The biggest news of the night comes from a guy who barely played at all. Less than 2 minutes into the game between Golden State and Washington, Warriors’ center Zaza Pachulia (12 points, 8 rebounds) fell into Kevin Durant’s left knee. KD walked away gingerly before heading to the bench and being whisked away into the locker room. Diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, Durant did not return to the game.
Is this karma from the Basketball Gods for his comments about not wanting to come home to play for the Wizards? Kidding aside, this is terrible news to the Warriors, fans of the NBA, and fantasy owners. Hopefully KD’s injury isn’t long-term, but more will be known after examining the MRI results.
In the meantime, the Warriors wasted no time in reaching out to free agent Matt Barnes and are expected to sign him later this week. Released by the Kings after trading DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans, Barnes is excited to rejoin the Warriors, after playing for them from 2006-2008. I wouldn’t rush to add Barnes until more is known about KD’s injury, but Barnes has been useful for fantasy purposes before.
On happier notes, here are the other nightly notables:
John Wall – Wall notched his 12th straight double-double in a row with 12 points, 19 assists, and 6 rebounds. The last time Wall dished out 19 assists? The start of his current double-double streak. He’s on fire again and closing in on James Harden for the league lead in assists. And no one throws it down with his left hand better:
Bradley Beal – Beal started off hot (6-6 FG), before cooling down the rest of the game. Beal finished with 25 points (4-10 3PT FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
Marcin Gortat – Every week I feel like I write the same stat line: 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 block. His consistency is unreal.
Otto Porter – The league leader in three-point shooting percentage (don’t believe me, look it up!) Porter scored 14 points (2-3 3PT FG) and added 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.
Markieff Morris – Morris has big nuts. Just ask his wife. Knocking down clutch free throws down the stretch, Morris produced 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks, and 2 threes.
Bojan Bogdanovic – Bojan caught fire off the bench knocking down 3-6 from downtown en route to 16 points and 2 rebounds. So far Bogdanovic has been mostly catch and shoot for the Wizards and will need to contribute in other areas to be truly useful in fantasy leagues.
Draymond Green – Green tried to match Wall assist for assist with, finishing with 14 points, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds. And he’s not even a point guard! Green also added 2 threes, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Stephen Curry – After shooting 0-11 from three on Monday against the 76ers, Curry only shot mildly better from long range against the Wizards: 9-20 FG and 2-9 3PT. It must be the weather! He still managed a 25/4/7 line and will shoot himself out of this slump soon. I feel bad for the teams he’s playing later this week.
Klay Thompson – Thompson also struggled from the field on Tuesday, shooting 5-20 and 3-13 from three to finish with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Like Curry, there’s no reason to panic.
Shaun Livingston – While he often looked lost trying to keep up with Wall, Livingtson beat up on the Wizards bench to a tune of 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. His best sequence was a block on Morris that led to a pull-up jumper on the other end. Don’t go picking him up off the waiver wire, but he’s the clear back up whenever Curry misses.
Marcus Morris – It was a good night for the Morris Twins. Marcus scored 7 points in OT to finish with a career-high 37 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 threes.
Andre Drummond – AD did his usual thing cleaning up on the glass with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The 3-8 FT shooting hurts, but hey, at least it was better than his 1-11 performance on Sunday!
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – KCP posted a 16/3/3/3 line as the Pistons defeated the Blazers in OT. KCP will need an oxygen mask after playing 47 minutes.
Ish Smith – Smith is wanted for burglary after an uncharacteristic 7 swipes, 12 points, and 7 assists off the bench. That’s more steals than his 11 other February games combined (5 total)!
Damian Lillard – Lillard missed a technical free throw with 10 seconds to go, but then tied the game at 109 with a lay-up to force the game to overtime. Even with the extra period, Lillard fell one assist shy of his first career triple-double, notching 34 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 threes.
C.J. McCollum – Lillard’s sharp shooting partner in crime added 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 threes as the Blazers fell.
Jusuf Nurkic – The newly acquired big man is fitting in well with his new team, posting 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on Tuesday. I’m sure he’s just as happy as fantasy owners.
Nikola Jokic – Jokic messed around for his third career triple-double, all of which have come in the month of February. 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 threes for the Serbian. It’s scary to think that he’s only 22.
Danilo Gallinari & Wilson Chandler – Rumored to be on the block at the trade deadline, owners are happy that Gallinari and Chandler are still on the Nuggets. They produced similar lines on Tuesday. Gallo went for 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 threes, while Chandler added 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 three.
Gary Harris & Will Barton – Another Nugget duo who produced nearly the same line. Harris finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 36 minutes, while Barton came off the bench to post 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Jamal Murray – Coming off the bench, Murray added 14 points, 3 assists, and 2 threes. Seeing only minutes in the teens, even in blowouts, Murray is hard to trust in fantasy.
Dwyane Wade – Wade was one of the few bright spots for the Bulls in their blowout loss to the Nuggets with 19 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 threes. Jimmy Butler wasn’t as lucky, as he struggled from the field (8 points, 3-13 FG).
Rajon Rondo – Rondo had arguably his best game as a Bull with 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. That’s back-to-back double-digit scoring games for Rondo, but beware this game was a blowout. However, if he keeps this productivity up, his ownership level should rise (currently 56%).
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook posted his 4th straight and 30th overall triple-double of the season with 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. He knocked down 6-9 from three and scored 12 points in the last 2:05 of the game, as the Thunder held off the Jazz.
Doug McDermott – Doug E McFresh had his first double-digit scoring game as a member of the Thunder with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 threes off the bench. Alex Abrines added 3-3 from deep as the Thunder hit their first 12 3-pointers, before Westbrook finally missed in the last minute of the first half.
Enes Kanter – In his third game back from injury, Kanter shot an effective 7-12 from the field for 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 block. Taj Gibson (7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks) will eat into some of the big men minutes off the bench, but Kanter should still see plenty of looks on the offensive end.
Gordon Hayward – After lighting up the Wizards for 30 on Sunday, Hayward cooled off for 19 points (7-17), 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 threes against OKC.
Rudy Gobert – The French big man reached his 8th straight double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
George Hill – After failing to come to terms on a contract extension with the Jazz on Tuesday, Hill didn’t let it affect his game, as he posted 15 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals. He’ll test the waters in free agency this offseason, but the Jazz still remain hopeful in signing him.
Rodney Hood – In his third game back from a knee injury, Hood produced 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 threes. Looks like he’s getting his legs back and can be trusted going forward.
Mike Conley – Conley led the Griz in scoring with 29 points, 8 assists, and 3 threes, as they eclipsed the Suns.
Marc Gasol – Sign Gasol up for next year’s 3-point shooting contest! The big man knocked down all 5 of his attempts from deep on his way to 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Zach Randolph – Z-Bo put together back-to-back 20-point games with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists on Tuesday. It was the first time that the 35-year-old did that all season.
Eric Bledsoe – With Devin Booker (9 points, 3-11 FG) struggling against the Grizzlies defense, Bledsoe led the way for the Suns with 20 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
T.J. Warren – Warren has seen 34+ minutes in the 3 games since the Suns traded P.J. Tucker to the Raptors and has responded with improved box scores. On Tuesday, he posted 17 points and 6 rebounds on 8-13 shooting. It’s probably too late to pick him up in competitive leagues, but grab him if he’s somehow available.
Kemba Walker – The first time all-star is keeping it up after the break, scoring 30 points (5-9 3PT FG) and adding 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
Frank Kaminsky – Despite the return of Cody Zeller (6 points, 5 rebounds), Frank the Tank posted a 24 and 12 double-double for the Hornets. It’s bad news for Kaminsky, as he was playing some of the best ball of his career in Zeller’s absence. Zeller’s minutes will be monitored in the short term, but hopefully Coach Steve Clifford still finds time for Kaminsky in the rotation. Stand pat with both guys for the time being.
Marvin Williams – Bouncing back from an 8-point outing on Sunday, Williams amassed 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 4 threes.
Julius Randle – Randle posted a monster all-around stat line with 23 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Wow. Dating back before the break, Randle has grabbed double-digit rebounds in four straight games.
D’Angelo Russell – Russell was feeling it from deep, knocking down 5 of 8 attempts on his way to 23 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals.
Jordan Clarkson – Clarkson came off the bench for 16/3/3 on Tuesday against the Hornets. With Lou Williams out of the picture in Houston, both Russell and Clarkson will be asked to fill the scoring void left by Lou, especially at the end of games.
