With six games on tap we had yet another eventful Monday night of preseason basketball.  John Wall made his preseason debut, Kawhi Leonard dominated (shocker!), and Cleveland rested every fantasy relevant player on their roster.  With that, here’s Tuesday’s Daily Dish.

Hornets 98, Wolves 86

The Hornets triumphed behind solid all around play from Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum.  Walker shined, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and three 3-pointers.  Batum was similarly versatile, notching 13 points, six boards, five assists, one block and three treys of his own.  Charlotte’s two primary playmakers continue to fit together superbly.

Zach LaVine played the most minutes of any starter (28) and was the lone bright spot for the Wolves, scoring a game high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting.  While the scoring certainly pops off the page LaVine didn’t contribute much outside of points and threes, adding just four boards, one assist and no defensive numbers.  

Elsewhere, Gorgui Dieng’s preseason struggles continued.  Aside from his two blocks he shot just 2-of-7 from the floor with little else to write home about.  Nemanja Bjelica has seen more run alongside the starters, a trend that bears watching at this point.  Similarly, Kris Dunn shot a disastrous 2-of-12 from the floor, missing all five of his attempts from downtown.  The death of Ricky Rubio’s fantasy value continues to be massively overstated.  Although he shot an equally abysmal 1-of-6 from the field he remains entrenched as Minnesota’s starter.

Spurs 86, Pistons 81

The Spurs gave their starters significant run on Monday, as Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol all saw more than twenty minutes of action.  Leonard stole the show with twenty points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and a three on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting.  You don’t need me to tell you that he’s a no-brainer first round pick.  Aldridge scored ten points to go along with nine boards, one assist and three steals of his own.  

Danny Green’s performance might not jump off the page, but hitting two threes and blocking a shot in just sixteen minutes furthers the case that a bounceback season is in store for the Spurs’ shooting guard.

As expected Ish Smith started at point guard in place of Reggie Jackson for the Pistons, and the results were problematic to say the least.  He hit just one of his six attempts from the field, but did chip in six boards, five assists, one steal and one block.  The dimes will be their for Smith, but efficiency continues to limit his potential in standard leagues.

Andre Drummond did exactly what you’d expect him to do.  He dominated the glass, totaled five combined blocks and steals and made just 1-of-3 from the charity stripe.  You know what you’re getting with him.  Jon Leuer saw some extended action and did his best to capitalize, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two threes in 29 minutes.  The rotation is awfully crowded up front for Detroit, but Leuer’s always possessed an interesting skillset for fantasy.

Hawks 99, Cavs 93

Dwight Howard led the way for the Hawks, scoring a game high 26 points with eight boards, two assists, one steal and two blocks.  He missed more than half his free throws, and is still going to high in most fantasy drafts, but it’s nice to see glimpses of the old Dwight every once and awhile.

Trendy sleeper Dennis Schroder was quiet Monday, scoring just six points with four assists, two boards and one steal.  As much as I understand the hype on Schroder these types of inconsistent nights shouldn’t shock his fantasy owners.

The Cavs rested just about every player relevant to folks playing in standard leagues, and instead turned their offense over to Jordan McRae and Cory Jefferson.  Jefferson managed to double-double, but McRae shot an abysmal 1-for-14 from the floor.  No one who touched the floor for the Cavs tonight is likely to have a significant impact this season outside of the deepest of leagues.

Knicks 90, Wizards 88

With Joakim Noah out with a hamstring and Derrick Rose set to appear in court the Knicks got an extended look at Willy Hernangomez and Brandon Jennings on Monday night.  Hernangomez didn’t do much in his 18 minutes, but it is worth noting that he drew the start in Noah’s absence.  Jennings was inefficient, but chipped in across the board with 11 points, three boards, one assist, one steal and three 3-pointers.

John Wall made his preseason debut for the Wizards, and looked sharp in just 16 minutes of action.  He finished with eight points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal on 4-of-9 from the floor.  Wall is shaping up to be one of the more polarizing picks in standard leagues, but if he’s healthy he shouldn’t slip too far in the second round.

Both Bradley Beal and Otto Porter saw extended run, as both Washington wings finished with 27 minutes played.  Beal tallied 17 points with one rebound, one assist, two steals and two threes.  His injury history is still a concern, but he can still be an impact fantasy player.  Porter was subtly impactful, scoring nine points with six boards, one assist and two steals.  He seems to have firmly staked his claim to the Wizard’s starting small forward spot, quieting rumors to the contrary.

Kings 135, Maccabi Haifa 96

Although they played their starters sparingly the Kings blew out Maccabi Haifa.  DeMarcus Cousins punished opposing bigs down low on his way to 14 points, four boards, three assists and a block in just 17 minutes.  Ty Lawson picked up 13 points, eight assists and three steals against inferior competition, but I’m  still aren’t biting on the speedster as anything more than a fill in this season.  Finally, Willie Cauley-Stein was quiet in this one (six points, one board, one assist, one steal and one block) but flashed on a few rim runs and defensive stops, again hinting at his monumental upside.

Jazz 96, Clippers 94

In the absence of Gordon Hayward it was Rodney Hood who took the reigns for Utah, pouring in 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.  He added three rebounds and one assist, looking poised and in control of the offense.  Backcourt mate George Hill continued to mesh well with coach Quin Snyder’s offensive system.  Hill posted a versatile line, scoring 10 points with eight boards, four assists, three steals and one block.

Rudy Gobert made noise with his free throw shooting last week, but wasn’t the same offensive force on Monday.  He finished with a perfectly respectable nine points, five boards and two blocks in 24 minutes, and while he looks primed for a bounce back season owners need to be prepared for nights where he just isn’t that involved offensively.

Familiar names anchored the starting unit for the Clippers, lead by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.  Paul stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, three boards, five assists, three steals and two 3-pointers in 28 minutes.  He’s a monster.  Griffin played just 21 minutes, but managed 13 points, three rebounds and two steals.  The injury concerns and lack of defensive numbers are legitimate issues, but he still deserves consideration in the early to middle rounds.

Jamal Crawford and Marreese Speights shined off the bench for the Clippers, at least in terms of fantasy production.  Crawford played 29 minutes, scoring 16 points with four assists, two steals and two threes.  He remains a strong streaming option for those hunting threes in head-to-head matchups.  Speights lived at the free throw line, where he shot 7-of-8, to finish with 14 points, one rebound and two blocks.  Both players struggled mightily on the defensive end despite the final numbers.

That’ll do it for this Tuesday’s dish.  Follow @HoopBallTweets for up to the minute updates or hit me up on Twitter (@AbyssAlsoGazes) if you have any questions.  See you all next week.