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A new day, a new set of games to review for us in the 9th week of the 2018-19 NBA season. There were 3 games to look forward to yesterday and we have 11 exciting matches waiting for us ahead. Let us look at the best performances from yesterday and how each game played out.
Tuesday's
recap:
1. Portland Trail Blazers 103-111 Houston Rockets
2. Phoenix Suns 86-111 San Antonio Spurs
3. Toronto Raptors 123-99 Los Angeles Clippers
Highlights:
1. Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers): 34 points, 12-25 FG, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 TOs.
2. Serge Ibaka (Toronto Raptors): 25 points, 11-18 FG, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 1 TO.
Lowlights:
1. Josh Jackson (Phoenix Suns): 7 points, 2-14 FG, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 steals and 4 TOs.
2. Avery Bradley (Los Angeles Clippers): 0 points, 0-6 FG, 0 rebounds, 1 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks in 22 minutes.
Tuesday's
takeaways:
- The Portland Triailblazers took on the Houston Rockets and lost the game, 111-103 thanks to a triple double from Chris Paul and 29 points from James Harden.
- The Phoenix Suns faced off against the San Antonio Spurs and lost their game 86-111. Bryn Forbes led the Spurs in scoring, grabbing 24 points and 11 rebounds as well. TJ Warren was the highest scorer for the Suns with 23 points.
- The Toronto Raptors and The Los Angeles Clippers faced off in an even contest on paper but the Raptors blew them off the court even without their star player Kawhi Leonard, 123-99. Serge Ibaka scored 25 points to lead them to a win .
Tomorrow's games:
- Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers
- Boston Celtics @ Washington Wizards
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Indiana Pacers
- New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- Detroit Pistons @ Charlotte Hornets
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans
- Portland Trail Blazers @ Memphis Grizzlies
- Atlanta Hawks @ Dallas Mavericks
- Miami Heat @ Utah Jazz
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors
PG 1 - Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors):
The Golden State Warriors are getting back to their best, slowly but surely. They're just 0.5 games back of the top of the Western Conference and will look to consolidate their spot as the best team in the West. They're currently sitting on a 19-9 record and are on a 7-3 run in the past 10 games. The team has finally seemed to gotten over their injury issues and are looking like the destructive force they can be and the return of Curry has seemed to reinforce the fact that he is the glue that binds this team together.
Ever since Curry has returned from his injury 5 games ago, they have only lost 1 game out of 4. Curry has averaged a massive 31.4 points per game, while dishing out 5 assists per game as well as grabbing more than 5 rebounds on most nights too. He is shooting an insane 51% from the field and a even more mind boggling 51% from 3! He is also shooting 97% from the FT line, which is just insane. There are no shooting numbers like this but keep in mind, these are only for the past 5 games. Looking at this trend, Curry only has higher to go and he has to be one of the first players on your DFS team.
Alternative pick: Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
PG 2 - Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder):
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been playing really well this season. They're currently 1st in the Western Conference with a 17-8 record and currently on a 7-3 run. They're currently enjoying having one of their star players Paul George in really good form. But that does not mean the rest of the team is not in form. The other star of the team, Russell Westbrook is flirting with another triple double season since he has returned from his injury.
Westbrook has been accused of being stat padder and not a player for the team, but he has become better this season, not taking a lot of bad shots he would have taken and improving as a distributor of the ball as well. Westbrook is currently averaging almost 23 points per game, with 10.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game as well, having a real triple double season in 16 games. He also is averaging 2 steals per game too and is playing really well. In his last game against the Utah Jazz, he scored 12 points, with 11 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. He also had one steal to go with it and will look to have a big game against the New Orleans Pelicans and keep their position as the number 1 team in the Western Conference.
Alternative pick: De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)
SG 1 - Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans):
The New Orleans Pelicans seem to be having an alright season so far. Expectations were high when they started off the season so well, but injury to their point guard Elfrid Payton exposed their fragile and almost non existent bench. They lost their most recent game to the Boston Celtics, 113-100, but atleast Anthony Davis looked himself, showing no signs of an apparent hip injury he suffered against the Detroit Pistons. The player who has been a constant for them on the court this season though, is their talismanic guard, Jrue Holiday.
The other shining light apart from Anthony Davis for this team, Holiday has steadily improved and is putting up even better numbers this season. He is averaging a career-high 20 points per game, to go with a huge 9 assists a game as well along with 4 rebounds per game too. In his previous game against the tough Boston Celtics defense, he just could not get his shot going, scoring a season low of 7 points, along with 6 assists, 1 rebound and 3 steals in a loss. The Pelicans next play against the Thunder and there is no reason for Jrue to find his shot again.
Alternative pick: Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)
SG 2 - Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards):
The Washington Wizards seem to have had a dismal start to their 2018-19 NBA season and have been really poor. They are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 11-16 record. They are 5-5 in their last 10 matches and are on a 2 game losing streak as well. All the infighting and injuries to their players have finally caught up with them and they seem to be able to do nothing to fix it. Maybe trading away a few players for some fresh blood will help reinvigorate this franchise. But with John Wall out due to an illness, all the onus has fallen on Bradley Beal's shoulders.
Beal has been having a great start to his season, averaging almost 23 points per game, to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds per match as well. In his last 2 games, both of which have been losses, he has scored more than 25 points in each, grabbing atleast 4 rebounds and assists on an average. He has also been a menace on the defensive end of the floor, grabbing a steal and a block per game on an average in the 2018-19 season. He should look to continue this stellar play ahead and will look to keep it going against the Boston Celtics.
Alternative pick: Jimmy Butler (Philadelphia 76ers)
SF 1 - Paul George (Oklahoma City Thunder):
As we read in the one of the earlier slides, the Oklahoma City Thunder are having a great season until now, currently at the top of the Western Conference with a 17-8 record and are currently 7-3 in the last 10 games. One of the players for the Thunder that is having one of the best seasons of his career, is Paul George. He has been thriving when Westbrook has been alongside him and even when he is injured too.
George has been averaging a career high in points, scoring 24 points per game, to go with 8 rebounds and also a healthy 4 assists per game as well. In his last 3 games, he has had a double double, including a 47 point explosion to lead the Thunder to a win over the Brooklyn Nets and in his last game against the Utah Jazz, he led the team with a 31 point game. His shooting numbers have regressed slightly but that is due to the increased number of shots he has taken over the 25 games he has played for the Thunder.
Alternative pick: Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
SF 2 - Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors):
The Golden State Warriors are in the zone. As we read in one of previous slides, the Warriors are just 0.5 games behind the top spot, currently held by the Oklahoma City Thunder. They're 19-9 in the Western Conference and have a 7-3 record in the last 10 games. When Steph Curry was injured, they were kept afloat by some monstrous games by Kevin Durant and even after Curry's return, Durant has been on a great scoring run.
Durant has been averaging almost 29 points per game, along with at least 7 rebounds and 6 assists every game. In his previous game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 22 points, along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists too. Being an elite defender, he also managed to grab 3 steals in the match. His next game is against the Toronto Raptors and will probably look to continue his strong run.
Alternative pick: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Sacramento Kings)
PF 1 - Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks):
The Milwaukee Bucks are doing really well to start the 2018-19 season. They're currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference and the new system of coach Mike Budenholzer has really reaped rewards for the team. They're currently 18-8 in the regular season and have gone on a 6-4 run in the last 10 games. One player has shone through this team, as he has for the last 3 seasons, is Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis has been having an All-Star, MVP season. He's only gotten better with each season and this season is no different, taking another leap in the new system in place, averaging more than 26 points per game, with 13 rebounds and 6 assists as well. He did not play in the last game against the Cleveland Cavaliers but managed 19 points and 19 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors one match before. He will be raring to go against the Indiana Pacers tomorrow.
Alternative pick: Julius Randle (New Orleans Pelicans)
PF 2 - Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons):
Blake Griffin has been enjoying a terrific start to his 2018-19 NBA season, but the Detroit Pistons in the recent games have not so much. They have fallen to the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference with a 13-12 record, after their most recent loss against the Philadelphia 76ers last night. They are on a 5 game losing streak and are currently 5-5 in the last 10 games. But none of the blame lies on the shoulders of Blake Griffin.
Griffin has been excellent this season and also in the last 3 games. He has scored more than 30 points in the last 3 games, grabbing 8 rebounds on an average and dishing out 4 assists as well. He has also been shooting 50% from the field and is going to the line a lot more. He had 24 free throws in the game against the 76ers, making 17 of them. He was rested in their match last night against the Philadelphia 76ers and will be raring to go against the Charlottle Hornets, he might prove to be the difference maker and break them out of this rut.
Alternative pick: John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)
C 1 - Karl Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves):
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a very volatile team this season. They are currently 13-14 to start the season and have been 6-4 in the last 10 games, with a 2 game losing streak. Since the Butler trade, they have had a great comeback, Covington and Saric have been shoring up their defense really well and Rose has still been scoring really well. But the main beneficiary of this trade, has been Karl Anthony Towns. He has had a surge in his usage and is doing really well with it.
Towns has been scoring at a high rate of late. He has averaged 26 points per game and 11 rebounds per game as well. He has had a lot of double doubles of late and can only trend upward, given that there is no other big star on their team. In his last game against the Warriors, he had a team high 31 points and also managed to pull down 11 rebounds as well. He is getting better and better which should only translate to another big night against the Sacramento Kings.
Alternative pick: Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
C 2 - Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans):
As we read in one of the previous slides, the New Orleans Pelicans are not having the best of seasons. They're currently 10th in the Western Conference and have a 14-15 record and are on a 4-6 run. They have a just two superstar players this season in Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis, both of whom, with ample support from Julius Randle are holding this Pelicans team together.
Anthony Davis has had a superb start to the season, averaging an amazing 27 points, with 12 rebounds and 5 assists as well, competing with Giannis Antetokounmpo for the MVP award this season. In his last game against the Boston Celtics, he had a team high 41 points, with 7 rebounds as well. He was defending really well too and had a huge 4 steals. He will look to continue this run against the Oklahoma City Thunder and help the Pelicans grind out another win.
Alternative pick: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
