Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: Millsap's Mansion
In the non-Stephen Curry division, I’d like to nominate Paul Millsap for fantasy MVP.
Blake Griffin is back in the picture, Deron Williams is hurt again and Millsap’s mansion is stuffed with stats in every room of the house.
On the Waiver Wire Radar
Sergey Karasev: He’s better for deep leagues on a speculative basis with just a single game sample size.
Shane Larkin: I don’t trust him, but Larkin is averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals on 11-of-16 from the field since rejoining the starting five. The Nets play five times next week.
Alonzo Gee, Jordan Hamilton & Luke Babbitt: Things have gone horribly wrong in New Orleans.
Luis Scola: Over his last five games, Scola is averaging 14.8 points, 4.8 boards and 3.4 3-pointers on 58.3% shooting. Yes, that’s a real sentence.
Norman Powell: Without Terrence Ross (thumb), Powell has averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 boards and 2.5 triples, putting him on the radar in deeper formats.
John Henson: Already on the radar as a blocks specialist, Henson’s stock is going up after 19 points, eight boards and three blocks on 8-of-10 shooting. On back-to-back nights, Henson has thoroughly out-produced Monroe, averaging 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks on an insane 15-of-21 (71.4%) shooting.
Hollis Thompson: After a season high five triples on Saturday, Thompson is now averaging 16.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 3.0 triples over his last five games. Nerlens Noel (knee) is without a return date.
Moe Harkless: Harkless looks like the starting PF again, and he’s enjoyed a nice three-game stretch, averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 boards and a block on 50% shooting. What’s more: Harkless has played at least 25 minutes in each contest.
Jae Crowder: Clam Crowder could return as early as Thursday vs. Portland.
J.J. Barea & Raymond Felton: The Rick Carlisle favorites will see their roles grow with Williams on the shelf and Chandler Parsons out for the season.
Studs
IND-BKN: Ian Mahinmi, George; Brook Lopez, Sergey Karasev
Mahinmi and Hill bounced back from previous duds, but everyone took a backseat to Karasev’s career night: 17 points, seven boards, four dimes and two steals in just 26 minutes. Enjoying the best season of his career, Lopez hasn’t had a block in five games, but that’s the only recent knock on him. He’s coming through when it counts, averaging 24.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and a steal on 52% shooting, including 22-lf-28 (78.6%) from the FT line over his last three games.
TOR-NO: DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson
Valanciunas’ five blocks were a season high, and he would’ve had a monster game if it hadn’t been a blowout. More importantly: His hand now looks fine. Pat-Pat is nothing more than a streamer in standard formats, but nights like Saturday (16 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 treys, 5-of-7 FGs) show why he’s on the radar at all.
CHI-ORL: Dewayne Dedmon, Elfrid Payton
How bad are things for the Bulls? With Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler both playing through knee injuries, the Bulls were romped by a Magic team playing without its two best players in Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic. And it gets worse: Chicago allowed Dedmon, not to be confused with Wilt Chamberlain, to go off or a career-high 18 points and 13 boards in just 22.5 minutes, while Payton did whatever he wanted en route to a very efficient double-double. The Ragin’ Cajun has two double-doubles in his last three, averaging 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Payton’s fantasy upside is considerably higher without Oladipo on the court.
ATL-DET: Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore; Tobias Harris, Andre Drummond
Millsap (head) departed early for stitches, but he’s expected to be fine and stuffed the stat sheet like he has all season before leaving: 23 points, nine boards, five dimes, four steals, four blocks and three triples without a single turnover. Think Bazemore wanted to send a message on a (surprise) rest night for Thabo Sefolosha? I do, but I still don’t trust KB’s role the rest of the way. Harris (21/10/5) has been awesome in reality and fantasy since joining the Pistons, and his play has made Orlando’s decision to trade him for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova look even worse. Drummond is turning it up as the Pistons claw for the playoffs and fantasy GMs compete for a title, averaging 22.3 points, 15.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 30-of-45 (66.7%) shooting.
CLE-NY: LeBron James, Kevin Love; Carmelo Anthony
Without Kyrie Irving (rest) against a (still) bad Knicks team, LeBron got whatever he wanted en route to a triple-double (27/11/10), while Love looked a whole lot better as the second option than the third with 28 points, 12 boards and four triples. Weird how that works, right? Melo didn’t shoot it well (9-of-24), but 28 points, five triples, nine boards, two steals, one turnover and no shutdown talk is a victory at this stage.
UTA-MIN: Gordon Hayward; Ricky Rubio
Unlike his previous two games, Rubio’s shot wasn’t an issue in this one with 23 points and a full line on a blazing 9-of-12 shooting, but the fuel in his fantasy fire will still be sourced through elite contributions in dimes and takeaways.
SA-OKC: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Enes Kanter
KD had his sixth game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds this month, and he’s been hot with his shot over his last five, averaging 26.6 points, 10.2 boards, 6.0 assists and 2.4 3PM on 58.1% shooting. After three straight triple-doubles, Westbrook was a combined seven rebounds and three assists shy of making it five in a row. Related: OKC has won seven games and counting. Is Kanter going to get the consideration he deserves for Sixth Man of the Year? Before Saturday’s 20&10 in just 21.5 minutes, Kanter was averaging 14.3 points and 9.5 rebounds on 60.2% shooting in March.
CHA-MIL: Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams; John Henson
After three straight throwaway games, Starvin’ Marvin finally ate with 21 points, eight boards, three blocks and four triples on 8-of-12 from the floor. He’s been an absolute steal all season…Batum’s impressive versatility was on display with 25 points, seven boards, eight dimes and five triples without a turnover, and he’s what Giannis Antetokounmpo could be offensively if The Greek Freak learns how to shoot from distance.
BOS-PHX: Evan Turner; P.J. Tucker, Devin Booker
I’d keep Turner —who had 17&11—on my roster even after Crowder (ankle) returns. Tucker is still playing big minutes, and despite better than expected statistical versatility, I’d still be looking for a higher upside play on the wire. The 19-year-old Booker finished a back-to-back set with averages of 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 3PM on 46.3% shooting. Not bad, rook.
PHI-POR: Hollis Thompson, Ish Smith; Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless, C.J. McCollum
One assist shy of a triple-double, Ish Smith (16/14/9, 8-of-14 FGs) gave himself some breathing room after he had been on thin ice. With Noel out of the lineup, Smith and Robert Covington (17&11) will try to do it all. A season-high 20 points came for Aminu will turn some heads, but I can’t trust a guy who has done nothing since the All-Star Break.
