Kyle Lowry Messes Around
Kyle Lowry messed around, Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside went off, Tyler Zeller had a career high, John Wall and Bradley Beal both went off for the Wizards, Dwyane Wade beat LeBron and the Cavs, Serge Ibaka will have surgery, and several stars were on the bench for their teams on Monday, getting some rest. Here we go.
Thunder fall to Dallas, Ibaka to have surgery
Serge Ibaka will have a procedure on his right knee in hopes of being back for the postseason. While it’s possible he could play before then, it’s also quite possible that he’s done until the playoffs get here. If I own him, I’m cutting him in most situations, but owners should probably wait and see how the surgery goes. In his stead, Enes Kanter stayed hot with 19 points, 13 boards and a block, Steven Adams had 15 points and eight boards, and Mitch McGary came through with 12 points, 13 rebounds and a block. All three players are going to have to step up with the Ibaka news, so give them a look. Russell Westbrook had a solid 24 points, eight boards, 12 assists, four steals, a block and a 3-pointer before fouling out, and Anthony Morrow added 13 points, four boards, a steal, a block and three 3-pointers in 26 minutes off the bench. I think Morrow might be getting ready to take off.
Dallas got 31 points, four boards, two steals and three 3-pointers on 10-of-14 shooting from Chandler Parsons, and Rajon Rondo showed signs of life with 11 points, 13 assists, a steal and a 3-pointer. I still don’t trust Rondo, but he played better last night.
Wade goes off, Heat stun Cavs
Dwyane Wade turned back the clock and racked up 32 points, two rebounds, two assists, five steals and four 3-pointers as the Heat waxed the Cavs. Hassan Whiteside added 16 points, 11 boards and three blocks, which meant bad things for Chris Andersen. He had just four points, three boards and a block off the bench. Goran Dragic had 20 points, nine assists and a full stat line, and Mario Chalmers woke up with 16 points, five boards, three assists, a steal, a block and two 3-pointers. He scored just eight points in each of his previous two games, so there doesn’t appear to be any reason to scramble to pick him up.
LeBron James played well with 26 points, four assists and four 3-pointers, but hit just 8-of-19 shots, and the Cavs weren’t very effective with him on the court. The good news is that he played, as he was iffy coming in with a sore knee. He also tweaked his wrist during the game, so owners will want to watch for news going forward to make sure he’s playing. Kyrie Irving added 21 points and six assists in the loss, while Timofey Mozgov was the only other Cav in double figures with 10 points, five boards and no blocks. Kevin Love sat this one out (again), but is expected to play on Wednesday.
Kyle Lowry triple-doubles in Raps win
Kyle Lowry had 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and five-pointers in the line of the night, and has hit five 3-pointers in three of his last four games. The Raptors stopped the Pacers, as Lou Williams also stepped up with 24 points and a 3-pointer.
The Pacers got 23 points, two assists and a 3-pointer from George Hill, and Rodney Stuckey stayed hot with 20 points and four dimes on 9-of-16 shooting off the bench. Additionally, Roy Hibbert proved that he can still play basketball and had 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes.
Hawks win again at Sacramento, set road-wins record
Despite Al Horford resting and Kyle Korver sitting with a broken nose, the Hawks beat the Kings in Sacramento for the seventh straight time, and picked up a franchise-record 23rd road win. DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kent Bazemore, and bench players Shelvin Mack and Dennis Schroder all played well and scored in double figures for the Hawks. With Korver scheduled to miss at least two more games, Bazemore and Mack are decent pickups right now, while Schroder has been one for a while. The Hawks are at Golden State on Wednesday, so set your DVR. The Hawks should have everyone except Korver available against GSW.
The Kings got 20 points, 13 boards, five assists, two steals and three blocks from DeMarcus Cousins, while Andre Miller came out of nowhere for 16 points, seven assists and two 3-pointers. Starter Ray McCallum didn’t play badly in this one, so the Miller line looks like a fluke. Omri Casspi started for Rudy Gay due to his sore left knee, and it sounds like Gay may not play on Wednesday, either. Casspi had 16 points, five boards, two steals and two 3-pointers, and might be worth a pickup, as well as a daily option if Gay’s going to continue to sit for the Kings. The bad thing about Gay is the Kings’ dismal record. There’s just no reason for him to play in pain.
Al Jefferson back for Hornets, Jazz blow their doors off
The Jazz decimated the Hornets on Monday, getting nine points, 22 rebounds and a block from Rudy Gobert, while Rodney Hood hit 9-of-11 shots and 5-of-5 3-pointers for 24 points, three boards, three assists and a steal. He’s starting and playing well, and while this might have been his best game of the season, he should be picked up.
Jefferson returned from his knee injury and played 24 minutes, but had just 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams were all awful, and the Hornets were down 61-30 at halftime before losing 94-66. I still think Williams, MKG and Henderson are worth holding in many instances, as the Hornets just didn’t have it tonight. Look at their game logs before dropping them, and look for them to bounce back tonight at the Clippers.
Wizards wax Blazers behind Wall & Beal
John Wall had 21 points, nine boards, 11 assists, two steals and two blocks, and Bradley Beal added 23 points, four 3-pointers, four rebounds, seven assists and a steal as the Wizards stopped the Blazers. All five Wizards starters scored in double figures and played well on Monday, including Marcin Gortat, Paul Pierce and Nene.
The usual suspects put up nice lines for the Blazers, with Nicolas Batum’s full line of 12 points, 15 boards, five assists, a steal, a block and two 3-pointers leading the way. He hit just 4-of-12 shots, but has been playing much better since Wesley Matthews went down.
Celtics stop Sixers on Tyler Zeller’s big night
Avery Bradley’s elbow looked fine on Monday with 20 points, a season-high 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and four 3-pointers. If he was dropped in your league, it’s time to pick him up, even though this happened against the Sixers. Tyler Zeller also went off with a career-high 26 points to go with five boards and two assists on 11-of-15 shooting. Kelly Olynyk missed all six of his shots off the bench in just 16 minutes, so it appears that Zeller has a decent shot at holding his value the rest of the way. Jae Crowder had 10 points and five boards off the bench in 21 minutes, and I’d much rather see him starting.
Nerlens Noel stayed hot with 18 points, seven boards, two steals and a block, and Isaiah Canaan had a nice start with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and two 3-pointers on 4-of-11 shooting. Ish Smith came off the bench for 16 points, four assists, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer, and the timeshare is on at point guard. Robert Covington came off the bench and scored just four points, so his run might officially be over after a couple duds. Jerami Grant also came off the bench and while he played an impressive 25 minutes, he didn’t do much with them. He didn’t block a shot after swatting seven of them over his previous two games.
Memphis stops tanking Nuggets
Zach Randolph had 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Beno Udrih got the start at point guard for Mike Conley. Beno had just nine points, five boards, two assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in 24 minutes, while Nick Calathes spelled him for 12 points, five boards, three assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench. Conley was out with an ankle injury and will be questionable for Tuesday night.
The freaking Nuggets, for reasons I don’t fully understand, rested Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson, and to no one’s surprise, got beat down. Maybe the tank is on and they’re going to blatantly try to lose games, but you have to think the stars will be back in the next one. Jameer Nelson took advantage and went off for 24 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and two 3-pointers in 34 minutes. I’m not sure how, but Nelson is averaging 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 3.0 3-pointers over his last four games. And yes, I think that means you pick him up if you need a hot player, although he could easily disappear once Lawson is back. Randy Foye scored 16 with three steals and two 3-pointers, while Wilson Chandler was back from his knee injury for 13 points, eight boards, a couple steals and two 3-pointers. Jusuf Nurkic was awful, missing both his shots for two points, three boards and a block in 20 minutes. He’s just not getting it done and I’d rather roll the dice on a guy like Zeller, Justin Hamilton or Brandan Wright at this point. Will Barton cooled off after scoring 25 on Sunday, hitting 1-of-5 shots and a 3-pointer for five points, two boards, four assists, a steal and a block. He still contributed across the board, but the return of Chandler hurts him a bit – especially when the rest of the starters return.
Nets drub Wolves, Bojan Bogdanovic wakes up
Thaddeus Young, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Jarrett Jack all played well for the Nets, while Deron Williams struggled for eight points and seven assists. He should be fine, and a hard hit to his left wrist on Sunday may have been to blame for Monday’s issues. Bojan Bogdanovic went off for 21 points, four boards, two assists, a steal and a 3-pointer on 10-of-15 shooting in 27 minutes off the bench. He scored just two points in his previous game and has been cold, so I need to see this again before getting too excited.
Ricky Rubio (ankle) and Nikola Pekovic (ankle) both sat out again, which meant big things for Zach LaVine and Justin Hamilton. LaVine had 20 points, three assists, four 3-pointers and six turnovers, and could be a solid play again on Wednesday if Rubio can’t go. Hamilton came off the bench for 15 points, six rebounds, a steal and two blocks, and is hot. He’s averaging 14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks over his last four games. Maybe Pekovic comes back on Wednesday and ruins him, and maybe he doesn’t. Rubio and Pek are both questionable for Wednesday. Chase Budinger, who has been doing next to nothing, hit 8-of-10 shots and two 3-pointers for 18 points, four boards, two assists and a steal, so just put him on your radar in case he gets hot.
Warriors sneak by Lakers for another win
Despite the fact the Lakers are terrible against opposing guards, Stephen Curry hit just 5-of-14 shots and two 3-pointers for 19 points, nine assists and six turnovers. Klay Thompson tweaked his ankle, but played through it, and had 26 points and three 3-pointers, while Draymond Green had 16 points and a fun stat line, and Harrison Barnes added 11 points. The Dubs didn’t get much off the bench, as usual, and Thompson’s owners will want to watch for news on his ankle on Tuesday.
The Lakers were in this game until the end, as most of the starters played well. Wes Johnson had 16 points and a full line, Jordan Hill had 15 points, 12 boards, five assists and three steals, Jordan Clarkson had 17 points, six boards, three assists, two steals and a 3-pointer, and Wayne Ellington added 17 points and three 3-pointers in the loss. All of them are worth a look if they’re still available in your league. Tarik Black started, but had just four points and five rebounds, while Carlos Boozer just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards, and Jeremy Lin stayed relevant with 15 points, four assists, a steal, two blocks and a 3-pointer.
