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As you may or may not have heard (read?), we’re doing some Midseason Rankings just to see how the NBA fantasy landscape is shaping. If you tuned in last time, we covered the “Draft Capital” tier, which seems like inadvertent shade since the upcoming draft is pretty barren compared to the recent WEMBYPOCALYPSE, but it’s […]

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Yesterday, we had card metaphors to tie into the great SEO river of aggregate content. So many buzz words so little time! But, what was alluded then is now true, the NBA Season is finally here with two great match-ups tonight with the Lakers vs. the Champion Nuggets (I just call em Chicken Nuggets, but to each their own…) and the retooled Suns vs. the nearly old but probably not busted Warriors. But until we get there in just a short amount of time, we’re wrapping up our quick hits on the 2023-24 season with yesterday’s Easter Conference notes and today’s Western Conference overview. And there was a bit of method with the order, only because of the two, the East is probably the easier to be prescient about. Afterall, there are some very clear teams that will try and tank, there are a few teams we all know are not ready to take the next step, but are getting there… and then there’s a mix of above average teams that do different things in different ways with the Bucks and Celtics as clear favorites. In the West? Well, it’s quite murky. And that’s not to sleep on Denver, they certainly are considered the favorites by myself and many others in the industry, but after that, it gets kinda crowded. So let’s get to it and see how the teams look, along with the Vegas spreads and my takes on the O/U…

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Kevin Durant is back!

For what feels like the millionth time. How many times does this guy have to be “back” before it’s not even a story anymore? I guess he gets infinite re-entries on this – ESPN even used the exact headline “KD is back!” It literally never ends, but I guess we gotta talk about his fantasy impact anyway.

Elsewhere on OKC Thunder throwback night, Russell Westbrook went HAM against the high-flying Memphis Grizzlies. Let’s dive in and take a look at these throwback performances under the fantasy basketball microscope.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Dennis Smith Jr. had a good week and should maintain respectable value for the remainder of the season and the same can be said for Matisse Thybulle, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Finally, Xavier Tillman was another successful suggestion and his value was further enhanced due to the injury to Brandon Clarke, who will remain out for the whole season. As long as he and Steven Adams remain sidelined, Tillman should be a good streamer for standard leagues.

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Dennis Smith Jr: LaMelo Ball is unfortunately out for the rest of the season with a fractured right ankle and the obvious next man up is Dennis Smith Jr. He already filled in his role admirably when Ball was sidelined at the beginning of the season and can provide a substantial boost in perimeter stats and more particularly in assists and steals. He was famous for his athletic ability since his college days and his years in the league have not slowed him down.

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Denver’s post-deadline pickup of Reggie Jackson is an ill omen for Bruce Brown, and that manifested itself on Thursday. With Brown (53 percent rostered in Yahoo! standard leagues) relinquishing backup point guard responsibilities, he struggled to find footing, finishing his night with just two points, two rebounds, two assists, and no threes or defense. I fear he won’t have enough volume moving forward to put up counting stats, or enough time to make for it with defense. I’m ready to cut bait  on him right now.

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I’ll start with the TNT game, which I almost didn’t watch because Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were out.

Wait, what was that?  Is that………

Devin Booker’s music???????

Yes, Booker returned with 19 points and six assists and the Suns are whole again.  Torrey Craig has lost what little value he had (3 points in 25 minutes).  Chris Paul did have 12 assists with his 9 points, but the guy just looks slow to me.  He’s thicker than he used to be and seems like he’s a step slower.  Still good, but I’m wondering how long this will last before he craters.  I’d get off him and trade him to someone who isn’t watching.  And what happened to Deandre Ayton?  35 points and 15 boards, keep that going.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 15!  In this post, I identify widely available players who can help you win your head-to-head matchup.  Depending on who’s on your roster, this week has offered its fair share of ups and downs so far.  We witnessed the long-awaited return of Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, and Khris Middleton, while lamenting fresh injuries to Kristaps Porzingis, Bobby Portis, and Steven Adams.  In Adams’ case, we were left wondering who would gain the most minutes between Xavier Tillman, Santi Aldama, and Brandon Clarke.  After a promising showing on Monday, Tillman’s minutes fell off a cliff on Wednesday, as Clarke and Aldama gobbled up the lion’s share of time at the five.  Suffice it to say, that situation is still developing…

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Terance Mann failed to impress in his increased opportunity and is a drop and the same can be said for Naz Reid, as he was both underwhelming and Rudy Gobert is back. On the other hand, Kyle Anderson had a great week, but he will also be impacted by Gobert and eventually Towns returning, while Wenyen Gabriel did not provide the blocks he was advertised for and is a clear drop with Anthony Davis closing in on a return. A bad week in suggestions to be honest, let’s hope it’s the exception to the rule.

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I was high on Precious Achiuwa in the offseason, as he showed flashes at the end of last season, both offensively and defensively. He improved his shooting and was able to make it rain from downtown. In addition, he exhibited the ability to make life difficult for Joel Embiid while also being able to switch on the perimeter against guards. Most importantly, though, Nick Nurse spoke glowingly about him over the summer, commenting on his work ethic and finally “getting it.” Then the season started, and it didn’t go as planned. He had two monster games while playing over 33 minutes in each, but after that, was relegated to playing in the teens. To stick a rusty knife into my belly, Achiuwa then succumbed to injury and missed the next 24 games. My Precious once had bling that blinded the eyes, but now was as dull as my jokes. Upon returning to action, he was once again playing in the teens, but slowly but surely, the playing time increased. Christian Koloko was sent down to the G League and my Precious began to glisten once again. Over the last five games, he received 28, 21, 26, 21 and 37 minutes, starting in the most recent contest and putting up 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

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The Magic have been everyone’s favorite fantasy outlet this season, from Bol Bol Euro-stepping into monster jams to Paolo Banchero compiling historic rookie numbers. The play of Franz Wagner has by no means been lost in all the excitement, but his games of late have been next level good. Over his last six games, he’s averaging 24 points on 55% shooting, 68.3 TS%, pitching in about 4 boards, 3 assists, a steal and 3 threes per game. 

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Something tells me the Pelican won’t fare well in that scenario, right? Well, that was the case Wednesday night when the Celtics’ Scottie Pippen, “Robin” or what have you – Jaylen Brown – torched the young Pelicans to the tune of 41 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. Brown led Boston to a convincing 125-114 victory over New Orleans and he wasn’t alone – top dog, Batman Jayson Tatum bullied his way to 31 points and 10 rebounds of his own.

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