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NBA Dose: Sunday Recap

Steve Alexander
Ryan Knaus explores each team's remaining strength-of-schedule for fantasy value -- players for the Nets and Wolves are in a position to thrive

Games Played Week 23

4 Games: BOS, BRK, CHA, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, PHI, POR, SAC, SAN, TOR, UTA

3 Games: ATL, CHI, DAL, DEN, MEM, MIN, NOP, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHX, WAS

2 Games: CLE

Rockets 99, Wizards 91 – Nothing really special happened for the Rockets in this game. James Harden scored 24 on 7-of-20 shooting, Donatas Motiejunas sat out with a sore back, Dwight Howard was limited to 19 minutes, but still double-doubled, and Jason Terry played a disappointing 19 minutes. He’s splitting time with Pablo Prigioni in the absence of Patrick Beverley, but Prigioni played 10 more minutes than Terry on Sunday. My guess is Terry bounces back from this one, but we’ll have to see if he can overcome the timeshare and offer some value.

The Wizards got 25 points, eight boards and 12 dimes from John Wall, and Bradley Beal chipped in with 15 points in the loss. Drew Gooden was quiet with four points and five rebounds, so his big game a few days ago is looking more and more like a fluke.

Nets 107, Lakers 99 – Brook Lopez went off again for 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and the Nets look silly for not starting him all season long. Joe Johnson’s cold streak is over, as he had 18 points, eight boards, seven assists, two steals and three 3-pointers, and Deron Williams was solid with 13 points and nine dimes. Markel Brown started again at SG and had 17 points and a full stat line, but I just don’t trust him. However, he ruined Bojan Bogdanovic, who played just nine minutes and hit 1-of-4 shots for two points. Bogdanovic will blow up for another big game soon, but is completely unreliable on the Nets. And you can say the exact same thing about Brown. The Nets overtook the Celtics for the No. 8 seed in the East, and it will be a dogfight between Miami, Brooklyn, Boston, Indy and Charlotte the rest of the way to see who gets in.

The Lakers let Jordan Hill play off the bench on Sunday and he went off for 22 points, 16 rebounds and a block. Ed Davis sat out for a rest, so whether Hill continues to play remains to be seen. He was great, but like most of the Lakers big men, you just can’t trust him. Jordan Clarkson was solid again with 18 points, six boards and seven assists, Wes Johnson had a nice game with 17 points, five boards and a 3-pointer, and Jabari Brown had 11 points, four steals, a block and a 3-pointer in 31 minutes. He hit just 4-of-14 shots, but is worth keeping a close eye on going forward. Jeremy Lin sat this one out with an upper respiratory infection, and any time he’s out, Clarkson looks like a safe bet for success.

Pelicans 110, Wolves 88 – Tyreke Evans had an off night, Anthony Davis didn’t double-double, and Eric Gordon took just eight shots, yet the Pelicans still crushed the Wolves. It was a pretty awful night for the Pelicans in fantasyland, as Davis was really the only player to come through.

The Wolves got a nice game from Adreian Payne with 14 points, 11 boards and two steals, but I still don’t trust him. The big news here is Gorgui Dieng’s departure with a facial contusion after just nine minutes. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. His absence helped Justin Hamilton go for 11 points, five boards, a steal and a block, and Hamilton will be worth grabbing if Dieng is going to miss time. Zach LaVine made another start for Ricky Rubio and had 17 points, but just one assist, and Chase Budinger cooled off with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. He still played 30 minutes, so I think he’s a good pickup.

Cavs 87, Sixers 86 – Kevin Love (10 & 10), LeBron James (20 & 11) and Timofey Mozgov (14 & 10) all double-doubled with rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 17 points in a close win over the Sixers.

Robert Covington might finally be back for the Sixers after his 19 points and five 3-pointers, but only Furkan Aldemir and Ish Smith were able to join him in double digits. Smith is worth piking up, but Aldemir, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds, didn’t even score in his previous game. Leave him alone for now.

Clippers 119, Celtics 106 – The Clips crushed the Celtics and got full stat lines from all five starters, led by J.J. Redick’s 27 points and five 3-pointers. Blake Griffin, Matt Barnes, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul all came through with nice fantasy stat lines in the win.

The Celtics got 19 points from Isaiah Thomas off the bench, while Kelly Olynyk (14 points, 5 rebounds), Luigi Datome (12 points, 2 3-pointers) and Jonas Jerebko (10 points, 8 rebounds) also played well off the pine. Tyler Zeller started and had 16 points and five rebounds, Avery Bradley disappeared, and Marcus Smart scored zero points on 0-for-6 shooting in just 18 minutes before shutting it down. Evan Turner flirted with a triple-double, but scored just nine points.

Heat 109, Pistons 102 – Dwyane Wade graced us with his presence last night and hit 14-of-27 shots for 40 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal. I just pray you had him in your lineup, after he missed Wednesday’s game with a sore knee, and had just 13 points on Friday. He’ll be day-to-day from here on in, so good luck figuring out his schedule if you’re a Wade owner. Wade stole the show, while Udonis Haslem somehow had 18 points and 13 rebounds in one of his best games of the season. Goran Dragic had just 10 points and five assists in the shadow of Wade, James Ennis had 16 points, six rebounds and two 3-pointers off the bench, and Mario Chalmers had 11 points, nine boards, four assists and two 3-pointers off the bench. Henry Walker made another start, but hit just 2-of-5 shots for six points, five rebounds and two 3-pointers in 34 minutes.

The Pistons got 32 points, 14 rebounds, a steal and a block on 14-of-17 shooting from Andre Drummond, while Reggie Jackson went off for 31 points, six rebounds, nine assists and three 3-pointers on 12-of-17 shooting. Those two dominated the box score for the Pistons, so you were out of luck if you used Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, or any other Pistons last night.

Spurs 103, Grizzlies 89 – The Spurs have once again become that team that no one will want to see in the playoffs. They got a balanced attack from Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter, while Memphis dropped their third straight game after losing to Golden State and Cleveland. If you’re going to go on a three-game losing streak this late in the year, you might as well do it in style and lose to three of the best teams in the league.

They got 20 points and 13 boards from Zach Randolph, 16 points and six boards from Marc Gasol, and six points, nine dimes, three steals and two 3-pointers from Mike Conley. He hit just 2-of-11 shots, or his line would have looked much better. Jeff Green came off the bench as Vince Carter started (really?), and had 19 points and two 3-pointers, but nothing else. Carter had five points on 1-of-3 shooting, so you can continue to forget about him.

Pacers 104, Mavs 99 – The Pacers stayed in the playoff picture by beating the Mavs behind 28 points and five 3-pointers for C.J. Miles. He hit 9-of-12 shots, but has been pretty unreliable for most of the season. However, he’s hot right now, scoring 26 on Thursday and 16 on Wednesday, and he’s hit 12 3-pointers in his last three games. He’ll fall back to earth at some point, but for now, he’s feeling it. Rodney Stuckey returned to action but hit just 4-of-14 shots for 10 points, which meant fewer minutes for C.J. Watson. Watson hit 2-of-5 shots for seven points in 24 minutes. Dropping CJW to get Stuckey (or Miles) makes sense right now.

The Mavs were without Monta Ellis due to a calf injury, but Richard Jefferson was a dud with four points in 16 minutes in the start. Chandler Parsons was the big gun for the Mavs with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points in 34 minutes. Rajon Rondo just missed a triple-double with 17 points, seven boards and 10 assists, and Amare Stoudemire had 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench. RJ could make some noise if Ellis continues to miss time, but we just don’t know how serious his calf injury is right now.

Thunder 109, Suns 97 – The Thunder got 33 points, nine boards, seven assists, three steals and a block from Russell Westbrook to stay in the No. 8 hole in the West. Enes Kanter had 11 points and nine boards, Steven Adams bounced back with 13 points and 16 boards, and Dion Waiters added 18 points and a 3-pointer on 8-of-20 shooting. D.J. Augustin had 19 points and four 3-pointers in 32 minutes off the bench, and Anthony Morrow added 11 points and three 3-pointers off the pine. Kyle Singler started and had four points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a 3-pointer, but I don’t trust him (or Augustin).

Markieff Morris led the way for the Suns with 24 points and seven boards, Marcus Morris added 15 points, nine boards, five dimes and two 3-pointers, and Eric Bledsoe had 15 points and seven assists in the loss. T.J. Warren came out of nowhere for a career-high 18 points, five rebounds and two steals on 8-of-10 shooting, but is completely unreliable. Brandon Knight played through his ankle injury, but hit just 1-of-10 shots for three points, and doesn’t sound likely to play on Monday against the Blazers. If he’s out (I think he will be), Warren and Bledsoe should be solid plays on Monday night.