Basketball Daily Dose: Look What the KAT Dragged In
Get ready for a lot of “Wolves are a sleeper team” columns next year, you guys. They pulled off one of the most entertaining wins of the year in a 124-117 victory at Golden State. Karl-Anthony Towns was unreal late during the OT win on Tuesday, scoring 20 points with 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two turnovers in 45 minutes. If anyone doesn’t vote for him as Rookie of the Year, they need to have their vote taken away. He’s been the most impressive rookie maybe ever, especially for fantasy. He’ll be a top-five pick in standard drafts next year. His shot chart is pretty nice in the last 30 days:
It’s scary to think about how good he’s going to be. He was supposed to be “raw” as a prospect, but he’s been remarkable since Summer League.
Andrew Wiggins turned in possibly the best game of his career, scoring 32 points with five rebounds, four assists, six steals and two 3-pointers. He shot 50 percent from the field in March with 1.0 treys, so his efficiency is looking a lot better. He’s climbing up the ranks for fantasy, but he is still likely to be overdrafted.
Shabazz Muhammad was marvelous with a career-high 35 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 15-of-17 from the line. The Wolves have been playing him at the four more these days and that was the key for him here. He only scored one point on Sunday, so we’ll need to see it again to draw conclusions. The extra Bazz run hurt Gorgui Dieng, who had just 10 points with five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. This is the third time in the last four Dieng has seen his minutes cut, so that’s a tough pill to swallow. Expect him to be better.
The Warriors had 24 turnovers and their 114-game winning streak after leading by 15 was snapped (H/T Evan Z of NBA Wowy). There really isn’t any analysis needed here and there will be way too many people in panic mode on the Warriors. Yes, they have lost two of their last three at home, but they’re still the favorites to win it all. They will have to win out to beat the 1995-96 Bulls’ record.
Hey, so what else happened?
The playoff teams were actually not involved in resting on Tuesday, but that will change very, very soon. Here’s a quick look at the back-to-backs coming up for today with some quick notes:
Front end on Wednesday: Houston (obviously not resting)
Back end for Wednesday: Cavs on the road (be careful), Pistons (no worries), Pelicans (not enough bodies to rest anyway), Hornets (no worries), Thunder (be careful), Portland (no worries), Clippers (be careful), Lakers (be careful on vets).
With 11 games, we’ll be going through Tuesday’s slate quickly. Here are the studs, duds, trends, and noteworthy injuries for each game. I’ll try to focus on pickups and DFS bargains.
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Pelicans 93 at 76ers 107
Studs: Dante Cunningham kept the Villanova magic going with 19 points, two rebounds, one assist and three 3-pointers. He should be decent, but is really just a deep-league guy or a DFS punt in the right matchup. Luke Babbitt was solid with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two 3-pointers. He seems to have his job locked down and is worth owning in standard leagues while he’s worthwhile in DFS while his price is under 6.5K.
Carl Landry went off with 22 points on 9-of-10 from the field with nine rebounds, one assist, two steals and two 3-pointers. Yep, a 100.0 eFG%. I wouldn’t buy it with Nerlens Noel back (four points, six rebounds and one block). Isaiah Canaan scored 16 points, but Hollis Thompson only played 22 minutes.
Duds: Nobody was a big dud, but Robert Covington went 3-of-16 from the field for 12 points with nine rebounds, three assists, four steals, one block and one 3-pointer. Not a bad line, but that’s a lot of missed shots. I’d also call Jerami Grant a dud with 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and no turnovers. I have higher hopes for Grant next time out.
Trends: Tim Frazier (12 points, six boards, nine assists, three steals and one turnover) got the start in the 39th different starting lineup for the Pelicans. At this point, the Pelicans are just trolling us all, but Frazier should be owned/starting in most leagues. Jordan Hamilton’s move to the bench hurt him with eight points, eight boards, one steal and three turnovers. I still trust him. James Ennis came off the bench and still managed 30 minutes, scoring 11 points with one rebound, two assists, one block and one 3-pointer. He’s on the radar in deep leagues or as a DFS punt in the right matchup. Elton Brand also stared with just 11 minutes.
Hornets 90 at Raptors 96
Studs: Jeremy Lin picked up 40 minutes in the starting lineup with 21 points, four rebounds, seven assists, one steal and four 3-pointers. He should benefit while Nicolas Batum (knee) is out. Jonas Valanciunas was very good in 28 minutes with 12 points, 12 boards and three blocks. He should be a nice option the rest of the way, but DFS owners should only count on him in favorable matchups.
Duds: Kemba Walker was pretty bad with just 11 points, two rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer. He’s fine.
Trends: Spencer Hawes picked up eight minutes at center even with Al Jefferson‘s return. This might be due to Cody Zeller (nine points, six rebounds and two blocks) not playing well.
Implications: The Hornets had a bad night in the standings with the Heat and Hawks winning.
Pistons 89 at Heat 107
Studs: Seriously, how good is Josh Richardson right now? He won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in March and went off again. In Tuesday’s win, he posted 16 points, two rebounds and four 3-pointers on 6-of-9 from the field. He’s a total anomaly, but he’s just not slowing down.
Goran Dragic was really good with 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four 3-pointers on 9-of-15 from the field. He’s been one of the best players after the break compared to his pre-break disaster.
Duds: Well, the law of averages had its way on Marcus Morris, who missed all seven shots from the field on Tuesday. He was red hot coming in and it was only a matter of time. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was also terrible with two points and two turnovers.
Trends: The Heat kept it tight again with only eight players getting more than five minutes in tonight’s rotation.
Implications: Miami picked up a game on the Hornets and they’re now tied with with Celtics at No. 4. The Pistons are 0.5 games back on the Pacers for No. 7, but the Bulls choking still gives them a two-game cushion for No. 8.
Injuries: Dwyane Wade (neck, back) returned while the Heat continue to refuse to comment on Chris Bosh (blood clot) and he’s likely out for the year.
Suns 90 at Hawks 103
Studs: Devin Booker is amazing. He scored his rookie-high sixth 30-plus scoring game this season with 34 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and four 3-pointers. The Suns stole him in the draft, but they have some work to do with Brandon Knight (hernia) and Eric Bledsoe (knee) on their books.
Tyson Chandler was good again with 10 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 36 minutes. He looks like he has a solid role locked up the rest of the way, but be careful on back-to-back sets.
For the Hawks, Paul Millsap went full Millsap with 13 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, three blocks and one 3-pointer. Stud muffin. Jeff Teague was nice with 20 points, too.
Duds: P.J. Tucker was hot coming in, but he missed all eight from the field.
Trends: Ronnie Price looks like he has the starting job locked up with 31 minutes, 14 points, three rebounds, four assists, four steals and four 3-pointers. I’d give him a look if you need a point guard. Mirza Teletovic also set the NBA record for most 3-pointers off the bench in a season, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and three 3-pointers. He’ll be a big factor the rest of the way.
