'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Welcome to another day of the NBA 2018-19 season. Yesterday, we had just two games to look forward to, which is not enough to probably get a competent 10 man team on your DFS squads, making the whole exercise of picking out a team fairly useless.
What we can do is review the huge 10 games we have tomorrow to follow around and let's analyse some of the meaningful performances from the last night, results of the matches and the top players to look out for in the matches tomorrow.
Thursday's recap:
- Houston Rockets 99-101 Miami Heat
- Dallas Mavericks 121-125 Los Angeles Clippers
Highlights:
1. Danilo Gallinari (Los Angeles Clippers): 32 points, 11-16 FG, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 3 TOs.
Lowlights:
1. Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat): 10 points, 4-17 FG, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 TOs.
Thursday's takeaways:
- The Houston Rockets faced off against the Miami Heat, hoping to get a win and continue their run but ended up losing, 99-101, despite Harden's 35 points. Another notable incident was an injury to Chris Paul which may hamper the Rockets further.
- The Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers went up against each other in a fairly even game, with the Clippers beating the Mavericks 125-121 on the back of a huge Danilo Gallinari performance. Luka Doncic tried saving the Mavericks with a 32 point game too but was not able to do so.
Friday's games:
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors
- Detroit Pistons @ Charlotte Hornets
- Indiana Pacers @ Brooklyn Nets
- Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Boston Celtics
- Orlando Magic @ Chicago Bulls
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ San Antonio Spurs
- Utah Jazz @ Portland Trail Blazers
- Memphis Grizzlies @ Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Lakers
PG 1 - Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics)
The Boston Celtics were on the up and up, winning eight games in a row but have lost their last two games in a row, their latest one to the Phoenix Suns, 111-103.
The Celtics currently are 18-12 in the Eastern Conference and are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Their record in the last 10 matches is still 8-2, showing they were in such great form. This is due to Brad Stevens tinkering with the rotation, along with their bench players having some big games. But a lot of this is also due to the amazing form their point guard, Kyrie Irving is in.
Kyrie started off the 2018-19 NBA season really slow, but has become his usual amazing self again. He has been killing it for the Celtics, averaging 23 points per game, with more than 6 assists and 5 rebounds per game.
In his last match against the Suns, he scored a huge 29 points, along with 10 assists and 5 rebounds as well. He has been an elite defender and he had a massive 4 steals and 1 block against the Suns.
In his last four games, he has scored more than 24 points each game, getting an average of 6 assists and 5 rebounds too. He seems to be in great form and would look to keep it going on against the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow.
Alternate pick: Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors)
PG 2 - De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)
The Sacramento Kings are the surprise package this season, exceeding expectations of not only their fans but also everyone in the NBA.
They are currently 16-15 in the exceedingly difficult and turbulent Western Conference, and that is the 10th place, though they are only two games behind the fourth place.
Most of this has got to do with the amazing leap their young stars seem to have taken, but none have been as impressive as the front-runner for the Most Improved Player of the season, De'Aaron Fox.
Fox has been really amazing this season, averaging a massive 18 points per game, along with 7 assists and more than 3 rebounds per game. He has really taken a big leap this season, even with his shooting has been so much better.
He has also started driving to the rim more and in a better way too, getting more free throws this season. In the last match against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored 28 points and dished out 12 assists too.
He had 3 rebounds as well but his defending has gone up a notch, he grabbed 2 steals and 2 blocks as well. His next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies where he will look to have another solid game.
Alternate pick: Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)
SG 1 - Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans)
The New Orleans Pelicans are not having a fun start to their season. They have had to deal with a plethora of injuries this season, exposing their fragile bench.
Their current injury list includes Elfrid Payton, Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, which are 3 of their five starters. Their only fit players are Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday and they are trying their best to keep the team going.
The Pelicans are currently c this season and on a two-game losing streak and in the 13th place. Let us review the performances of one of their stars, Jrue Holiday.
The Pelicans lost to the Milwaukee Bucks last time out, 123-115 in their last game, but Jrue seemed to have his usual superb game, scoring a delightful 25 points, along with 12 assists and 5 rebounds.
Holiday is a superb defender and managed to put it on display, grabbing 2 steals and 2 blocks as well. He has averaged a superb 21 points per game this season, with just under 9 assists and over 4 rebounds a match as well.
He is having himself a solid season without anyone else really taking the ball off him except Anthony Davis.
He will look to have another solid game against the Los Angeles Lakers and hopefully get the win for them.
Alternate pick: Victor Oladipo ( Indiana Pacers)
SG 2 - Buddy Hield (Sacramento Kings)
As we read in one of the earlier slides, the Sacramento Kings are the surprise package this 2018-19 season and seem to be the real deal.
They are looking to grab a playoff spot this season and currently are in the 10th spot, with a 16-15 record.
They are on a two-game losing streak though and will look to overcome this against the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow. One player they will look to depend on tomorrow will be Buddy Hield.
Hield has been having a career year this season, averaging 20 points per game, along with 5 rebounds per game and under three assists as well.
Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored a monstrous 37 points in just 35 minutes, along with 6 rebounds as well and 3 assists too.
He even had a good defensive game, getting 2 steals along the way to this stat line. He will look to keep it going against the Grizzlies tomorrow and help the Kings get back into the playoff mix.
Alternate pick: Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz)
SF 1 - LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
The Los Angeles Lakers are doing really well now after not that great a start to their 2018-19 season.
They are now fourth in the Western Conference, with a nice 18-13 record but have not been in form of late, losing their last two games in a row.
They lost their last match against the Brooklyn Nets, 115-110. LeBron James has been having a great start with the Lakers, his teammates are finally beginning to play well with him.
LeBron James is probably one of the first names on the team sheet of your DFS rosters. Even though his shooting percentages are on the lower side this season, he is performing at an elite level.
LeBron is averaging 28 points per game this season, with just under 8 rebounds and 7 assists as well. In the last game against the Nets, he managed a huge 36 points in 41 minutes, along with 13 rebounds as well with 8 assists too.
He managed a nice 1 steal and 1 block as well. His next match is against the New Orleans Pelicans, where he needs to come up big again for the Lakers.
Alternate pick: N/A
SF 2 - Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
The Toronto Raptors are in a bit of a rough patch the past week, with injuries not helping them as well.
They are still first in the Eastern Conference with a 24-9 record and won their last game against the Indiana Pacers, after a two-game losing streak.
They had to deal with losing Serge Ibaka, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Jonas Valuncianas, who either their starters or a huge part of their rotation. One man who had returned and tried to keep them going was Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard has been amazing for the Raptors since they traded for him this season, averaging a crazy 26 points per game, with more than 8 rebounds per match too. He is also assisting 3 assists per match too.
In the win over the Indiana Pacers, he scored a massive 28 points with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. He is an amazing defender too and had 4 steals in that game.
His next chance is against the Cleveland Cavaliers and he will look put that game past the Raptors as soon as possible.
Alternate pick: Rudy Gay (San Antonio Spurs)
PF 1 - Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
The Milwaukee Bucks are currently second in the Eastern Conference, just 1.5 games behind the leaders, Toronto Raptors.
They have a 21-9 record this season in the NBA and have gone on a 3 game winning streak. They seem to have adapted to the new system put in place by their coach Mike Budenholzer and reaping the rewards.
Bucks are finally utilizing their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo better and it has propelled him into the MVP conversation.
Antetokounmpo is the crown jewel of this Bucks team. He is averaging just under 27 points this season, along with 13 rebounds per match and 6 assists too, which is amazing for a big man in the NBA.
In the win over the Pelicans, Giannis scored a great 25 points, with 8 assists and 8 rebounds to go with them too.
He was an absolute freak of nature in that game and will look to have an even better night against the Boston Celtics, who are a bit thin in their frontcourt due to injuries, tomorrow.
Alternate pick: Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers)
PF 2 - Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons)
The Detroit Pistons are looking to get their 2018-19 NBA season back on track. They are currently 6th in the Eastern Conference, with a 15-14 record.
They have won just three of their last 10 games which is concerning, but they have won their last game against the Minnesota Timberwoves, 129-123.
Even though they have been sub-par in their last 10 matches, it is not due to a lack of trying by their star man, Blake Griffin.
Griffin has been playing really well to begin the 2018-19 NBA season, averaging just under 26 points per game this season, along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists as well.
Griffin has scored more than 25 points in 7 out of his last 10 matches, which is really impressive. In the win over the Timberwolves, Griffin managed to score a massive 34 points, along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists too and he even had a block to go with it.
He seems to be on fire and should be looking to keep it going against the Charlotte Hornets.
Alternate pick: John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)
C 1 - Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
The New Orleans Pelicans, as we read in one of our earlier slides, are not performing too well this 2018-19 NBA season. Injuries have bogged down their roster, exposing their frail bench.
With Payton, Mirotic and now even Randle out injured, Holiday and Davis are their only regular starters.
They are currently 13th in a really competitive Western Conference, with a 15-17 record. They lost their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks, which cannot be a mark on how good Anthony Davis has been this season.
Davis has been playing out of his mind recently, scoring an average of 28 points per game this season, along with 12 rebounds and just under 5 assists. In the loss against the Bucks, he scored a huge 27 points in just 29 minutes he got on the floor.
He even grabbed 11 rebounds and had 3 assists. He has been an awesome defender this season too and put it on display against the Bucks, grabbing 2 steals and 3 blocks. He is a sure shot player for your DFS team and should keep it going against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Alternate pick: N/A
C 2 - Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
The Detroit Pistons are, as we read in the earlier slides, in a bit of a fix. They are not able to string a bunch of wins together and are currently lying in 6th spot with a 3-7 run in their last 10 games.
They have a 15-14 record this season in the Eastern Conference and are 7 games behind the leaders, Toronto Raptors. In the last game, a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 129-123, they were led by Griffin to victory, but also had a good game from their center, Andre Drummond.
Drummond has been a good player this season, having a slightly rough December. He is averaging 18 points per game this season, along with more than 15 rebounds and around 2 assists as well.
His rim protecting ability is a joy to behold, as he is averaging just under a massive 2 blocks per game. In the win over the Timberwolves, Drummond was solid, scoring 16 points and managing 16 rebounds as well in 42 minutes.
He even managed 2 assists, along with a block and a steal. He is trending towards breaking his bad run and with the game against the Hornets next, who have a bad frontcourt, Drummond seems poised to have a huge night.
Alternate pick: Karl Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Guess the Lakers players!
