Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: Not so Rosey for Derrick
Derrick Rose went down, the Thunder escaped embarrassment, the Cavaliers rolled, and the Pacers and Celtics lost crucial games. Thursday was eventful, despite just 12 teams in action. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Cavaliers 107, Nets 87 – LeBron James returned from a rest and joined Kevin Love with a double-double as the Cavs destroyed the Nets on Thursday night. Timofey Mozgov had 10 points, seven rebounds and a block, while Kyrie Irving struggled with 10 points and three assists on 4-of-14 shooting in the win. He was dealing with an illness, so I guess the good news is that he played. This one was over by halftime and Channing Frye took advantage of some garbage minutes to add 13 points, eight boards and three 3-pointers off the bench. Iman Shumpert added six points, eight rebounds, and a steal in 20 minutes in the easy win. James passed Dominique Wilkins for No. 12 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list last night, sitting on 26,689 points. J.R. Smith was also ill and had 10 points after missing shootaround.
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The Nets got 18 points and eight boards from Thaddeus Young on a night when Brook Lopez was rested. Henry Sims started at center but had just four points and five boards, while Shane Larkin bounced back from an off night with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two 3-pointers. He’ll start at point guard the rest of the way and is worth a pickup, despite some inconsistency. Bojan Bogdanovic hit 5-of-12 shots and a 3-pointer for 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and starter Wayne Ellington missed all eight of his shots and failed to score. Thomas Robinson had 10 points and 11 boards off the bench and has been playing well lately, Donald Sloan had 11 points and five dimes, and Sean Kilpatrick’s hot run is officially over, as he hit just 2-of-9 shots for four points and two assists. Markel Brown has been playing better and had six points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the ugly loss, while Chris McCullough added seven points, six rebounds, two steals and a block. With the Nets in shutdown mode, Larkin, Bogdanovic, Robinson and Brown all look like they might be worth a flier, while Kilpatrick could get hot again at any time.
Magic 114, Pacers 94 – The Pacers took a big hit with this loss as Evan Fournier stepped up with 25 points and three 3-pointers in the win. Victor Oladipo was fun with 18 points, seven boards, seven assists, two steals, a block and two 3-pointers, and Elfrid Payton added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win. Aaron Gordon was quiet with six points and four boards, and Dewayne Dedmon had eight points and six boards in another start. In one of the bigger news items of the night, Nikola Vucevic finally returned from a groin injury and had 24 points, six boards and a block on 12-of-15 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. Hopefully you got him back in your lineup for this one. Andrew Nicholson had 11 points and five boards, but missed all four of his 3-point attempts, while the rest of the bench was quiet for the Magic. The Magic’s playoff dreams are officially dead, despite the win.
The Pacers now sit just one game ahead of the Bulls for the final playoff spot after Chicago beat the Rockets on Thursday. Paul George was nice with 27 points, eight boards and five steals on 11-of-23 shooting, and Monta Ellis had 13 points and a 3-pointer on 5-of-11 shooting. Myles Turner, Ian Mahinmi and George Hill combined to hit just 8-of-25 shots and none of them scored in double digits. Mahinmi had scored at least 18 points in his previous three games, so he’ll bounce back. Lavoy Allen may have helped owners who punted him in DFS, double-doubling with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, and C.J. Miles scored nine points with three 3-pointers in 17 minutes. The Pacers will be riding their starters hard the rest of the way in hopes of hanging onto a playoff spot.
Bulls 103, Rockets 100 – Jimmy Butler is finally rounding back into form and had 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer on 8-of-13 shooting, and Pau Gasol double-doubled with 12 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block. Derrick Rose played just 12 minutes before leaving with a left elbow contusion. The Bulls really need him if they’re going to make the playoffs, so I’m not sure I could bring myself to drop him just yet, even though he failed to score. Watch for updates on him going forward and cut him if you feel like you have to do it. If he’s out, Aaron Brooks looks like a potential starter. He started the second half for Rose, but had just three points and three assists in 16 minutes. E’Twaun Moore is probably a better fantasy option without Rose, and had eight points, four assists and two 3-pointers in 22 minutes. Bobby Portis started, but as usual, disappointed with two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes. It’s been a lost season for Portis. Mike Dunleavy started, but played just nine minutes to finish with one point. Nikola Mirotic caught fire again off the bench for 28 points, four boards, three assists and five 3-pointers, while Doug McDermott added 15 points, nine boards and a 3-pointer. If you own Portis or Dunleavy, drop them for Mirotic and McBuckets. Taj Gibson sat out with his broken rib we don’t know when he’ll play again, which is another great reason to own Mirotic. The Bulls are just a game behind the Pacers for a playoff spot in the East.
James Harden had 24 points, eight assists, two blocks and two 3-pointers, and Patrick Beverley hit 9-of-13 shots and three 3-pointers for 22 points, five rebounds and seven dimes in one of his better games of the season. Dwight Howard had just seven points, but also had 13 rebounds, a steal and three blocks, while Trevor Ariza had 14 points, two steals and three 3-pointers on 3-of-10 shooting. Michael Beasley added 20 points and 11 boards off the bench in 31 minutes, and is averaging 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds over his last five games. Pick him up if you need a warm body. The Rockets are going to keep fighting, sitting just a ½ game behind the Jazz and Mavericks for the No. 8 seed in the West.
