Dose: Steph Curry for MVP?
It was a quiet three-game night on Thursday, but the Cavaliers made it interesting by barely hanging on for a win over the Knicks. The Blazers held off a scrappy Pacers team and the Warriors destroyed the Pelicans. Keep reading to see how it all went down. You can join @siriouslysusan, the voice of Siri, and follow me on Twitter by clicking here. Why Siri is following me on Twitter, I'll never know, but I kind of like it.
Cavs 90, Knicks 87
Kyrie Irving racked up a season-high 37 points on 12-of-18 shooting and also hit three 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free throws. That’s all good, but if you’re using him as your primary point guard the news isn’t so great, as he had just two assists. He’s averaging just 4.8 of them on the season and that’s what happens when you play next to you know who. Speaking of him, LeBron James had 19 points, five rebounds, two steals and a 3-pointer on 7-of-17 shooting. Oh, and he also had 12 assists, which is why Irving isn’t getting many this season. The good news is that Irving’s averaging 22.4 points and eventually David Blatt is going to tell LeBron to get down in the post and abuse people, and let Irving run the point. But until it happens, Irving’s assists are going to be a problem. LeBron is dealing with a sore elbow, but it sounds like he's going to keep playing through it.
Kevin Love’s season of disappointment continued, as he had just 11 points, 11 rebounds and zero 3-pointers. There’s something to be said for being a star on a bad team and racking up ridiculous numbers, which was the case when Love played for the Timberwolves. As ridiculous as it sounds, maybe he’d enjoy being ‘the man’ in Los Angeles next year. It’s hard to believe Shawn Marion was once one of the best players in the NBA. He started and played 27 minutes, but hit just 2-of-8 shots for five points, six rebounds and two turnovers. The Matrix is a distant memory for some of us. Irving’s offensive performance was the reason the Cavs won this game, and if they wouldn’t have, the sky would be falling in Cleveland this morning.
Remember when I was freaking out about Carmelo Anthony’s back injury and said the sky was falling in New York? I may not have been wrong as he hit just 4-of-19 shots and finished with nine points – his first single-digit scoring performance since March 6, 2013, when he left the game with an injury after just 14 minutes. As a fellow Melo owner in a big league, yes, I’m concerned. He actually had more turnovers (five) than made shots (four), which is disgusting. Jose Calderon was just awful and ruined my DFS teams with three points and three assists on 1-of-5 shooting in 28 minutes, and Iman Shumpert’s dreadful slump continued as he failed to score on 0-of-4 shooting in 25 minutes. How he is this bad, I just don’t understand. You know things are bad for the Knicks when Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored a total of four points in his previous two games, led the way with 20 points and four 3-pointers, and Amare Stoudemire turned back the clock to hit 8-of-13 shots for 18 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block. The guy still has some heart and is worth owning in all leagues, especially since he replaced Samuel Dalembert as the Knicks’ starting center last night. I guess Quincy Acy is worth keeping a close eye on after his 15 points, six boards and a block on 6-of-8 shooting in 31 minutes, but he had been pretty quiet coming into this one. It looks like he’s going to start at PF all year and is officially worth a look. However, I just don’t trust him, or any of his teammates right now. J.R. Smith returned from an illness and played 19 minutes, but scored just nine points and hit a 3-pointer. The Knicks are really a mess and could really use a guy like Kobe Bryant, right?
Blazers 88, Pacers 82
The Blazers got a balanced attack from their starting lineup and held off the scrappy Pacers. LaMarcus Aldridge racked up 18 points and 13 rebounds, but hit just 7-of-21 shots (and two 3-pointers) against Roy Hibbert and David West, while Damian Lillard led the way with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Nicolas Batum had 13 points and a very full stat line that included five rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks and a 3-pointer, and Wesley Matthews added 12 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Matthews’ hot run is officially over, as he failed to hit a 3-pointer after knocking down 20 of them in his previous four games. He was 1-of-10 from downtown on Tuesday, so I guess the writing was on the wall. Robin Lopez was another DFS killer for me, as he hit just 1-of-5 shots for four points, seven boards and no blocks despite playing 30 minutes. Yeah, we can blame it on Chris Kaman’s productive season, but this was just an off night for Ro-Lo, who also had five fouls. Kaman didn’t do much either, finishing with six points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes. Simply put, the Blazers’ big men struggled against Hibbert and the Pacers.
Indy was led by Rodney Stuckey’s 16 points and he also added six rebounds and five assists in a start at point guard. Solomon Hill had 15 points, eight boards, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer, David West had 13 points, eight boards, two steals, a block and a rare 3-pointer, and Luis Scola added 10 points off the bench. That’s it for the double-digit heroes in Indy, as Chris Copeland scored five points after a move back into the starting lineup, and Hibbert managed just nine points, seven boards and a block in 31 minutes. Donald Sloan was benched for Stuckey and didn’t even play, and can now be dropped in all leagues. C.J. Watson came off the bench to hit just 2-of-12 shots, and C.J. Miles hit just 2-of-8 shots in 20 minutes off the bench. The Pacers are somewhat competitive this season, but from a fantasy perspective, this team is a mess. Grab Stuckey and hold onto Hill, West and Hibbert. The rest of these guys are going to be tough to count on for consistency going forward and it’s going to get even more confusing once George Hill is back from his knee injury. He may or may not play before January.
Warriors 112, Pelicans 85
The Warriors cruised to an easy win over Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, getting 23 points, five 3-pointers and a full stat line from Klay Thompson, 19 points, 11 assists, four steals and three 3-pointers from Stephen Curry, 17 points and 10 rebounds from Harrison Barnes, and 14 points, 14 rebounds, a block and two 3-pointers from Draymond Green. That is fantasy gold across the board and I’m not the least bit worried about David Lee messing up Green’s value when he returns. Lee will come off the bench, leaving Green to start all year, as far as I’m concerned. Andrew Bogut added eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, and Marreese Speights stayed relevant with 12 points, six boards, a steal and a block despite playing just 17 minutes off the bench. They’re now a league-best 16-2 and Curry looks like a serious MVP candidate, while Thompson isn’t far behind him.
The Pelicans got 30 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and three blocks on 14-of-19 shooting from fantasy MVP Anthony Davis, but that’s where the good news ends. Jrue Holiday added 12 points and eight assists on 5-of-15 shooting and Tyreke Evans had 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, but it was an ugly night for New Orleans. Ryan Anderson was another DFS killer with four points and no 3-pointers on 2-of-9 shooting and the Pelicans were simply in over their heads last night. Luke Babbitt started again and had five points in 19 minutes, while Austin Rivers played 23 minutes and scored seven off the bench. Davis, Evans, Holiday, Anderson and Omer Asik should be in fantasy lineups right now, but no one else should be counted on for the Pels these days. Asik had nine points and 15 rebounds, and seems to be rounding back into form, so get him back in your lineup. Evans, Holiday and Anderson should bounce back on Saturday against the Clippers.
The Rotoworld NBA News Feed should be hopping on Friday with 24 teams in action tonight, so tune in for all the injury and lineup news and notes throughout the day. I’ll see you there.
