This article is part of our Hoops Lab series.
This weekend was all about the young, dominant centers from the University of Kentucky and how they compare with one another. The weekend started with second-year ex-Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns facing off with fifth-year Kentucky product, and former National Champion, Anthony Davis in a matchup that I talked about in the second Hoops Lab article of the season. Then, the weekend ended with Davis facing DeMarcus Cousins, another former UK one-and-done.
Both matchups lived up to the billing. On Friday, Davis got Towns into foul trouble in the third quarter and, with Towns on the bench, led the Pelicans to run away from the Wolves. Here are Davis and Towns' respective lines:
Davis: 42 pts (16-22 FG, 8-11 FT), 13 reb, two ast, one stl, one blk, two 3pt, two TO
Towns: 36 pts (13-22 FG, 9-9 FT), eight reb, one ast, one 3pt, four TO
On Sunday it was a different story for Davis, as he was the one that ended up with four fouls and came up a bit short to his older Kentucky brethren. The Kings won 105 to 99, and the big men did this:
Davis: 32 pts (11-24 FG, 9-9 FT), 10 reb, three ast, two stl, one blk, one 3pt, six TO
Cousins: 28 pts (7-14 FG, 14-16 FT), 14 reb, seven ast, two stl, one blk, seven TO
So, what does this tell us? Not so much, really, except that all three of them are RIDICULOUSLY good. But we
This weekend was all about the young, dominant centers from the University of Kentucky and how they compare with one another. The weekend started with second-year ex-Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns facing off with fifth-year Kentucky product, and former National Champion, Anthony Davis in a matchup that I talked about in the second Hoops Lab article of the season. Then, the weekend ended with Davis facing DeMarcus Cousins, another former UK one-and-done.
Both matchups lived up to the billing. On Friday, Davis got Towns into foul trouble in the third quarter and, with Towns on the bench, led the Pelicans to run away from the Wolves. Here are Davis and Towns' respective lines:
Davis: 42 pts (16-22 FG, 8-11 FT), 13 reb, two ast, one stl, one blk, two 3pt, two TO
Towns: 36 pts (13-22 FG, 9-9 FT), eight reb, one ast, one 3pt, four TO
On Sunday it was a different story for Davis, as he was the one that ended up with four fouls and came up a bit short to his older Kentucky brethren. The Kings won 105 to 99, and the big men did this:
Davis: 32 pts (11-24 FG, 9-9 FT), 10 reb, three ast, two stl, one blk, one 3pt, six TO
Cousins: 28 pts (7-14 FG, 14-16 FT), 14 reb, seven ast, two stl, one blk, seven TO
So, what does this tell us? Not so much, really, except that all three of them are RIDICULOUSLY good. But we already knew that. So in this space, let's try to go a bit further on the rotisserie front. Which former Kentucky Wildcats center has been the best thus far this season, which do you want to own for the rest of the season, and which one should be the highest pick next season?
Let's start with the per-game numbers, to date:
Davis: 28 pts (51% FG, 80% FT), 12.1 reb, 2.2 ast, 1.3 stl, 2.5 blk, 0.5 3pt, 2.6 TO
Towns: 23.7 pts (52% FG, 83% FT), 11.8 reb, 2.9 ast, 0.7 stl, 1.5 blk, 1.1 3pt, 2.7 TO
Cousins: 27.8 pts (45% FG, 78% FT), 10.7 reb, 4.8 ast, 1.4 stl, 1.3 blk, 1.7 3pt, 3.7 TO
By Yahoo's per-game rankings, Davis is #2 overall, Towns No. 10, and Cousins No. 14. Qualitatively, Davis really doesn't have a roto weakness. Towns isn't quite the volume scorer of the other two on the season, and he also doesn't have the defensive value of Davis nor the assists of Cousins. Cousins is great in volume, outside of blocks, but his shooting percentages and turnovers hurt him with respect to the others.
The rankings get tighter if we go by Yahoo's totals, instead of averages, with Davis ranking 3rd, Towns 7th, and Cousins 11th. Davis actually did better by totals than I expected, because of the three he has been the one most likely to miss game action. But he has rarely missed whole games, and his partial games are already factored into his averages, and he was still king there. So, if we look at year to date, Davis is probably the MVP of this group.
However, when looking at who is the best prospect for the rest of the season, we should take a closer look at a couple of areas:
1. How have they been playing lately?
2. Which is most likely to be fully available late in the season, when playoffs happen in H2H leagues.
Let's start with how they've looked lately, as measured over the last month:
Towns: 28.3 pts (59% FG, 85% FT), 11.7 reb, 2.7 ast, 0.9 stl, 1.5 blk, 1.1 3pt, 2.6 TO
Davis: 24.9 pts (53% FG, 80% FT), 12.1 reb, 2.4 ast, 1.1 stl, 2.3 blk, 0.4 3pt, 2.8 TO
Cousins: 27.4 pts (45% FG, 78% FT), 12.3 reb, 6.7 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.2 blk, 1.5 3pt, 5.2 TO
The order has changed, as, by average, Towns is now atop this group and No. 3 overall, while Davis is No. 6 and Cousins is No. 15 over the last month, by Yahoo rankings. The main difference for Towns is an increase in scoring volume up to the range that the others are on the year, with a big bump up in field goal percentage. And since this percentage looks more like what we saw from him as a rookie, it would seem that this better shooting is sustainable. Cousins has dramatically increased both his assists and turnovers, adding more volume benefit in one category but making him an anchor in the other. And Davis's numbers slid slightly in volume, but that's likely due to the streak of games in which he had to leave early with one ailment or another.
This segues nicely into point two. Davis has always had injury issues in the league, and this year has been more of the same as at one point he had missed all or part of seven out of eight games. Cousins and Towns have generally been more durable, but Cousins has another issue -- he was just suspended for picking up his 16th technical foul last week. This means that for the rest of the season, every two technical fouls will result in a one-game suspension. With Cousins' volatility, the likelihood of a suspension (or suspensions) happening at the wrong time are just too high for me. So of this group, for the rest of the season, I'd prefer to have Towns.
Which brings us into our third question: who would we want moving forward? Well, I made the argument before the season that Towns, entering his second season, might already be ready to have a better season than Davis. Two-thirds of the way through the regular season, the numbers are suggesting that Towns is playing the best at present and is the one most likely to be most valuable down the stretch. And while Cousins is a young man at 26, and Davis won't turn 24 until next month, Towns is still only 21 years old. In fact, he just turned 21 in November. As a result,, moving forward, Towns is the one to draft at the top of next season's draft.
Around the NBA
Embiid's knee: It was revealed Saturday that Joel Embiid has a small meniscus tear in his left knee, which helps explain his 12 missed games out of the last 13. Since the All Star Break begins this week, the assumption is that he won't be back until after the break. Embiid was able to take part in shootaround on Saturday for the first time since January 27, so it seems like he's trending in the right direction. And of course, the 76ers should err on the side of caution with The Process this season.
Plumlee for Nurkic trade: The Trail Blazers traded Mason Plumlee to the Nuggets on Sunday as the primary piece exchanged for a package featuring Jusuf Nurkic. Here's my initial response to the trade, immediately after it was announced:
Big NBA trade news. Plumlee had been having career year, but Nurkic has seeds of potential stardom. Can Plumlee/Jokic be on court together? https://t.co/sJHVNh5YnU
— Andre Snellings (@ProfessorDrz) February 12, 2017
The immediate response seems to be no, that Plumlee and Jokic aren't expected to play together much, as Plumlee is in line to serve as the primary backup. Denver already saw what happened when they tried to force Jokic to play out of position in favor of Nurkic this season. I t was just wasted time when their franchise player could have been developing. With that said, there is some hope that Plumlee and Jokic can coexist because both are such excellent passing big men and are comfortable with operating out of the high post. The Nuggets may experiment a bit with that lineup, but this time I expect they'll cater to Jokic, who is destroying the world right now on the court.
In Portland, Nurkic seems like he's on a long-term tryout to see if he can be part of the team's future. They still have Ed Davis and Meyers Leonard in town as veterans who are capable of playing center, but Plumlee was their best talent in the middle and Nurkic has the opportunity to prove himself to be a long-term fit. It is unclear whether Nurkic will start off the bat, but he still makes a decent flyer play with upside that could very well be reached sooner rather than later.
Butler's heel and Wade's wrist(s): Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade both sat out Sunday's games with ailments. Wade was the surprise sit, as he was listed as probable for Sunday after he bruised his wrists in a game on Friday. He was a late scratch for the game and underwent X-rays, but they came back negative, which means that he'll likely be back on the court soon. Butler, on the other hand, has missed four of his last five games with a heel injury. He returned on Friday after missing three, then had to sit again on Sunday. No official announcement has been made for his availability this week, but with the All Star Break coming up, the safe play could be to sit him and let him heal up.
No Love on Valentine's Day: Kevin Love is battling a sore left knee and has already been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Timberwolves. He had an MRI on the knee and has been cleared of any structural damage, but he is still battling residual soreness. Once again, with the All-Star break approaching, the safe play could be for the Cavs to sit him and get him healed up. But check in to see what the official word is when it comes down from the Cavs' front office.
New Additions and DFS value
Dario Saric, F (54% owned in Yahoo! Leagues): The 76ers have been without Joel Embiid for weeks and seemingly won't have him back until after the All Star break. Meanwhile, this year's first overall draft pick, Ben Simmons, also isn't expected to make his debut until after the break. Saric seems to be taking advantage of this dearth of 76ers superstars to assert himself as another rookie of significance in Philly. Saric has been teasing strong play for weeks, but seems to have really found his level over his last couple of outings, with averages of 21.5 points, 7.0 boards, 2.5 assists and 3.0 combined blocks and steals.
Matt Barnes, F (33% owned): Barnes has averaged 11 points, 8.4 boards, 3.5 assists, 2.0 treys and 1.1 combined blocks and steals over his last eight games. He has started many of those games, but even when coming off the bench he has been getting enough minutes to make himself effective as an across-the-board garbageman in roto leagues.
Kelly Olynyk, C (23% owned): Olynyk is on an extended run of good play, averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 combined blocks/steals in 22 minutes over his last eight games. On Saturday, he capped that run by dropping a surprising 19 points, seven boards, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 27 minutes against Rudy Gobert and the defensively dominant Jazz.
Ish Smith, G (17% owned): Smith has taken advantage of ongoing struggles from starter Reggie Jackson to get himself back into the Pistons' rotation. Over his past seven games he has averaged a respectable 11.4 points, 5.4 assists, 3.0 boards and 1.3 combined blocks and steals in 22.9 minutes of the bench. On Saturday, he earned an even bigger slice of the pie, playing 31 minutes and turning in 15 points, five boards and five assists in an important game in Toronto.
Dewayne Dedmon, C (16% owned): Even with a relatively down game on Saturday against the Knicks, Dedmon has averaged 8.0 points, 11.8 boards and 1.8 combined steals/blocks over his last four games. Pau Gasol isn't expected to return from his broken finger until after the All Star break, giving Dedmon a few more games to potentially shine.
Keeping up with the Professor
The Hoops Lab is now a blog with daily content, so check out/follow for the freshest NBA content every day. Follow me on Twitter @ProfessorDrz. Also, don't forget that you can catch me on the radio on Rotowire Fantasy Sports Today with Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson on XM 87, Sirius 210 on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM EST. Plus, I'm doing DFS articles just about every day, writing analytics pieces for Nylon Calculus on the Fansided Network, and I co-host the TYTSports basketball show on the weekends.
