The weekend in the NBA was fairly quiet for the most part, especially given the lack of big injury news and with the distraction of the NCAA conference tournaments. But there were still plenty of missed games by big names, some MVP performances from MVP candidates, a big win by the Knicks on Sunday and a 41-point explosion from Trey Murphy.
MVP Performances
The Nuggets have lost three straight games and are a minus-29 in the 31 minutes when Nikola Jokic has been resting over that stretch. Jokic is still putting on a nightly show as the leader in the MVP race and went off for 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Friday's loss to the Spurs. He backed that up with 35 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists in Sunday's loss to the Nets but missed the game-tying shot at the buzzer. The Nuggets have led by 10 in all three of these losses but haven't been able to hold on for a win. Jokic is still the current favorite in the MVP race with his odds sitting at -360, according to Caesars.
Joel Embiid scored 34 points, with eight rebounds and four blocks before sitting out the fourth quarter on Sunday and had 39 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in 38 minutes on Friday. He capped off a 21-point comeback over the Blazers in that one and his MVP odds are sitting at +280, according to Caesars.
The weekend in the NBA was fairly quiet for the most part, especially given the lack of big injury news and with the distraction of the NCAA conference tournaments. But there were still plenty of missed games by big names, some MVP performances from MVP candidates, a big win by the Knicks on Sunday and a 41-point explosion from Trey Murphy.
MVP Performances
The Nuggets have lost three straight games and are a minus-29 in the 31 minutes when Nikola Jokic has been resting over that stretch. Jokic is still putting on a nightly show as the leader in the MVP race and went off for 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Friday's loss to the Spurs. He backed that up with 35 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists in Sunday's loss to the Nets but missed the game-tying shot at the buzzer. The Nuggets have led by 10 in all three of these losses but haven't been able to hold on for a win. Jokic is still the current favorite in the MVP race with his odds sitting at -360, according to Caesars.
Joel Embiid scored 34 points, with eight rebounds and four blocks before sitting out the fourth quarter on Sunday and had 39 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in 38 minutes on Friday. He capped off a 21-point comeback over the Blazers in that one and his MVP odds are sitting at +280, according to Caesars.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's hand injury has kept him out of action since Sunday, March 5 and he's not guaranteed to play in Monday's game against the Kings. Be sure to keep an eye on the RotoWire Injury Report before setting your lineups for the upcoming week. Despite sitting out the last week, Giannis is at +650 to win MVP, per Caesars.
Luka Doncic (thigh) and Kyrie Irving (foot) both sat out on Saturday, Doncic has already been ruled out for Monday and Irving is questionable for that one. Luka hasn't played since Wednesday and the Mavs have lost both games without him, falling to the No. 8 seed in the West. Luka is at +6000 to win MVP at DraftKings.
Jayson Tatum had 34 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, a block and five 3-pointers against the Hawks on Saturday. Tatum is currently at +2500 at DraftKings in the MVP race.
Players heating up down the stretch
Donovan Mitchell scored 42 against the Heat on Friday with Darius Garland out with a quad injury. Garland was back on Sunday and Mitchell came back to earth with a 23-point game. Garland overcame his injury and led the way with 28 points on Sunday.
Spencer Dinwiddie is on fire for the Nets, going for 15 points, six rebounds and a career-high 16 assists on Sunday after going for 29 points and 11 assists against the Wolves on Friday. Meanwhile, Cam Thomas never got off the bench on Sunday and has played seven or fewer minutes in four of his last five games. Unfortunately, it's time to move on from Thomas.
D'Angelo Russell returned from a six-game absence for the Lakers on Friday and had 28 points and nine assists in a win over the Raptors. He also played well on Sunday with 33 points and eight assists in a loss to the Knicks, so make sure he wasn't dropped in your league.
Trey Murphy went off for a career-high 41 points, seven rebounds, one steal, one block and nine 3-pointers on 13-of-20 shooting against the Blazers on Sunday. Brandon Ingram was out for the second straight game with an ankle injury and is questionable for Tuesday against the Lakers. The Pelicans only play three times per week in each of the next two, but Murphy is worth a look after Sunday's explosion. He's scored in double figures in five straight games and has hit at least two 3-pointers in all six of his March games.
Michael Porter and Zach Collins both bounced back Sunday after Friday ejections when they got into a scuffle with one another. MPJ had 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in a loss to the Lakers and Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to the Thunder. Both players should be rostered everywhere.
Anfernee Simons is heating up for the Blazers after scoring 34 points on Friday and 17 on Sunday. Damian Lillard played on Friday but sat out on Sunday with a sore calf. He's questionable for Tuesday's game against the Knicks, so keep an eye on that injury report. Any time Lillard is out, Simons is a must-start player.
Jabari Smith scored a career-high 30 for Houston on Thursday against the Pacers and backed it up with 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Bulls on Saturday. He could end up being a silly-season hero and I'd recommend grabbing him where you can, especially since the Rockets play four games per week in each of their next three.
Hornets center Mark Williams remains sidelined by a thumb injury and Nick Richards had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in Sunday's loss to the Cavaliers. He's worth using as long as Williams is out, but the Hornets only play twice this week. Perhaps a better alternative is the Magic's Wendell Carter, who is back after missing three straight games. He had 27 points and 11 boards on Saturday and the Magic have four games this week.
Brook Lopez is a shot-blocking machine right now and has blocked 14 shots in his last two games. He's averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 blocks over his last two games and has become a dominant force with Giannis sitting out the last week.
The Knicks got a big win on Sunday as Julius Randle and RJ Barrett both scored at least 30 points in that one. The No. 6 Knicks hold a 3.5 game lead over the No. 7 Heat and are hoping to avoid a play-in situation in the East. Immanuel Quickley is making some noise in the Sixth Man of the Year race and went off for 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and three 3-pointers on Saturday with Jalen Brunson out with a foot injury.
Brunson was out again on Sunday and Quickley had 15 points in the win over the Lakers. Brunson is already doubtful for Tuesday, so Quickley is someone who should be rostered everywhere right now. Unfortunately, the Knicks only have two games this week.
Weekly Games Played Schedules
The games-played schedule is all over the place for the upcoming week, with only three teams playing twice and 15 teams going four times. Check out RotoWire's weekly schedule grid for the full breakdown:
2 Games: CHA, NYK, UTA
3 Games: ATL, BKN, CHI, CLE, DAL, IND, LAC, NOR, OKC, PHI, POR, WAS
4 Games: BOS, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, ORL, PHO, SAC, SAS, TOR
