Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: The Brad Stevens Brigade
Brad Stevens’ Boston Celtics brigade is marching forward toward the playoffs, and as Friday night’s defeat of Golden State illustrates, this is a cohesive unit capable of destroying any opposition standing in its way.
The Morris twins celebrated wins in style, the Lopez twins went head-to-head in a birthday battle and Milwaukee’s three-man core offered a glimpse of what looks like an awfully bright future.
Philadelphia @ Charlotte: Hornets 100, Sixers 91
Studs: Carl Landry, Elton Brand Jerami Grant, Elton Brand, Hollis Thompson; Kemba Walker
Duds: Ish Smith, Isaiah Canaan, Robert Covington; Marvin Williams, Courtney Lee
What You Need to Know: Jerami Grant returned with 17 points, two steals and two blocks, and with both Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes facing a potential shutdown, Grant’s current 20-ish minute restriction isn’t cause for pause…Start him. Cody Zeller has put together back-to-back good games, averaging 13.0 points, 9.5 boards, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks on 10-of-13 (76.9%) shooting. As an aside: Landry and Brand combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds in the loss. EB had a double-double, and in related news, we’re back in 2005.
Dallas @ Detroit: Mavs 98, Pistons 89
Studs: J.J. Barea; Marcus Morris
Duds: Justin Anderson; Andre Drummond
What You Need to Know: Proud papa J.J. Barea exploded for 29 points on a tidy 13-of-23 from the field. Now averaging 21.6 points, 6.0 assists and 2.8 3PM on 53.6% shooting over his last five games, Barea is a must-start player without Deron Williams in the lineup. It only helps the pint-sized PG that Raymond Felton (groin strain) was a surprise DNP and has no timetable to return. Morris came into this game averaging 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 triples on 57.6% shooting over his previous five, so Friday’s phenomenal double-double (31 points, 12 boards, four dimes, two blocks, six triples, 12-of-17 FGs) was just the cherry on top. After shooting 3-of-15 for a very inefficient In-N-Out special, Reggie Jackson (11 points, 10 dimes, six TO, 3-of-15 FGs) has now shot under 43% in ten straight games, including sub-40 percent performances in seven of his last eight. He’s not helping.
Brooklyn @ New York: Knicks 105, Nets 91
Studs: Thomas Robinson; Langston Galloway
Duds: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson; Arron Afflalo
What You Need to Know: Jose Calderon is going to miss “extended time,” which means two things: 1) The Jerian Grant era is upon us, and 2) Grant is worth a pickup with Calderon facing a shutdown and New York (finally) prioritizing player development. In his first career start, Grant did a little bit of everything: 14 points, three boards, four dimes, a block and two triples in 26.5 minutes. Even though Galloway got hot off the bench for a full line, I’d rather have Grant ROS. Meanwhile, the Knicks are going to be extra cautious with Kristaps Porzingis’ right shoulder strain, and Derrick Williams (16 points, four triples) is on the radar as the prime beneficiary in KP’s absence. The Nets only have one back-to-back left, but expect more off time for key guys like Thaddeus Young (DNP, rest), Brook Lopez and potentially even Bojan Bogdanovic (DNP, rest) moving forward. That puts Thomas Robinson—who is averaging 14.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals over his last three games including Friday’s five-steal gem—squarely in the picture. Between the understandable rust in his game and his playing restrictions, Hollis-Jefferson belongs on the wire.
Cleveland @ Atlanta: Cavs 110, Hawks 108
Studs: LeBron James; Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, Jeff Teague
Duds: Thabo Sefolosha, Dennis Schroder
What You Need to Know: After Kyrie Irving declared the Cavs as the team to beat, it was LeBron James who backed up the statement with an enormous line: 29 points, 16 boards, nine dimes, three steals and a block. James has looked like the LeBron of old over his last three games, averaging 26.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks. Irving certainly had a productive night (20 points, six boards, seven dimes, two steals, two blocks, two 3PM), but his 5-of-23 performance from the field is impossible to overlook, especially since he’s now connected on just 24-of-82 (29.3%) shots in his last four contests, really hurting his owners in the process.
Orlando @ Milwaukee: Bucks 113, Magic 110
Studs: Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic; Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe
Duds: John Henson
What You Need to Know: Oladipo (18 points, five dimes, five steals, four blocks) & Antetokounmpo (18 points, 11 boards, 11 dimes, two steals, three blocks) busted out of mini-slumps in emphatic fashion, putting on a show in a box score that was an absolute fantasy funhouse. Vucevic (groin) has returned as a per-minute monster, racking up a combined 46 points, 10 boards and three blocks on 22-of-28 (78.6%) from the floor in just 46 minutes. Middleton delivered the type of across-the-board performance (18 points, five boards, four dimes, five steals, two blocks, two 3PM) that has made him a top-40 guy for me since day one, while Parker is starting to sizzle bratwurst at the right time, averaging 20.3 points, 6.8 boards and 1.5 steals on 58.2% shooting over his last four games. Although the offense will flow through Antetokounmpo, developing Tyler Ennis (15 points, two 3PM, two steals, 25.5 minutes) is now a priority, and he’s worth a look in deeper leagues if you have dead weight to cut…Jerryd Bayless (knee) is not a lock to return this season given his impending free agency and Milwaukee’s youth movement.
