. LeBron is fine and was just taking a break, while Irving scored 33 points with just one assist and three 3-pointers in 39 minutes. Irving could be up next for a night off. Kevin Love came through with 23 points, 18 boards, two blocks and two 3-pointers, and J.R. Smith scored 13 despite hitting just 6-of-17 shots and 1-of-8 3-pointers. Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert started but combined for just two points and 12 rebounds in the win. Timofey Mozgov also sat this one out, so Thompson’s 0 & 8 line was very disappointing. Channing Frye had 14 points, three boards, a steal and three 3-pointers, but played just 18 minutes, despite no LeBron. There just wasn’t much to learn from this game and Bron’s owners have to hope he’s only got one more rest day scheduled between now and the NBA playoffs.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 with three blocks and a 3-pointer, but was the only starter to score in double figures. That means Chandler Parsons (10 assists), Raymond Felton, Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews were all highly disappointing last night. David Lee scored 20 off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting, but added just three rebounds, and J.J. Barea got hot for 17 points, three rebounds, four assists and three 3-pointers on 7-of-10 shooting. JJB gets hot occasionally, but isn’t too reliable. Given the sad state of the Mavs’ box score it’s amazing they almost won this game. They’re clinging to the No. 8 seed in the West, but the Jazz are nipping at their heels, just 1.5 games back. Lee is worth a look in all leagues with the starters struggling and Zaza Pachulia (13 minutes) came off the bench against a small Cavs lineup. He’s been struggling and I’d drop him for Lee if you the move is available.
Wizards 117, Bulls 96 – The Wizards saw all five starters score in double figures and were led by John Wall’s stellar 29-10-12 triple-double. Bradley Beal looked better tonight with 20 points, seven boards, three steals and a 3-pointer, while Otto Porter continued to work his way back to form with 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three 3-pointers. Marcin Gortat wasn’t expected to play due to a sore back and Nene got the start (12 points, 4 boards), but Gortat managed nine points, six boards and a block in 18 minutes off the bench. Obviously, owners will want to monitor his status closely. Garrett Temple scored 15 points off the bench with five 3-pointers, while Ramon Sessions missed all four of his shots and failed to score. Sessions was hot coming in, but Temple got the minutes in this one.
The Bulls were without Pau Gasol (knee) again and Taj Gibson left with a hamstring injury. Both players are expected to be in street clothes on Thursday against the Nets, and they’re down to just Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio for big men. Portis and Mirotic are going to be popular DFS plays on Thursday and both players should be owned in standard leagues with Gasol and Gibson hurting. Mirotic scored just seven points last night and Portis finished with eight points, but did add production in most other categories. Derrick Rose returned from a groin injury and had 16 points and four assists, Mike Dunleavy returned from an illness and didn’t score in 18 minutes, and Jimmy Butler hit just 4-of-12 shots for 17 points, six boards, three assists and three steals. Doug McDermott stayed hot with Dunleavy struggling, hitting 6-of-10 shots and three 3-pointers for 20 points. McBuckets has gone for 20, 29 and 10 in his last three games, but is a risky play with Dunleavy back. With Rose and Butler playing, E’Twaun Moore returned to the bench and had just two points in 20 minutes. It’s probably time to move on.
