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Spencer Aguiar highlights three fantasy basketball takeaways from the NBA's March 1st slate. This recap focuses on Marc Gasol, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Eric Bledsoe.
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games. Friday was a wild day in the NBA that featured a game-winner, a shootout in Atlanta and a battle of Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. The Chicago Bulls survived the Atlanta Hawks 168-161 in quadruple overtime. Zach LaVine led the way for the Bulls, posting 47 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but he somehow may have been outdone by Trae Young in a losing effort. Young recorded 49 points to go along with eight rebounds, 16 assists, one steal, one block and six three-pointers. His performance made him the first rookie with at least 45 points and 15 assists in a single game, and it was the highest scoring output by a rookie since Brandon Jennings logged 55 points in 2009. Young is averaging 40.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 11.3 assists and 5.3 three-pointers in his past three games, and appears to be chasing down Luka Doncic in the Rookie of the Year race.
Kawhi Leonard fueled the Toronto Raptors to a 119-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Leonard scored 38 points in the contest, but it was his 12-foot pull-up jump shot with three seconds left that ended up being the game-winner. The Raptors are currently 2.5 games back of the Bucks in the East for the one seed but have a reasonable schedule down the stretch and will do their best to shake up the standings.
And the Milwaukee Bucks outgunned the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center by a score of 131-120. Milwaukee outscored Los Angeles 15-2 over the final three minutes, and the loss puts the Lakers behind the eight-ball in the West. Los Angeles finds themselves 3.5 games of the San Antonio Spurs for the eighth seed, and their schedule down the stretch is the 10th most difficult of all teams in the league. Lebron hasn't missed the playoffs since his first two years in the league, but it is beginning to look like the 'King' may have to sit on the sidelines this season. Our three main takeaways from the March 1st slate are still to come, so without further ado, let's dive a little deeper into what happened on the day.
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Marc Gasol Finally Shows Life As A Raptor
Marc Gasol had the best game of his short tenure with the Toronto Raptors, scoring 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists, one block and two steals on 9-for-13 attempts from the field. Gasol's usual production across the board makes him a nine-category stud, but he has only ranked 147th in the last 30 days. However, this was the first time the 34-year-old was able to log over 25 minutes as a member of the Raptors, and this could be the kind of effort that sparks the Spaniard back into being a top 50 producer.
Spencer Dinwiddie Returns To Action
Spencer Dinwiddie returned to the lineup on Friday night, recording 15 points and four assists in 23 minutes. Dinwiddie missed 14 games because of a thumb injury but looked to be in good condition after not seeing the court in over a month. Head coach Kenny Atkinson mentioned how the 25-year-old was ready to roll because he kept up on his conditioning, and Dinwiddie played most of the crucial minutes down the stretch before the game got out of hand. The former second-round pick in the 2014 draft shouldn't miss Saturday's second leg of the teams back-to-back set and should be added in all standard leagues.
Nobody Had A Better Friday Than Eric Bledsoe
Eric Bledsoe had himself some Friday. Aside from scoring a season-high 31 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, the 29-year-old agreed to a four-year, 70 million dollar extension with Milwaukee. The agreement came on the heels of Bledsoe's fifth triple-double of his career on Wednesday, and he quickly repaid the Bucks with his effort on Friday night. The former Kentucky Wildcat contributed 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one block and two three-points on 12-for-24 shooting from the field. Bledsoe's numbers are up almost across the board this season, and he is an integral part of Milwaukee's success.
