What do you think of when you hear the phrase “messing around?” Perhaps a joke. Maybe it takes you back to high school. First base. Second base. Third base with Peggy Sue or Billy Bob. How about Ice Cube when he called up the homies and asked them which park are y’all playin’ basketball? Whatever it may be, “messing around” is not associated with being of the serious variety. For fun. For shits and giggles. For Russell Westbrook? “Messing around” ain’t no joke. It’s 100% pedal to the metal. It’s I’m going to dunk on your head and shoot in your eye. It’s I’m grabbing every rebound because the ball is mine. That reminds me of Shaq’s T.W.I.S.M. Any of you remember that? Ha! Anyways, for Russ, it’s I’m dishing every dime because I will not be denied of my stat orgy. Yesterday, Russ notched his 102nd career triple dub.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 37 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1/1 | 15/22 | 6/8 |
That’s now five straight triple-dubs. For the season, he’s 0.3 rebounds shy of AVERAGING a triple-dub, which would make back-to-back seasons of accomplishing the feat. Damn, Russ ain’t no joke, espccially when it comes to “messing around.”
Here’s what else I saw yesterday:
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Rudy has been hard at work in the lab. His latest creation? DAILY LINEUPS PAGE. So good. So smooth. So helpful. He decided to go with the Sonny Bono red tint, while I prefer the blue tint. What say you?
Steven Adams:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10/13 | 5/9 |
Adams is a freaking top 50 player for fantasy. 9 boards, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He did leave the game briefly yesterday after taking an Ibaka knee to the crown jewels, but was able to return. I’m sure the kangaroos he used to box against back home got him more than a few times down under.
Kyle Lowry:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5/7 | 7/10 | 3/3 |
He’s averaging 16.3 points on the season, which is the lowest mark since the 2012 season. With that said, the 5.6 boards are a career-high and the three 3s a game is the second-highest mark. Top 25 player for fantasy.
DeMar DeRozan:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3/6 | 8/18 | 5/7 |
Remember when double D was dropping forty and fifty burgers earlier in the season? Seems like a long time ago. If he played on a shitty team, I think it would be a nightly occurrence. The Raptors are just too deep and too good.
Serge Ibaka:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3. | 1/3 | 2/11 | 2/2 |
Was an Ibaka the scorekeeper yesterday? I’m not buying the 2 dimes. In fact, that’s now back-to-back games with 2 dimes, with both games being at home. Things that make you go hmmmmm. Anyways, Serge was pretty terrible yesterday. Even the Raptors announcers were saying that Casey had to get him out of the game. When the move finally happened, it was Pascal Siakam who subbed in for him.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5/5 | 0 |
Played 23 minutes, while Jakob Poeltl played 15 minutes.
With Fred VanVleet unable to play, it was Delon Wright who played 31 minutes off the bench.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1/2 | 6/8 | 2/2 |
VanVleet is day-to-day, so don’t expect Wright to continue getting 30 minutes of run. When FVV is out, though, Wright is a plug and play.
Kyrie Irving missed another game, so Terry Rozier got the start and played 31 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/6 | 6/16 | 0 |
Brad Stevens said that Irving and Jaylen Brown are close to returning, so that would obviously hurt Rozier’s value. With that said, he should still get some run due to the Marcus Smart injury. Just don’t expect 30+ minutes.
Jayson Tatum:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2/3 | 9/14 | 3/5 |
Channing’s brother from another mother had his first 20 point game since February 2nd. No Kyrie and no Brown + uptempo game against the Pelicans = fantasy goodness. The usage should come down when both Irving and Brown return to the lineup.
Greg Monroe:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6/13 | 0 |
Played 26 minutes. Has now played 20+ minutes in three straight games and scored in double figures in each. Aron Baynes only played 14 minutes, so it looks like Monroe is starting to carve out a role for himself. Or maybe it had something to do with the guy below. Regardless, keep an eye on his minutes and usage going forward.
Anthony Davis:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 34 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0/3 | 14/24 | 6/8 |
He absolutely crushes the Celtics. Edit. He absolutely crushes everyone. Unfortunately, too often his body gets crushed.
Rajon Rondo:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2/5 | 0 |
REVENGE!!!
Jrue Holiday:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 2/5 | 3/3 |
A Sunday Holiday for Jrue.
Nikola Mirotic:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1/5 | 4/12 | 7/9 |
Mirotic had really been struggling, so it was nice to see him ball out. I wouldn’t expect the D stats on a nightly basis, but points, threes, and boards are definitely on the menu.
Cheick Diallo:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7/9 | 0 |
Played 24 minutes and subbed in for both Emeka Okafor and Anthony Davis. The minutes are all over the map, so it’s tough to trust him in any format. A double-dub threat with points and boards if he does get run, though. Cheick please!
Ian Clark:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/3 | 3/9 | 1/1 |
Played 26 minutes. Clark has been getting the minutes and shot attempts. For the month, he’s averaging over 25 minutes a game and almost 10 shot attempts. He’s scored double digits in five of nine games. I C. Rubs peach fuzz on chin. I C.
Clint Capela:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8/11 | 0/2 |
C & C Music Factory been making everyone dance all season long.
Chris Paul almost messed around.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1/3 | 4/8 | 9/10 |
He needs to get more serious like Russ.
James Harden:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 34 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2/9 | 9/18 | 14/14 |
I get Harden excited looking at his stat lines on a nightly basis. I need a boss button.
Ryan Anderson:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4/5 | 4/6 | 2/2 |
Played 17 minutes in his second game back from injury. Mr. Anderson should be good to go and return to the starting lineup in no time. That would make the Matrix very happy.
Karl-Anthony Towns:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9/15 | 2/3 |
58th double-dub in 70 games played. Meow. 15 shot attempts, though. 15!!! What the hell is going on here? Freaking Andrew Wiggins with a team-leading 16 shot attempts. STOP IT! It’s making me go nuts. Feed the KAT all day all night!!! I can’t even imagine the mental state I’d be in if I was a Timberwolves fan.
Jeff Teague:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3/5 | 5/11 | 10/10 |
Every once in a while, Teague has a game like last night, which makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside for drafting him. The rest of the time? You walk around like a crazy person, scratching your head and wondering why you drafted him. Ok, I’m being overly dramatic, as Teague is a top 60 player for fantasy, but still…..If you own Teague, don’t you expect more?
Derrick Rose:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 6/11 | 2/2 |
Minutes played since coming to MIN: 7, 11, 15, and 19. The one, and probably only, thing those SAT tests taught me was that the next number is 23.
Jamal Crawford:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/4 | 8/12 | 1/1 |
Played 28 minutes. Craw is 37 years old and still And-1’ing guys. Simply amazing. Will be the MIN microwave for the forseeable future.
Al-Farouq Aminu:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4/7 | 6/12 | 0 |
Is on a little heater right now. Four games playing over 30 minutes and three straight with double figures in the scoring column. The D stats, boards, assists, and downtowners have all been there. Just know that he gets just as frigid.
Maurice Harkless:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3/4 | 8/11 | 2/2 |
My favorite player to draft in NBA2K for Lord knows how long. Mo can score, shoot from downtown, and get his 211 on from time to time. The minutes and shot attempts are just so inconsistent.
Jusuf Nurkic:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8/18 | 1/2 |
Played 30 minutes. It’s always about the minutes with Nurk. With that said, he enjoys playing against LA for some reason. In the last meeting back on January 30th, Nurk went 14/20.
Damian Lillard played 31 minutes and scored 23 points, while his partner in crime, CJ McCollum played 32 minutes and scored 21 points.
Tobias Harris:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1/4 | 5/14 | 0 |
Aminu is one of the better defenders in the NBA, as he’s 12th in defensive real plus minus. Don’t fret Harris owners. Bad games happen from time to time.
Montrezl Harrell:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9/14 | 6/10 |
Played 20 minutes. Per 36, 22.9 points, 8.7 boards, 1 steal, and 1.6 blocks. I shall shut up and move to the next blurb.
Lou Williams:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 30 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/6 | 11/24 | 5/5 |
Came off the bench and played 31 minutes. That’s probably the role best suited for him. Regardless, Lou is sweet in any capacity.
