Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: Westbrook in Beastmode!
There were only four NBA games on Tuesday night, but we bounce back in a big way with 12 games on Wednesday. There was plenty of news, as Brook Lopez returned, Thaddeus Young struggled, D’Angelo Russell went down, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all went nuts in the same game. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!
Thunder 111, Rockets 107 – With the Warriors and Spurs both off on Tuesday, the Thunder were left to grab most of the big headlines. Russell Westbrook went off for 21 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists for his third straight triple-double, as well as his sixth in the month of March (15 on the season). The only other two players to do that since Elias started keeping the stats are Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. Wow. Kevin Durant, who was a little iffy with a sore elbow, scored 23 points and kept his streak of 56-straight games with at least 20 points alive. That ties his personal record and he’ll look to break it on Thursday against the Jazz. Dion Waiters played well in this one, but it was his best game in recent memory and it has fluke written all over it.
Dwight Howard looked good for the Rockets without his ‘sticky spray,’ hitting 7-of-8 shots and 2-of-3 free throws for 16 points and 13 rebounds, while James Harden went crazy with 24 points, seven rebounds, a career-high 16 assists, four steals and two 3-pointers. He was iffy coming in with a sore ankle, but looked great. Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza both played well in the loss, while Michael Beasley cooled off with 11 points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes off the bench. I’m still not sure why he sat, but Donatas Motiejunas started and had 11 points and five boards in 21 minutes. I’d rather own Beasley, who played 28 minutes and scored 30 points in his previous game. He should bounce back.
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Hornets 105, Nets 100 – The Hornets held off the Nets and Frank Kaminsky had 14 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two 3-pointers in a start for Marvin Williams, who was out with a sore ankle. It sounds like Williams might be back for his next game, but if he’s out, Kaminsky is worth a DFS look. Nicolas Batum is scoring a lot of points lately and had 23 on Tuesday, but the rest of his line was lacking. Don’t worry about Batum. Kemba Walker hit just 4-of-14 shots after hitting just 2-of-11 on Monday. He’s shooting just 33 percent from the floor over his last five games, but I just think that means he’s ready to break out of his slump. Earlier this month he was the hottest point guard in the league, right there with Mr. Westbrook, then the slump kicked in. And if you find yourself missing the days of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin is on fire again. He backed up Monday’s heroic 29-point effort with 21 points, four assists, a steal and a 3-pointer on 8-of-12 shooting on Tuesday. He’s got his swag back and looks like a guy to ride while he’s hot.
The Nets saw Thaddeus Young struggle last night as he committed six turnovers, hit just 5-of-12 shots and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds after coming in on fire. He scored 24 points on Saturday and had double-doubled in three straight games prior to that one. The Nets have nothing to play for and Young’s been in the league long enough to earn a rest, but as long as he’s healthy, I’m guessing he keeps playing. Brook Lopez was solid in his return from an illness with 29 points, nine boards and a season-high six dimes, while point guards Donald Sloan (zero points) and Shane Larkin (7 points, 5 assists) were both pretty bad. I’m not touching either of them in any type of league right now. Bojan Bogdanovic went off for 20 points with three 3-pointers and hit 9-of-9 free throws, but he won’t do much outside of score, three and shoot it well (he’s hot). And Sean Kilpatrick, who is probably available in your league, hit 9-of-12 shots and four 3-pointers for a career-high 25 points. He doesn’t do much besides score and three, either, but both of these guys appear to be solid plays in any format right now. Check out their game logs. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson returned from a 50-game absence, but had just five points and three boards in 15 minutes. Just keep an eye on him.
Heat 113, Pelicans 99 – Dwyane Wade hit 10-of-21 shots for 25 points, seven boards, three assists and a steal, and Goran Dragic added 21 points, eight boards, five assists, a steal and three 3-pointers in the win. Ride them as long as they’re playing. Amare Stoudemire started and somehow had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in just 15 minutes, but I don’t trust him. He hadn’t had more than eight points and five boards in six straight games prior to Tuesday. Both Joe Johnson (8 points, 2-of-7 shooting) and Luol Deng (5 points, 1-of-7 shooting) struggled, but both had been playing pretty well. They’ll bounce back, but keep an eye on Deng, as he’s now struggled badly in two straight games. Justise Winslow was quiet despite playing 31 minutes, while Hassan Whiteside hit 10-of-11 shots for 24 points, 14 rebounds, a steal and three blocks off the bench. Dude is ballin’ and is about to get paid. Josh Richardson finally cooled off and had just six points and not much else in 24 minutes. He was rolling coming in and I still like him, but I won’t be using him again in DFS after he burned me badly on Tuesday.
For the Pelicans, Dante Cunningham was a popular play coming in with Ryan Anderson (groin) and Anthony Davis (knee, shoulder) out, but laid an egg with four points and four boards in 27 minutes. I think he’ll be better than that on most nights. Omer Asik started at center and had eight points and nine rebounds, making him worth a deep-league glance, while Jrue Holiday stayed hot with 24 points and a full stat line. And Luke Babbitt stepped up with Cunningham quiet, logging 23 points, four rebounds and two 3-pointers. He’s going to play a lot the rest of the way and is another interesting DFS play, as well as a standard-league option for the banged up Pelicans. Toney Douglas (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Tim Frazier (11 points, 4 assists) were both serviceable, and are both worth using in all formats as long as Norris Cole continues to sit with his lingering, frustrating back injury.
