Fantasy Basketball Pickups: It's time to Mann up
Week 14 of the fantasy basketball season is upon us, and, like every Monday, I'll break down several players who are less than 50% rostered in Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues and should be considered in lineups. But before we get to this week's waiver pickups, here are the games played by each team in Week 14. Terance Mann - SG/SF - Los Angeles Clippers (20% rostered)Anytime the Clippers have back-to-back sets, I'm picking up Terance Mann. Duane Washington Jr. - PG/SG, Phoenix Suns (10% rostered)Week 14 is the perfect time to pick up Dwayne Washington Jr. of the Phoenix Suns. Chris Paul's hip injury has kept him out, and Cam Payne hasn't been cleared yet, so Washington Jr. continues filling the void at point guard.
wftv.comVincent scores 20, Heat remain hot by topping Bulls 112-99
Bulls Heat Basketball Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent (2) and forward Caleb Martin (16) pressure Chicago Bulls center DeMar DeRozan (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) (Marta Lavandier)MIAMI — (AP) — Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro each scored 20 points, and the Miami Heat improved their standing atop the Eastern Conference by topping the Chicago Bulls 112-99 on Monday night. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 22 points, while Ayo Dosunmu had 18 and Nikola Vucevic added 14 for Chicago. And the Heat are now 3-0 against Chicago, ensuring Miami would hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulls if one is needed to determine seeding. Heat: Miami is 41-21.
wftv.comShocker: US falls to Nigeria 90-87 in pre-Olympic opener
Nigeria US Basketball United States' Damian Lillard (6) defends the ball against Nigeria during an exhibition basketball game Saturday, July 10, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker) (David Becker)LAS VEGAS — (AP) — This is not how USA Basketball expected to open its Olympic summer. Kevin Durant, who had never before played in a loss for USA Basketball in 39 senior international games, had 17 points. “Nigeria’s come a long way with their basketball,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. Nnamdi made two foul shots with 13.2 seconds left to restore Nigeria’s 3-point edge.
wftv.comButler strong down stretch, Heat hold off Celtics 130-124
Heat Celtics Basketball Miami Heat's Gabe Vincent, left, passes the ball as Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, center, and Tristan Thompson, right, try to block in the first half of a basketball game, Sunday, May 9, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (Steven Senne)BOSTON — (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 26 points and 11 assists to help the Miami Heat hold off the Boston Celtics 130-124 Sunday as the teams fight for position in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The Heat (37-31) now have the same record as fifth-place Atlanta, but the Hawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker. He’s appeared in only four games for the Heat since being acquired at the trade deadline by Miami. Celtics: The 79 points allowed in the first half was a season high by an opponent.
wftv.comAP source: NBA set to remove restriction on 2-way deals
Vincent has also been a part-time starter for the Heat, and Miami was one of the teams concerned that those 50-game appearance limits on the active roster was fast approaching. Ad“We all appreciate that they see that each team is in a different place,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The rule in past years has been that two-way players could spend 45 days with the NBA club and the rest of the time with a franchise’s G League team. But with a shortened G League season this year, and not all teams having clubs in that league this season, there were obvious reasons to change things. We are just glad that it was seen that way, objectively, because not everybody is in the same circumstance.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Heat hold off depleted Lakers 96-94 in NBA Finals rematch
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, tries to pass as Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Heat even kept it together to pull out a win over the defending NBA champions despite a fourth quarter that nearly went wrong. Nunn scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Miami held off the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94 Saturday night in an NBA Finals rematch. Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points while hitting four 3-pointers, and Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. ... Goran Dragić missed his eighth straight game with a sprained left ankle.
'We have to figure this out': Heat say turnaround will come
Miami Heat players Udonis Haslem, left, talks to Jimmy Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Miami. The Miami Heat aren’t believing that quite yet — even after a disastrous start to the 2020-21 campaign. “Heat Nation, we are going to figure this out,” All-Star center Bam Adebayo said. AdThe year after losing the finals has not been kind to the most recent teams who have dropped the title series. Tyler Herro missed seven games with neck spasms.
Durant, Irving help Nets hold off Adebayo, Heat 128-124
Miami Heat's Gabe Vincent (2) defends against Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in New York. Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Kyrie Irving took over late and had 28 and the Nets overcame Adebayo's career-high 41 points to beat the Miami Heat 128-124 on Saturday night. Irving helped pull the Nets through with 12 points in the final 5:48 after the Heat had erased nearly all of an 18-point deficit. Adebayo beat the buzzer with a jumper, than Miami opened the fourth with a 13-0 run to get within 96-95. Irving, Harden and Durant quickly combined for eight straight points but Adebayo kept coming, and the Nets needed a couple of clutch baskets from Irving and late free throws to pull it out.