Dose: Winning! NY Snaps Streak
It was a marathon NBA day on Monday with 12 games on the MLK slate. The Knicks broke their 16-game losing streak, which is pretty earth shattering news, while the Hawks stayed hot, the Cavs beat the Bulls, and the Warriors ran over the Nuggets. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Hornets 105, Wolves 80 – The Hornets crushed the Wolves without Kemba Walker again and got a balanced scoring attack from Gerald Henderson, Brian Roberts, Gary Neal, P.J. Hairston and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. And as you can probably guess by that cast of characters, the Wolves just didn’t show up to play. The big news here is that Al Jefferson came off the bench and had eight points, five boards and a block in his return from a groin injury. Walker’s knee will leave him iffy for Wednesday against the Heat, so stay tuned for more news on him Tuesday.
The Wolves got 18 points and three steals from Thaddeus Young, 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting from Andrew Wiggins, and 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting from Mo Williams. Those were the only guys in double digits and the 2 p.m. start time was clearly too early for Minnesota today.
Wizards 111, Sixers 76 – The Wizards got double-digit scoring from all five starters and Otto Porter Jr. and Kevin Seraphin joined the club in garbage time. John Wall double-doubled with 11 points and 10 assists, Nene had four steals and a rare 3-pointer, Marcin Gortat came through with 20 points, eight boards and two blocks for one of his better games, and the starters all played less than 30 minutes in a blowout.
The Sixers were led by Henry Sims’ 13 points, but he added just three rebounds and a block in the loss. Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington and Jerami Grant were the other players in double figures, and the Sixers clearly weren’t awake when this one started at 2. Tony Wroten was out with his right knee injury and it could be serious, so I dropped him in one league today (for Harrison Barnes). K.J. McDaniels started again, but hit just 2-of-9 shots for five points, four boards, a steal and a block. I still think he’ll eventually figure it out, but I’m not sure I have the patience to wait for him.
Hawks 93, Pistons 82 – The Hawks had some trouble with the Pistons on Monday, but still ended up winning by 11. Paul Millsap and Mike Scott each scored 20, Al Horford had 14 points and a full stat line, Kyle Korver had 13 points, six boards, five assists and three 3-pointers, and Jeff Teague had 10 points and seven assists, but struggled with his shot at 4-of-15. The Hawks have now won 13 straight games, 18 of their last 19, and sit at a ridiculous 34-8 on the season. And watching Charles Barkley dismiss them on Monday told me one thing – he simply hasn’t watched them play much this season. If he had been watching, he wouldn’t be able to argue that they’re not the best team in the East right now. C’mon Chuck, tune in. And don’t get too excited about Scott, as he had scored a total of 10 points in his previous two games.
The Pistons got 16 points and 20 boards from Greg Monroe (and six turnovers), and Andre Drummond added 13 points and 18 rebounds without a block or a steal. Outside of those two, the Pistons were not too impressive in this one. Brandon Jennings was 1-of-10, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was 4-of-15 and Jodie Meeks was 4-of-11 from the floor.
Clippers 102, Celtics 93 – Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a steal and is averaging 4.9 assists this season, while also hitting 72 percent of his free throws. DeAndre Jordan went off with 19 points, 12 boards, two steals and six blocks, and Chris Paul added nine points, six rebounds, six assists and two 3-pointers. Matt Barnes cooled off with three points on 1-of-5 shooting, but it wasn’t a total loss as he had three rebounds, four assists, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer.
The Celtics got more production from the bench than the starters in this one, led by Brandon Bass’ 17 points, but he added just two rebounds. Marcus Thornton scored 15 with three 3-pointers, Marcus Smart had 14 points, seven assists, a steal, a block and four 3-pointers (he’s coming), and Kelly Olynyk had 11 points, seven boards, three steals and a 3-pointer – all off the bench. Jared Sullinger was a decent starter with 14 points, eight rebounds and two 3-pointers, and Evan Turner had 10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and a 3-pointer on 2-of-6 shooting. This team is getting harder and harder to gauge, so just keep an eye on Bass, Olynyk and Thornton, and think about adding Turner or Smart if you need a point guard.
Warriors 122, Nuggets 79 – The Warriors destroyed Denver and got a combined 42 points and six 3-pointers from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Marreese Speights were all quiet in this one, but then again, they simply weren’t needed to do much.
The Nuggets were awful, as starters Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, Jusuf Nurkic and Arron Afflalo combined for just 18 points in the loss. Ty Lawson was solid with 19 points and six assists, while Jameer Nelson was the only other Nugget to hit double figures with 14 points, five assists and two 3-pointers. He’s been playing well in Denver, but I’m still not ready to pick him up. Denver appears to be another team that just wasn’t ready to play an early game on a Monday. Nurkic fouled out with two points on 1-of-6 shooting, but still looks like someone who should be rostered in non-points leagues, in my opinion.
Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 95 – Dallas and Memphis actually had a close contest and the Mavericks came out on top behind 25 points, seven assists and three 3-pointers from Monta Ellis, and 21 points, six boards and two 3-pointers from Dirk Nowitzki. Chandler Parsons was decent with 15 points, three 3-pointers and a full stat line, and Tyson Chandler double-doubled with 10 points, 16 rebounds and a block. Rajon Rondo was useless with six points, three rebounds and one assist, and has gotten progressively worse since joining Dallas. I’d tell you to trade him, but you don’t want to try to do that with how bad he’s playing right now.
The Memphis starters played well, getting 22 points, four assists and two 3-pointers from Mike Conley, 20 points, eight boards and a full line from Marc Gasol, and 18 points and 15 rebounds from Zach Randolph. Jeff Green is getting nice run off the bench, but hit just 5-of-14 shots for 11 points, eight boards, three assists, two steals and a block in 32 minutes. They may just keep him in the sixth-man role the rest of the way. Tony Allen could suffer from the arrival of Green and played just 17 minutes on Monday.
Rockets 110, Pacers 98 – James Harden was wide awake for this one and hit 12-of-18 shots, 7-of-12 3-pointers and 14-of-15 free throws for 45 points, seven assists, four steals and a block, and Dwight Howard graced us with a fat line of 14 points, 17 rebounds and a block. Howard has somehow gone on a streak of 17 games with just one or zero blocks. I can’t really put my finger on why his blocks have dried up, but the numbers don’t lie. He’s had six games since Dec. 22 without a single block. Donatas Motiejunas stayed relevant with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley were pretty quiet while watching Harden go nuts. Corey Brewer scored 13 off the bench, but played just 17 minutes, which is why you don’t want him.
The Pacers got 23 points and four 3-pointers from C.J. Miles off the bench, and Donald Sloan added 17 points, six assists and a three, also off the pine. Those were the only two Pacers to do anything worth mentioning, and I still like the idea of owning Miles in most situations. When he’s healthy, he can score and hit treys. And despite coming off the bench behind C.J. Watson while George Hill (groin) is out, Sloan has scored in double digits in three straight games, averaging 5.0 assists.
Knicks 99, Pelicans 92 – Jose Calderon hit a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in the game to put the Knicks up by four points, and that turned out to be a dagger. Carmelo Anthony actually played again and had 24 points, nine boards, a steal, two blocks and three 3-pointers, and unknown point guard Langston Galloway started and racked up 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and three 3-pointers as the Knicks snapped a 16-game losing streak. Calderon’s crucial 3-pointer was about all he did right in this one, as he hit 2-of-10 shots for five points and one assist. Yuck. Amare Stoudemire actually played as well, and had 14 points and six rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr. finally made some shots (4-of-7) for 11 points and three 3-pointers. If you’re sitting on Quincy Acy or Cleanthony Early and want to drop them for Galloway, I’m on board.
The Pelicans were without Anthony Davis (toe) and Jrue Holiday (ankle) once again, and we still don’t know when they’re going to play. And their absence was a key for the Knicks, obviously. Tyreke Evans had 23 points, nine boards and two 3-pointers, Eric Gordon had 20 points, five dimes and two 3-pointers, and Omer Asik came through with 11 points and 17 rebounds. Ryan Anderson continues to slump and scored just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting. He’s been a complete bust lately, despite starting for Davis. Alexis Ajinca stayed hot with eight points and 11 boards and is worth a look any time Davis is out.
Cavaliers 108, Bulls 94 – The Cavs starting five played one of their best games of the season and they got double-doubles from Kevin Love (3-of-13 shooting with a sore back), Timofey Mozgov (15 points, 15 boards, 2 blocks), and Kyrie Irving, while LeBron James had a big day with 26 points and J.R. Smith scored 20 with six 3-pointers. Maybe Mozzy is about ready to get it going, so take a look at him if he was dropped in your league. Tristan Thompson had six points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and has basically lost what little value he had when starting.
The Bulls were without Joakim Noah again and Taj Gibson and Pau Gasol double-doubled in his absence. I’m getting worried about Pau’s minutes, and he played 37 of them again on Monday. Jimmy Butler filled up the stat sheet behind 20 points, Derrick Rose scored 18 and Aaron Brooks added 16 off the bench. The Bulls need to get healthy before we’ll know just how good they are, and Rose went on a post-game rant, saying that his team isn’t even competing on some nights. Get ready to read a lot about that in the next 24 hours.
Raptors 92, Bucks 89 – The Raps beat the Bucks despite a donut from DeMar DeRozan, who missed all nine of his shots and failed to score. Ouch. Jonas Valanciunas double-doubled, Kyle Lowry played well, and Amir Johnson was serviceable with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block. The news of the day was that Terrence Ross was finally benched and replaced by Greivis Vasquez, and Vasquez had 10 points, three assists and a 3-pointer in 31 minutes. If this move turns out to be permanent, you’ll want to think about grabbing Vasquez (I think he’ll continue to start). Ross scored 16 off the bench with two 3-pointers and Lou Williams added 15, but I’d still rather take a flier on Vasquez at this point.
The Bucks’ starters were a mess and only Brandon Knight looked like he knew what time it was with his 20 points, five boards, five assists, four steals, a block and two 3-pointers (7-of-21 shooting). Ersan Ilyasova showed signs of life with 14 points, seven boards, a block and a 3-pointer in 23 minutes, and as usual, he’s worth keeping an eye on going forward.
Blazers 98, Kings 94 – This might have been the game of the night and the Blazers held on for the win late, despite losing LaMarcus Aldridge to a hand injury in the first half. He wasn’t able to return and owners will have to pray for good news in the morning. . Thomas Robinson, Meyers Leonard and Dorell Wright soaked up his minutes tonight, and it’s impossible to predict which one will become the man if Aldridge is going to miss time. I’m leaning toward Robinson, but the last time Aldridge was out the Blazers used a committee, and no one was worth using. Damian Lillard scored 22 and did a little bit of everything and Wesley Matthews added 17 points in the win.
The Kings got big games from Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison, and those are the guys you want on your fantasy team this season. Cousins was particularly fun with 22 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks, but he also had five turnovers and fouled out.
Suns 115, Lakers 100 – Goran Dragic led the way with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 11-of-15 shooting, Isaiah Thomas got hot off the bench with 24 points, five steals and four 3-pointers on 9-of-12 shooting, and Eric Bledsoe added 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two 3-pointers as the Suns easily handled the Lakers. And in case you didn’t get the memo, opposing team’s guards crush the Lakers on a nightly basis, so this was not surprising to see.
Nick Young finally went into Swaggy P mode last night and took over the game in the fourth quarter (even though the Lakers were never in the game). He finished with 24 points and four 3-pointers on 7-of-12 shooting, and now we just have to hope he’s ready to start doing this on a regular basis. Jordan Hill had 12 points, nine boards and six turnovers, Ed Davis had eight points and 11 rebounds, Jeremy Lin somehow double-doubled with 10 points and 10 assists, and Tarik Black left with an ugly ankle injury. Kobe Bryant sat this one out in order to rest, as the shut down looms. Consider him questionable for the whole week. Once it happens, Wayne Ellington might be a guy to pick up in his place, along with Swaggy P.
