Saturday Dose: Dose: KATnip For Dinner
Anthony Davis got hurt again, Victor Oladipo went off for a career night, Karl-Anthony Towns is a rookie in age only and Kyle Lowry’s no fast food diet has him serving up a different kind of fantasy feast exactly when it’s desired.
We’re going to highlight one stud, one dud and hit you with notes for every game.
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Cleveland @ Orlando: Cavs 109, Magic 103
Studs: Victor Oladipo; Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Tristan Thompson
Oladipo is now officially a man on fire after a career-high 45 points while filling up the box score with five boards, three dimes, three steals, two blocks and six triples on a ridiculous 16-of-22 shooting, including 7-of-8 from the FT line. Since a blowout loss in Portland last weekend, the red-hot Oladipo is averaging 31.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.3 blocks and 2.7 3PM on an incendiary 62.5% shooting. It’s not a surprise he’s thriving without Elfrid Payton (elbow).
Duds: Aaron Gordon, Brandon Jennings; J.R. Smith, Kevin Love
Excusing a 23&18 explosion that happened without LeBron in the lineup, Love is averaging 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 treys in three of his last four games…For fantasy purposes, he’s just not the player you drafted him to be, and that’s not going to change with James and Irving in the lineup. FYI: Love has played 25 minutes or fewer in two of those four contests and was benched for Channing Frye for Friday’s final quarter.
Quick Hits: With Payton still sidelined, he’s not a must-own player nor someone really worth stashing at this time of year…Channing Frye got his revenge with 14 points and four triples, and he’s worth a looking if you need threes as he’s averaging 3.6 of them over his last five games…Tristan Thompson had 11&15, but it was the first time in two weeks he’s had at least one steal (four) and one block (two) in the same game.
Oklahoma City @ Philadelphia: Thunder 111, Sixers 97
Studs: Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Steven Adams; Nik Stauskas
That’s a league-leading 13 triple-doubles for Westbrook, who went for a stat-stuffing 20, 15 & 10 in just 32.5 minutes…He’s now got four 3×2 lines this month alone, leaving Westbrook with absurd averages of 21.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 10.6 assists in March.
Duds: Carl Landry
With Jerami Grant (15 points, seven boards, three blocks) officially back in action and Robert Covington working his way toward a return, Landry shouldn’t even be rostered in 30-team formats.
Quick Hits: Steven Adams did a Serge Ibaka impression (12&11, three blocks) on a night where Ibaka was rested… Kevin Durant missed one more shot from distance (three) than he did from two-point range (two)…Enes Kanter nearly had as many turnovers (six) as he did rebounds (seven)…Hollis Thompson finally came alive with the type of line we’ve been waiting to see, but he’ll fall off the map when RoCo returns…I’m going to have to see Nik Stauskas (23 points, five triples, three steals) do it more than once, twice or even three times to have the word ‘pickup’ enter my mind.
Sacramento @ Detroit: Pistons 115, Kings 108
Studs: DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo; Marcus Morris, Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
In his last five games, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is back in every sense of the word with averages of 22.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.8 3PM on 50.6% shooting…KCP’s house has a lobby, and big ballin’ is his hobby…A healthy Caldwell-Pope is a potential game-changer in both reality and fantasy.
Duds: Darren Collison, Marco Belinelli
This was a more disappointing output for Collison—who came in hot—than Belinelli, but both guys really should have been able to do more without Willie Cauley-Stein (illness) or Omri Casspi (ankle) available.
Quick Hits: A banged-up Rajon Rondo hast at least four injuries that we know about, but as long as he’s out there he’s a must-start player as evidenced by Friday’s near triple-double…A potential Rondo shutdown is a concern with the Kings freefalling out of the playoff picture…Sitting on 15 technicals, DeMarcus Cousins is eating, averaging 26.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 blocks, 2.3 steals and a triple over his last five games…Andre Drummond’s 57 double-doubles through 69 games match his career-high mark…Marcus Morris’ six triples were the most he’s made in a single game this season…Reggie Jackson flirted with an inefficient triple-double, but the biggest takeaway is that he wasn’t limited after previously experiencing shortness of breath.
