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The NBA 2018-19 season has started off really well and the season is just getting started. We are done with almost quarter of the season and there is so much more basketball still waiting to be played.
There were 9 games to talk about from yesterday and there are going to be 4 games that are going to be played tomorrow. Let's get right into it then.
Saturday's recap:
1. The Dallas Mavericks 107-104 Houston Rockets
2. The Indiana Pacers 107- 97 Sacramento Kings
3. The Atlanta Hawks 106-98 Denver Nuggets
4. The Brooklyn Nets 112-104 The New York Knicks
5. The Cleveland Cavaliers 116-101 The Washington Wizards
6. The Los Angeles Lakers 111-88 The Memphis Grizzlies
7. The Boston Celtics 133-77 Chicago Bulls
8. The Portland Trail Blazers 113-105 Minnesota Timberwolves
9. The Miami Heat 121-98 The Los Angeles Clippers
Highlights:
1. James Harden (Houston Rockets): 35 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and 6 TOs.
2. John Collins (Atlanta Hawks): 30 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block and 1 TO.
3. Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers): 23 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 0 TOs.
4. Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers): 28 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 3 TOs.
Lowlights:
1. John Wall (Washington Wizards): 1 point, 0-5 FG, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 TO.
2. Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies): 12 points, 4-12 FG, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 4 steals.
3. Tim Hardaway Jr. (New York Knicks): 7 points, 2-12 FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal and 1 TO.
4. Justin Holiday (Chicago Bulls): 5 points, 2-10 FG, 1 steal.
Satuday's takeaways:
1. The Boston Celtics won against the Chicago Bulls, 133-77, by 56 points, which is a franchise record win for the Celtics and is also a franchise record loss for the Bulls.
Jaylen Brown poured in 22 points off the bench for the Celtics while Daniel Theis added a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
2. The Dallas Mavericks overcame the sputtering Houston Rockets in a huge come from behind win 107-104, which saw the rookie Luka Doncic score 11 straight points in the 4th quarter, grabbing the lead.
Doncic had 21 points along with Wes Matthews, while Jordan pulled down a game high 20 rebounds. James Harden tried his best with 35 points and 8 assists but did not get much help, apart from a 23 point effort from Chris Paul.
3. The Brooklyn Nets overcame the New York Knicks 112-104 in a New York derby, frankly becoming the better team in NY this season, with a nice 25 point performance by Spencer Dinwiddie off the bench.
The Indiana Pacers got their revenge against the Sacramento Kings from earlier this season, winning 107-97, off a good performance by Thaddeus Young, who scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
4. The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a big win over the Denver Nuggets, 106-98, who have been rolling in injuries of late. John Collins had a huge game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
The Cleveland Cavaliers also had a massive win over the faltering Washington Wizards, 116-101. Tristan Thompson had a night to remember, scoring 23 points and grabbing 19 boards while the rookie Colin Sexton scored a team high 29 points.
5. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies with ease,111-88. LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma both had a 20-point night.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-105, with two clutch three pointers from their stars, Damian Lillard and C J McCollum with a minute remaining.
Jusuf Nurkic had a great night for the Blazers, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 boards. The Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Clippers 121-98 in the final game of the night. Dwayne Wade had a vintage night for the Heat, scoring 25 points for them in the win.
PG 1 - Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors)
The Toronto Raptors have been really solid to start the season and they are currently leading the Eastern Conference with a 21-6 record.
They have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, with their losses coming against an upcoming young top team in the Denver Nuggets and a shock loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
A big part of this is due to the sudden loss of form of their star point guard, Kyle Lowry. After sitting out against the win over the Cavaliers, Lowry has not been able to get back his All Star levels.
Over the past three games, Lowry has averaged a measly five points per game, taking about 8 shots and making only one of them.
Lowry has been elite in other areas though, averaging almost nine assists and three rebounds too.
He is still playing like an elite defender, averaging almost two steals and blocks per game, which is valuable for the Raptors.
He still really needs to find his shot and he can do at any point. His next shot to break out of his funk is tomorrow against the Milwaukee Bucks who also lost their last game.
Alternative pick: Emmanuel Mudiay (New York Knicks)
PG 2 - Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets)
A player who has been very underrated to start the season and still is one of the lesser talked about players, Kemba Walker has been proving a lot of people wrong.
He has been having a career year to start the season, even though the supporting cast around him lacks a second star, who could step up on nights that Walker is having the odd bad game.
He single handedly has carried the Charlotte Hornets in playoff contention. They are currently 7th with a 12-13 record but have been 5-5 in their last 10 games.
All of this, can be put down as a push by Kemba Walker to get people to sit up and notice him and boy they have.
Walker has been averaging a career high 26 points, with six assists and four rebounds per game. He is shooting more threes than he has in his career, even though his FG% has come down a bit.
He is the only proven scorer and playmaker on that team and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. In the last game against the Nuggets, he scored 21 points, dished out 8 assists and also grabbed 6 rebounds.
He was also a good defender, getting a block and a steal in for good measure.
Alternative pick: Eric Bledsoe (Milwaukee Bucks)
SG 1 - Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans)
The New Orleans Pelicans can't seem to figure out where they are going wrong. They have two of the best defenders in the league with Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday.
They have a great supporting cast with Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic and E'Twaun Moore, who has been having a good season until this point. But that is where they end and have almost nothing to offer off their bench.
The only players performing consistently for the Pelicans are Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. Holiday, in particular, has also stayed injury free and stepped into the role of a playmaker as well.
The Pelicans find themselves in the 12th spot, with a 13-14 record for the season. They are currently 3-7 in the last 10 games and with no end in sight to this tumultuous season.
Holiday has been a constant for the Pelicans this season, the other shining light apart from Anthony Davis for this team.
He has steadily improved on his career high season last year by putting up even better numbers this season. He has been averaging a career-high 20 points per game, to go with a huge 9 assists a game as well.
His rebounding has become better as his career has progressed and he is averaging at least 5 rebounds a game too. In his last game, which was a loss against the Grizzlies, he scored 20 points, dished out 11 assists and had 5 rebounds too.
He also had a block to go with it for good measure and there is no reason why it shouldn't continue tomorrow against the Detroit Pistons.
Alternative pick: Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)
SG 2 - DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs)
Nobody really knows what to think of the San Antonio Spurs this season.They are currently sitting in 13th place, just above the Houston Rockets, with a 12-14 record.
They have lost six of their last 10 matches but pulled out a huge comeback win over the Los Angeles Lakers in their last game, 133-120.
DeMar DeRozan has been a huge part of this for the Spurs and will probably continue to be so for the rest of the season.
DeRozan, in this bad stretch for the Spurs, is having a superb year. He has averaged a huge 25 points per game this season.
He has also been somewhat of a playmaker for the Spurs this season, averaging a nice 6 assists and almost 6 rebounds per game too.
Pop has given him the green light to do what he feels he is best at and hence 92% of his shots are coming in the mid range this season.
In his last game, a win over the Lakers, he scored a huge 36 points, along with 9 assists and 8 rebounds. He also had two huge blocks in that game too, making him a really good prospect against the Utah Jazz tomorrow.
Alternative pick: Allonzo Trier (New York Knicks)
SF 1 - Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
As we read in one of the earlier slides, The Toronto Raptors are the best team in the Eastern Conference this regular season, by somewhat of a margin.
They are 21-6 to start the season and are currently on an 8-2 run in the last matches. Even though, they seem to have struggled at times this season, they have always pulled through, largely due to some All Star level performances by their newest acquisition this past off season, Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi has just elevated this team into championship territory. Most league executives think that Kawhi has not even reached the pinnacle of what he can become.
Kawhi has been doing what he does and has averaged 26 points per game, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists as well.
Leonard's defensive prowess has shone through again and again, this season being no different as he has averaged almost 2 steals and 1 block per game.
In his last game against the Brooklyn Nets, he tried to keep the Raptors in the game and scored 32 points, grabbing only 3 rebounds and only 4 assists.
He was great on the defensive end of the floor as well, getting 4 steals and 1 block too. They go up against the second place, Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night in a top game to watch.
Alternative Pick: N/A
SF 2 - Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
The Milwaukee Bucks have been stellar to start the season and are second in the Eastern Conference with a 16-8 record.
They have been a little less impressive of late, currently on a 6-4 run in the last 10 games and most recently lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Through the first 24 games, the Bucks have had a good supporting cast around their star player Giannis and nobody has been more impressive than Khris Middleton.
Middleton has been really good this season, averaging 18 points per game this season, along with almost 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game too. He is a good defender and it shows as he gets almost 2 steals per game too.
He has been in a bit of a rut in the past 3 games and it shows for the Bucks how important he is, as they have lost 2 of those games. He scored only 10 points in his last game against the Warriors and grabbed 8 rebounds and 1 steal.
They go up against the Toronto Raptors next which could be another difficult game for him.
Alternative pick: Damyean Dotson (New York Knicks)
PF 1 - Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks):
The Milwaukee Bucks are a team built around their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo. As we read in the previous slide, The Bucks have been really good this season, going 16-8 to start the season but becoming a little more unpredictable as the season has progressed and are currently 6-4 in the last 10.
It seems clear that they are still not completely in-sync with the new system put into place by their new head coach, Mike Budenholzer.
Giannis still seems to have taken to this system more quickly than others and is going at everyone as a one man show.
He has been a force to reckon with this season, averaging 27 points per game this season, to go with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks per game as well. He is also dishing out 6 dimes per game this season and has become a real menace for opposing teams.
He has become too quick to be defended by slower centers and too strong for faster, smaller centers. He is currently unguardable. He needs to bring his A-game tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors.
Alternative pick: Julius Randle (New Orleans Pelicans)
PF 2 - Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons)
The Detroit Pistons had a great start to their NBA 2018-19 season, but after a run of bad form, they are currently in sixth place, with a 13-10 record.
They have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and are caught in the middle of a 3 game losing streak. Andre Drummond and a few of their shooters seem to have lost form over this period, but one player is still going strong among all this and that player is Blake Griffin.
Blake Griffin has been playing some phenomenal basketball this season for the Detroit Pistons. He has started becoming a great distributor of the ball this season and it shows.
He is averaging a career high this season, scoring 25 points per game to go with almost 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game as well.
In the last game, tough loss to the 76ers, he scored a second consecutive 31 point game, pulling down 12 rebounds and also getting six assists. They go up against a faltering Pelicans and Griffin might just have another huge game.
Alternative pick: LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs)
C 1 - Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
As we discuss each time that Davis is on the list, how important he is to the New Orleans Pelicans' season and their match on any given night and thus how important he should be to your DFS team each time he takes the floor.
Davis is one of the few elite big men who can do it all. He can shoot 3s as well as dominate the glass. The Pelicans face the Detroit Pistons tomorrow, who have been on a 3 game losing streak, becoming just another target for a huge performance by Davis.
The Brow has been averaging a massive 28 points per game this season, along with grabbing atleast 12 rebounds per game as well.
He is also dishing out 5 assists per game and is defending the rim at an elite level with almost 3 blocks per match.
In his last game against the Grizzlies, he scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists and swatting away 4 shots. He also had 2 steals to go with them to give the complete stat line, becoming a must have player each time.
Alternative pick: Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
C 2 - Enes Kanter (New York Knicks)
The New York Knicks have been bad this season. They lost their franchise star, Kristaps Porzingis to an ACL injury last season and it looks like he is not going to make a return this year, seeing how bad the team is performing without him.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has become their go to scorer and is having a career year this season, while there have been a few breakout performances this year for other guards. Noah Vonleh has become a great piece in the rotation as well.
Enes Kanter has taken the starting role for the Center spot since he joined the Knicks from the Thunder and has not let go.
He has been having a great start to the season. Averaging a career high 15 points per game with almost 12 rebounds as well.
He has been cleaning the boards harder this season, given that there is almost no competition to his spot.
In the last game against Brooklyn Nets, which the Knicks lost 104-112, he scored 23 points in 26 minutes only, grabbing 14 rebounds and even getting a steal with 3 assists.
He goes up against the Charlotte Hornets, who have a really bad frontcourt this season and Kanter will try taking full advantage of that.
Alternative pick: Rudy Gobert (San Antonio Spurs)
