Russel Westbrook played another incredible game for 54 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, including 5 steals, and the Oklahoma Thunder defeated Memphis Grizzlies (100-103). This means at least the 6th seed for Oklahoma in the West conference. This should be the big news but.....actually the big news for many people is that Westbrook missed his first opportunity to overcome Oscar Robertson's 41 triple-doubles in a season, as they are currently tied.

Westbrook has still 4 opportunities more to beat that mark, so hopefully he will be able to do it.

If the season ended today, Pau Gasol would have the best three-point percentage of any player in a single season in NBA history.
He has a current average of 54.7%, this is, 52 shots converted out of 95.

For the moment, the 3 best averages are:
1.Kyle Korver with a 54.6% (season 2008-2009)
2.Steve Kerr with a 52.3% (season 94-95)
2.Tim Legler with a 52.2% (season 95-96)

Gasol's average is still better if you only take into account the stats after the Allstar break. Since then, Gasol has an incredible average of 61.5% (32 out of 52).

We still need to see those averages when the playoffs come and the defences get stronger.

Derrick Rose's season is over early because of knee surgery again.

The New York Knicks guard has torn cartilage in his left knee and the team said he will miss the remaining five games.

Rose tore his left ACL in the 2012 playoffs and missed the entire next season. He made it through just 10 games in 2013-14 before he was sidelined by a torn meniscus in his right knee and missed 20 more games the following season because of trouble with the same knee.

Rose played in 66 games last season for Chicago, his most since his 2011 MVP season, and the Knicks took a chance on his health by acquiring him on the eve of the NBA draft in June. Rose, who didn't have to rehab last summer for a change, appeared to have regained much of his quickness this season while playing in 64 games and averaging 18 points.

But his contract expires after this season and teams will have to decide if Rose is worth another big deal given his injury history.

Season 2008-2009 - 88 out 89. He won the Rookie of the year award and his team is defeated by Celtics in first playoffs round in 7 games.

Season 2009-2010 - 83 out of 87. His has a minor wrist problem in March. They are defeated by Cavaliers in the playoffs.

Season 2010-2011 - 97 out of 98. He won the MVP award. They are defeated in East final against Miami.

Season 2011-2012 - 40 out of 72.. Starts with some minor injuries (foot, groin). He torn ACL of his left knee agains Sixers in the first playoffs round.

Season 2012-2013 - 0 out of 94.. He did not play, still recovering from his injury, in spite of the constant rumours of his return.

Season 2013-2014 - 10 out of 87.. After his return, he gets injuried again in November (meniscus broken).

Season 2014-2015 - 63 out of 94.. A couple of sprain ankle injuries and some other problems such as knee spasms. After the All Start he torn the meniscus and he is out for 20 games.

Season 2015-16 - 66 out of 82.. Some minor injuries. He is send to New York Knicks.

He was no guarantee to return to the Knicks anyway, given their preference to stick with the triangle offense in which Rose isn't completely comfortable. But he said he liked New York despite the team's disappointing season and was playing well down the stretch, scoring 24 points against San Antonio and 27 against Detroit in his last two games.

With Westbrook about to get the record of triple doubles in a season, there is some controversy going around. He is accused of being helped by his teammates so he can easily grab rebounds, and in order to do that, he has stopped defending the rival 3-point shots.

Check this out: westbrook-triple-double

We would not want to kick you now that you are down, but we wrote here some time ago you should seriously consider Nurkic for your fantasy team.

Jusuf Nurkic went off in a 122-113 win over his former team on Tuesday, scoring a career-high 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting (9-of-11 FTs).
He wanted this win in the worst way and his teammates swarmed him after his career night with the Blazer crowd chanting his name like a scene in Gladiator. He ripped down 16 rebounds with two assists and three blocks in 33 minutes, giving his team a 1.0 game lead over the Nuggets for the No. 8 seed in the West. He's been phenomenal since his move to Portland and he will likely be on a lot of championship rosters in fantasy leagues.

And here the last five games again:
Mar-28 @DEN:71
Mar-26 @LAL:37
Mar-25 @MIN:36
Mar-23 @NYK:40
Mar-21 @MIL:45

For only 5,380,000 $, he is still a bargain in the fantasy league.

Golden State Warriors reached yesterday night 60 victories with a brilliant Curry (32+10+7), and they have become the fifth team in history to reach 60 victories three years in a row.

At the same time, Steve Kerr became fastest coach achieving 200 victories in the four big leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS) in the USA.

San Antonio Spurs have been improving during the season. They are the second best team in the league at the time being, but there is a special bit of data that scares the rest of the teams. Spurs have played fourteen games against Warriors, Cavaliers, Rockets, Wizards, Celtics and Raptors with an incredible balance of 13 victories and only one defeat.

vs Boston: 2-0

vs Cleveland: 2-0

vs Toronto: 2-0

vs Golden State: 2-0

vs Houston: 3-1

vs Washington: 2-0

We are definitely going to have fun in the playoffs.**

The Knicks will be without Joakim Noah for the rest of the season.
Noah, 32, will be suspended for 20 games for violating the league’s anti-drug program, according to The Vertical.

Source: nydailynews_noah

After historical Booker's 70 points yesterday against the Celtics, here the players with highest scoring in NBA history (note we have selected only the best score of every player just to avoid having Chamberlain getting all the attention):

10.- GEORGE GERVIN 63 points. 9th of April, 1978 against New Orleans Jazz… just playing… 33 minutes!.
10.- JERRY WEST 63 points. 17th of January, 1962 against Knicks
10.- JOE FULKS 63 points. 10th of February, 1949 against Indianapolis Jets. There was still neither posession rules nor 3-point line yet
9.- RICK BARRY 64 points. 26th of March, 1974 against Trail Blazers
8.- PETE MARAVICH 68 points. 25th of February, 1977 against Knicks
7.- MICHAEL JORDAN 69 points. 28th of March, 1990 against Cavaliers
6.- DEVIN BOOKER 70 points. 24th of March, 2017 against Celtics
5.- DAVID ROBINSON 71 points. 24th of April, 1994 against Clippers
4.- ELGIN BAYLOR 71 points. 15th of November, 1960 against Knicks
3.- DAVID THOMPSON 73 points. 9th of April, 1978 against Pistons
2.- KOBE BRYANT 81 points. 22nd of January, 2006 against Sixers
1.- WILT CHAMBERLAIN 100 points. 2nd of March, 1962.
He also scored 78 points, 73 (2 times), 72, 70, 68, 67 (3 times), 66, 65 (3 times).

Look at this interesting article on : Business Insider

Kevin Durant's (knee) progress has the Warriors hopeful he can return before end of regular season, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
KD is doing some on-court work these days, but he still doesn't have a target date. He was expected to miss four weeks, which means his original target window will be at the end of this month. The Warriors would likely ease KD back in and perhaps do so in the first round of the postseason. If you're going to stash him, there's a decent chance he won't make much of an impact upon his return.

Source: rotoworld-durant

The controversy about players resting in the last games before the playoffs is on the table again. Fans, sponsors, everybody is getting mad about some key players resting which sometimes finally ends with a situation where two of the best teams of the NBA are playing each other, and when you are already sit there, you realize some player you paid to see is not even there.

Some old players as Karl Malone just said that the players must play and compared NBA players with police officers.

If we were to get this game to a point where the coach opinion does not matter anymore, what prevent us for even deciding that some players must always play because we just want them to? We already have the Allstar for that, and the goal of the season is the ring so every team tries to get to that point in the better shape. If that means resting some players on the final games, we'd better let them do it.

There are fans, there are sponsors, but they just can't decide on what happens on the court, otherwise.....then maybe Zaza Pachulia (no mean any disrespect to him) would have to get 40 minutes every game.

But as fantasy basketball players we are, we want our players to play every game, every minute!!! We demand that!!

Let's keep the controvery go on....

Richaun Holmes was plugged into the starting lineup Tuesday at Orlando and he delivered, finishing with 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in 42 minutes.
Holmes hit 11 of his 19 field goal tries while also adding four assists with a steal and a blocked shot. He certainly responded well to his return to the starting five and he will likely remain there until Jahlil Okafor (knee) is ready to return. Since there is no real reason to rush Okafor back it could be an extended period of starting for Holmes which is great news for his short-term fantasy appeal.

His last 5 games:
Mar-20 @ORL:62
Mar-19 @BOS:44
Mar-17 @DAL:38
Mar-14 @GSW:35
Mar-12 @LAL:24

Source: rotoworld-holmes

Tyler Ulis double-doubled vs. Detroit on Sunday, handing out 11 assists while scoring 17 points on 7-of-24 shooting.
Ulis stats included three rebounds, three steals and just two turnovers. Though his FG percentage is not good, he might be a useful player in your fantasy team.

His fantasy points the last 5 games:
Mar-19 @DET:44
Mar-17 @ORL:36
Mar-15 @SAC:47
Mar-12 @POR:25
Mar-11 @DAL:24

Here an interesting article on the Russell Westbrook's chase of Robertson's tripled double record: espn-westbrook-chase

Dwyane Wade has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured right elbow.

An MRI on Thursday morning confirmed that Wade has a "sprain and a small fracture" in his right elbow. The Bulls have ruled him out for the regular season, but it's currently unclear if he can make it back in time for the playoffs if the Bulls can sneak in (he'll be re-evaluated in a week). With Wade out, Jimmy Butler gets a massive bump in usage and Rajon Rondo benefits as well. However, the biggest winner could be rookie Denzel Valentine. Over his last five games, Valentine has averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals and 2.6 triples. Wade has a player option for $23.8 million next season and it's possible he has already played his last game as a Bull

Source: rotoworld-wade

Marc Gasol achieved his third triple double of his career (second of the season) against Atlanta last night, finishing off with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and a +21 balance with him on the court, after playing 36 minutes. The game meant the third straight win for the Grizzlies, who are chasing Thunder and Clippers (nº6 and 5).

Gasol is the franchise leader and he is averaging 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.4 3-pointers over his last five games.
Actually, he is the player with more triple doubles in his franchise history. That can give you an idea of what kind of player he is.

Ivica Zubac had the game of his life on Monday vs. the Nuggets, racking up a career-high 25 points.
Magic Johnson said he wanted to see what Zubac could do in a 30-minute role, so we guess he got his answer. He played a career-high 30 minutes and shot a ridiculous 12-of-15 from the field with 11 rebounds, one assist and one block, showcasing a soft touch around the rim. Timofey Mozgov isn't even on the active list anymore and Zubac's competition for minutes consists of Tarik Black, so the upside here is enormous. The Lakers have three more games on the schedule this week and hopefully you took our advice last week and picked him up in all standard leagues.

Source: rotoworld-zubac

Ricky Rubio has been playing the best basketball of his life over the last two months, and it has culminated with a brilliant week against some of the best point guards in the league. He outplayed Chris Paul and Stephen Curry in home victories over the Clippers and Warriors last week, then put up 22 points and eight assists in a loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.

But he’s never been better than in the first quarter against Wall and the Wizards. Threading bounce passes through windows that weren’t even open, Rubio doled out 10 assists in the first quarter. Bjelica was a primary beneficiary, catching a 40-foot outlet pass for a layup and a bounce pass that squeezed between two defenders and onto his fingertips for a layup that put the Wolves up 35-14.

Take a look at his fantasy numbers the last five games:

Mar-13 @WAS:74
Mar-11 @MIL:36
Mar-10 @GSW:52
Mar-08 @LAC:55
Mar-04 @SAS:61

You should consider including him in your roster.

Source: nba.com-ricky-great-performance

It seemed little time ago that the Warriors had firmly grabbed the first seed for the playoffs in the west conference. Currently, after Durant injury and without any clear news on his return, the last ten games the balance is 6-4 for the Warriors, 9-1 for the Spurs.

Spurs are now two victories away from Warriors, and everything points to a tough fight for the 1st seed, specially if Durant is not back anytime soon.

Jusuf Nurkic played the best game of his career and one of the best stat lines of the season, finishing with 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and six blocks on 9-of-18 shooting in 38 minutes of Thursday's overtime win against the Sixers. Even without the overtime period, Nurkic was all the way to a career night, but the overtime give him the possibility to add a few extra points, boards and a block for an incredible night.
He also hit 10-of-13 free throws, some of them of the clutch variety.

After being traded from Denver, where he was being outshone by Jokic, he has played incredible. The four straight victories of the Blazers seem to have a lot to do with Nurkic.

It does not seem this will be the last Nurk Alert of the season. For a 4M fantasy value, and the last 5 games performance being 31, 32, 67, 36 and 94
fantasy points.....You can not just miss him on your team.
A 4M player getting 94 fantasy points!!! Ridiculous!!!

Firts I'd like to say I am glad this forum was created to grants us the ability to discuss the NBA as a whole and topics that are just relevant to the NBA Fantasy League community. Kudos 👍😃 to the admin!!!

🤔Can anyone relates to this: You notice a player, probably on the "Top Performers" and/or "Top Bargains" lists, that's on a real hot streak but as soon YOU add him to your team, he sucks. It's usually a player that u weren't thinking about adding'em to ur roster if u had not seen'em on either of those list and now ur stuck with'em. 😒 I swear it seems like this happens to me on the reg.

Wolves-Blazers game, scheduled for Monday night, was postponed due to slick court, because of the warm weather in early March.

The problem was caused by condensation from an ice sheet underneath it and outside humidity on a day in which temperatures reached the mid-60s.

"I'd like to apologize to our fans and certainly to the Trail Blazers," Timberwolves president and coach Tom Thibodeau said shortly after the game was postponed. "Obviously the safety of the players has to come first. It's unfortunate, but it's the right thing to do."

It was the second time this season that a game had to be postponed because of a slippery court. The game between the Kings and 76ers in Philadelphia was postponed on Nov. 30. A makeup date will be announced in the coming days.

The ice sheet was recently laid under the court to accommodate a Disney On Ice production last weekend and the upcoming National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament. The NCHC sent a tongue-in-cheek tweet to the Timberwolves that read "Sorry guys!" and included a gif of Steve Urkel's famous "Did I do that?" line from the television show "Family Matters."

More on: nba.com-wolves-blazers-postponed

The cavs have been working to improve the team so they can match up to Golden State, by acquiring Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams and Deron Williams first, and finally Bogut.

Bogut was the cherry on the top of the cake, and even his numbers were low lately, there was confidence on him to play some premium minutes.

But bad luck is always there waiting to strike. Just an hour or so after saying how excited he was to be joining one of the league's deepest teams, Bogut broke his left leg after playing just 58 seconds in his Cleveland debut on Monday night, an injury that could force the Cavs to resume their search for a big man.

Bogut had just been welcomed with a roaring ovation by Cleveland's crowd when his shin banged into the knee of Miami's Okaro White in the first minute of the second quarter. Bogut immediately knew his leg was broken, and LeBron James said he heard Bogut's bone crack on the collision.

Joker went off for a double-double on Sunday, a 19-16-10 triple-double on Tuesday, and a 13-14-10 triple-double last night.
It is his fourth tripledouble in 30 days, and he is being a really consistent player.
You should consider him seriously for your fantasy roster.

Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 MCL sprain and tibial bone bruise in his left knee, and he'll be re-evaluated in four weeks.

KD will be "out of action indefinitely." While surgery hasn't been mentioned, this news is about as bad as it gets in fantasyland. If Durant were to miraculously return in exactly four weeks, the Warriors would have just six regular-season games left in April, so for all intents and purposes his fantasy season is kaput. The Dubs are saying there's a chance he'll return toward the end of the season, but the best-case scenario is probably a couple warm-up games before the playoffs start.

More on: http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/1358/kevin-durant

Jimmy Fredette is having a good time in China. He has been able to score 73 points in a game, and it is averaging 37.4 points, eight rebounds and more than four assists per game. Currently playing the playoffs with the Shanghai Sharks, he has been reportedly starting some conversations with some NBA teams in order to come back to the NBA when China competition is over.

Fredette played for Kings, Pelicans, Bulls and Knicks before going to China.

Paul George has reportedly his interest in signing with the Lakers. Besides, he has been critizicing his current team for a while. So not being traded yet does not mean is over.

cbssports-pg-trade

Mavericks guard Deron Williams was bought out on Thursday after the trade deadline passed, and it will not take long for him to find a new home on a championship contender. USA Today reports that Williams has informed the Cleveland Cavaliers he intends to sign with them.

See more at: cbssports-deron-to-cavs

The trade sending DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the Pelicans in exchange for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and some draft picks was finalized on Monday.
"It was time for a change and I decided this was the best direction for the organization, said Vlade Divac. "Winning begins with culture and character matters." Divac went on to half-heartedly thank Cousins for his time in Sacramento and tried to justify the trade by hyping up the draft picks, but the line about "culture" and "character matters" is a pretty obvious shot at Boogie. Both Cousins and Anthony Davis will be sacrificing some touches as they learn to play together, but both of them should still be able to fill up the stat sheet. For what it's worth, Divac also said he had a better offer a couple days ago, so there's that.
Source: rotoworld-cousins