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Welcome to another day in the NBA. Yesterday, we had 9 big games to watch and there are 6 games to look forward to tomorrow night. 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.
Sunday's recap:
1. Detroit Pistons 131-108 Chicago Bulls
2. Philadelphia 76ers 106-89 Indiana Pacers
3. Miami Heat 104-125 Toronto Raptors
4. Atlanta Hawks 128-116 New Orleans Pelicans
5. Memphis Grizzlies 105-97 Orlando Magic
6. Dallas Mavericks 93-94 Houston Rockets
7. San Antonio Spurs 121-114 Milwaukee Bucks
8. Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92 New York Knicks
9. Golden State Warriors 111-115 Phoenix Suns
Top performers:
1. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers): 33 points, 11-21 FG, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 TOs.
2. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns): 37 points, 13-23 FG, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals and 5 TOs.
Worst performers:
1. DeAndre Jordan (New York Knicks): 2 points, 1-8 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
2. Tim Hardaway Jr (Dallas Mavericks): 9 points, 3-11 FG, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 TO.
Sunday's takeaway:
1. The Detroit Pistons continued their run into the playoff spots with a 131-108 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup and won a crucial game against the Indiana Pacers, 106-89. The Miami Heat lost steam in the playoff race with a 104-125 loss against the Toronto Raptors.
2. The Atlanta Hawks won an inconsequential tie against the New Orleans Pelicans, 128-116. The Orlando Magic lost another game, making the playoff race harder for themselves, losing 97-105 to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Houston Rockets won their 8th game in a row, winning 94-93 against the Dallas Mavericks.
3. San Antonio Spurs won a huge game against the Milwaukee Bucks, 121-114, moving another step towards cementing their playoff spot. The Minnesota Timberwolves lacked Karl Anthony-Towns but managed to win their game against the New York Knicks, 103-92. The Phoenix Suns won a surprise game against the conference leaders Golden State Warriors, 115-111.
Monday's games:
1. Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Sacramento Kings @ Washington Wizards
3. Detroit Pistons @ Brooklyn Nets
4. Charlotte Hornets @ Houston Rockets
5. Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz
6. Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Clippers
PG: Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder):
Russell Westbrook is probably one of the best fantasy basketball players. He is always in the hunt for a triple double and tomorrow's game against the Utah Jazz will need his best foot forward. He has been playing really good basketball this season and has been very accommodating, allowing Paul George to flourish alongside him.
He is averaging 23.1 points per game, along with 10.5 assist per game, 11.1 rebounds per game and has been a robust defender, averaging 2 steals a game as well.
In his last game, Westbrook scored 32 points in just 32 minutes, dishing out 7 assists, along with 8 rebounds and managing to get a block too. His only drawback is the bad shooting percentages and the high turnovers but they need him at his best against the Jazz tomorrow.
Alternate pick: De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)
SG: Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz):
The Utah Jazz take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow in an interesting game and they will need everything they can get from their star guard Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell had a rough start to the new season, with many doubting whether he can take another step forward. He has proved all his critics wrong and has been playing some brilliant basketball all season.
He is averaging 23.5 points per game, along with 4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game as well. His defensive game is going well too, as he is averaging 1.4 steals a game as well. In the last game against the Memphis Grizzlies, he scored 38 points in 39 minutes, along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds and a block.
The Jazz need him to come up strong against the Thunder to keep their playoff run going.
Alternate pick: Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
SF: Paul George (Oklahoma City Thunder):
Oklahoma City Thunder have been performing at a really high level all season long and are currently in 4th spot with a 40-26 record in the Western Conference. One of the biggest reasons for their superb form this season has been the MVP level performances dished out by their star forward Paul George.
George has been averaging a career high 28.4 points per game this season, along with a career high 8.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals a game. In his last game against the Clippers, he had a rare dud as he was in foul trouble, playing just 28 minutes. He scored 15 points, along with 6 rebounds and an assist.
He will be looking to bounce back tomorrow night in a tough fixture and should be a fantasy mainstay.
Alternate pick: Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
PF - Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons):
Blake Griffin has been a revelation this season. He was traded to the Detroit Pistons as an ageing, washed up, injury prone star of yesterday. But he was revitalised himself and reinvented his game to suit the modern era and it has done wonders for him. He recently returned to the All Star stage once again and it has sparked a revival of the Pistons' fortunes.
Griffin is averaging 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, setting new career highs in a lot of categories. In the win over the Chicago Bulls, Griffin scored 28 points, along with grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists as well. He has been playing like a point forward and has gotten a consistent 3 point shot in his arsenal too.
He will be ready to continue pushing Detroit further to cement their position in the playoffs.
Alternate pick: Bobby Portis (Washington Wizards)
C - Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons):
Andre Drummond has been a force to reckon with, both in fantasy as well as on the court. He has been playing some really good basketball of late and has improved a lot of aspects which had made a bad fantasy asset, especially his free throw shooting which has improved to 55% from a career 30% shooting.
This season, Drummond has been averaging 17.6 points per game, along with 15.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game. His defense has been superb all season long, as he has been averaging 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.
In his most recent game, Drummond scored 16 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and 1 assist. He did not miss a single shot and the Pistons will need him to keep firing on all cylinders to keep their run going.
Alternate pick: Clint Capela (Houston Rockets)
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
