Just one more week until Friday the 13th. Count me in.
Oklahoma City @ Chicago
Steven Adams left the game with back soreness. He was limited to 25 minutes, and Enes Kanter tallied 11 points (3-7 FG, 5-5 FT), eight rebounds, one assist, and one block in 22 minutes. He projects to play more minutes if Adams misses time, but the Thunder plays two games over the next seven days and their third game is against the Sixers. I think it'll be a short-term boost.
Doug McDermott was promoted to the starting lineup in favor of Tony Snell. McDermott threw up nine points (3-5 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT) and one rebound in 23 minutes. The promotion actually hurts McDermott because he's taking the place of a non-entity on offense. McDermott doesn't have free reign to put up shots when he's playing alongside Rose, Butler, Mirotic, and Gasol. Coming off the bench is best for his fantasy value, but he wasn't performing well as a reserve anyhow.
Derrick Rose scored a game-high 29 points (12-25 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 5-6 FT), dished out seven assists, and grabbed five rebounds in 37 minutes. It was a great matchup because the Thunder was yielding a league-high 33.6 field goal attempts in the restricted area. Not only was Rose taking advantage of Kanter in the pick-and-roll in the fourth quarter, he was also nailing some difficult jumpers. On the season, Rose is 0-of-9 on three-pointers. He's still not fully recovered from the orbital fracture he suffered in the preseason, and that's obscuring the vision in his left eye.
Nikola Mirotic was limited to 15 minutes and he didn't play the final 18 minutes due to the matchup. Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah each played over 22 minutes in an effort to improve the defensive cohesion, making Mirotic the odd man out tonight. The Bulls' schedule lightens up over the next two weeks, and that makes me believe Mirotic will return to his typical minute allotment.
Miami @ Minnesota
The Heat's starting lineup took advantage of an inadequate defensive team. All five starters scored in double figures.
Gerald Green (illness) was unavailable for the second straight game, and Justise Winslow played a team-high 36 minutes off the bench, absorbing much of Green's playing time. Tyler Johnson played 25 minutes and added eight points (2-4 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four rebounds, and three assists in 25 minutes. Johnson is interesting because Mario Chalmers (knee) has been on the trading block since the summer, and if the Heat successfully reroute him in a salary dump, Johnson moves up the backup point guard.
The Timberwolves' reserves garnered a majority of the playing time in this blowout. Andrew Wiggins led the team with 31 minutes, but seven others, including five reserves, played at least 20 minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng split the center minutes, as is the norm. Shabazz Muhammad and Kevin Martin each scored a team-high 14 points, and Nemanja Bjelica secured a team-high seven boards.
Towns' early season success can be attributed directly to Ricky Rubio. Rubio has assisted 16 of Towns 25 made baskets, and Towns has played all but nine minutes with Rubio. In total, 88 percent of Towns' made baskets have been assisted, and his first two games occurred against the Nuggets and Lakers, two of the worst frontlines in the NBA. He may ultimately be regressing to normalcy, but the Timberwolves play eight games over the next 12 days, making now the time to try to obtain him in a trade.
Charlotte @ Dallas
This game featured a cavalcade of former teammates: Nicolas Batum v. Wesley Matthews, Jeremy Lin v. Chandler Parsons, Marvin Williams v. Zaza Pachulia, and Al Jefferson v. Deron Williams & Devin Harris. I was captivated.
Marvin Williams grabbed at least 10 rebounds for the fourth time in five games, corralling 12 in 32 minutes. He also scored a season-high 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-3 FT), recorded two assists, and blocked a shot. I'll make a parallel to Trevor Ariza's 2013-14 season. Ariza was coming off a few down seasons and began that year scorching hot. Martell Webster was the incumbent starting small forward, but he was sidelined with what ultimately became a persistent back issue. Ariza averaged 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.3 three-pointers in 36 minutes per game over the first 12 games. No one believed Ariza was capable of sustaining the unprecedented performance, yet here were are three seasons later and Ariza is a must-own player. Williams has a chance to run a similar course on a smaller scale. He still hasn't recorded a steal, and his rebounds are off the charts in his power forward role.
Al Jefferson scored a season-high 31 points (15-18 FG, 1-1 FT) and grabbed nine rebounds in 27 minutes. You know who else had solid performances against the Mavericks? Julius Randle (22 points and 15 rebounds) and Luis Scola (19 points and 12 rebounds) come to mind. Factor that into your equation when deciding to buy or sell Jefferson. All signs point to sell.
Williams is playing well enough at power forward to keep Frank Kaminsky glued to the bench. Kaminsky played five minutes in the blowout win. Coach Clifford did the same thing last year with Noah Vonleh. Those are the breaks.
Jeremy Lamb increased his consecutive good game streak to two. I wrote last time that I'm waiting for six straight games. My skepticism won't allow me to jump the gun on Lamb, something I've done in previous seasons. Over the past two games, Lamb has scored 53 percent of his points in fourth-quarter blowouts. Last night, 10 of his 16 points came by way of the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. It's great that he's increasing his confidence and interest in fantasy leagues, but he's too inconsistent to rely on.
Dwight Powell is making moves and cracking skulls. Through five games, he's averaging 10.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game. The Mavericks are thin in the frontcourt, and news surfaced today that JaVale McGee (leg) isn't likely to return until after November. Powell is a frail player by NBA standards, and he's extremely foul prone, averaging 3.0 per game thus far. Eventually, Powell will add three-pointers to his stat line, of which he converted 39 percent in the D-League last season. And don't worry about the 53 percent free-throw mark; Powell made 72 percent during his four years at Stanford and 70 percent during his D-League stint. The Mavericks are bad enough the Powell will continue to get run in blowouts, and he's nearing the point where you consider adding him
Raymond Felton started the game, but Chandler Parsons started the second half. That was the plan prior to the game as the Mavericks slowly work Parsons back into game shape. He played 14 minutes for the second straight game. The Mavericks play four games in five nights next week, and it's highly likely Parsons rests one game of each leg.
Utah @ Denver
The Jazz were playing the second night of a back-to-back set, and it showed. Derrick Favors labored through illness for the second straight day, but rested the second half and played a total of 15 minutes. Trevor Booker started the second half, as did Alec Burks over Rodney Hood.
I intently watched the first half. Gordon Hayward had the opportunity for nine assists in that time, but he was only credited with one assist due to the incompetence of his teammates. Yesterday, I surmised that the increased roles of their wing players were stunting Hayward's role. I still believe that, and Burks helped stoke the fire with a team-high eight assists, one night removed from Hood leading the team. Hayward has scored 34 points in 99 minutes with Hood on the court versus 41 points in 67 minutes with Hood off. A similar trend sticks when Favors is on the court, but the worst culprit is Raul Neto, who accounts for a six percent dip in Hayward's field goal percentage. Hayward ended with a team-high 20 points (7-13 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 4-4 FT), three rebounds, and three assists, but most of his scoring damage occurred after Favors exited.
Joffrey Lauvergne (back) didn't play, and J.J. Hickson started in his absence. This game was a wash for the Nuggets. There's nothing to see here.
Memphis @ Portland
The Blazers ran away with this game after the seven-minute mark of the third quarter. They caught the Grizzlies on their fifth game in seven nights.
Marc Gasol was hampered by a neck strain, and it was reported on the broadcast that he's been dealing with it for a few weeks now. The trainers heavily bandaged him on the bench to help keep the neck from stiffening. It partially explains Gasol's tepid start to the season. I'm still targeting him, especially in rotisserie formats. His value is at an all-time low.
One night after spraining his right ankle, Meyers Leonard quelled concerns about his rocky start with 14 points (5-7 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 3-3 FT), five rebounds, and two assists in 27 minutes. Prior to last night, he missed 11 consecutive three-pointers. Leonard is on the road to recovery, but the minutes have been evenly spread among the frontcourt bigs, and that submarines his impact. Combined with his poor shooting, Leonard is averaging 3.8 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 1.0 block in 24 minutes per game. I'm still rostering him in a 12-team rotisserie league in case he drastically improves his performance. Buying low is an option, but if he does right the ship, most of his value is sequestered in the percentages. That may not be your primary concern.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 47 points, 11 three-pointers, and five assists. Boomshakala.