MarShon Brooks has come on late in the season for the lowly Grizzlies. 1-23-8-3-1-2-3 on 11-of-20 shooting in 37 starter minutes. This is the best performance by a Grizzly since The Edge. You thought I was going to say The Revenant? Nah. The Edge with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin was a far superior performance by a bear in a movie, and yet I made a Shawshank Redemption reference in my headline, which is superior to any movie with a bear in it. Anyhow, the ex-(NJ) Net killed it last night. I never thought I’d see him again in the NBA, but he has seemingly resurrected his career in Memphis. I can’t believe the Nets drafted him over Jimmy Butler… Bitter, party of one!
Any-anyhow, welcome one and all to the Saturday daily notes! Sure it’s the last week of the season. Sure, this post probably is meaningless to you if you have A) already won your league, or B) have been out of it and want to gain a leg up on next year, or C) you’re demented, and want to see what could have been if your team was healthy. Anyway, I’m going to attempt to break down some of the relevant lines that could help you next year, because, you blew it this year, or your league has gone on way too long. Either way, you’re a bad guy if you don’t read this article, but I guess you wouldn’t know if you’re not reading this. Convoluted open aside, here’s what went down on the last Friday of the regular season:
Willie Cauley-Stein– 18-8-3-2-2-1 on 9-of-14 shooting. The Kings beat the Grizzlies in a game the owner and GM surely wanted to lose, but just couldn’t.
Buddy Hield– 2-14-5-6-3-0-5 in 34 minutes off the bench. Had a nice year, but next year could be a real breakout candidate.
Jonathan Motley– 1-26-12-2-2-0-2. What in the World? I doubt this is any indicator of next year, but nice line from this dude. Motley Crue has a layup of a nickname if he gets any playing time next year. See, I mixed in some basketball phraseology there.
Andre Drummond– 19-16-5-1-2-2 on 9-of-13 shooting and 1-of-6 FTs . He’s worse from the stripe than Fruit Stripe gum though. Okay… he improved his free throws a lot this year.
Willie Hernangomez– 1-11-12-1-1-0-0. If the Hornets retain him next year, he could finally break out. He’s had some bad luck with finding playing time though.
Malik Monk– 4-26-1-8-0-1-1 on 8-of-14 shooting and 6-for-6 free throws. Magic, you just got Monk’d! He waits for the last week to break out? Could be worth a late-round flier next year.
The Magic- Clearly tanked this game so I don’t think any of their players deserve a mention. This is the sad state of the NBA unfortunately. You’re a trash franchise Magic. Just want to let you know that. Losing by 37 to the Hornets… Could you make it more obvious?
Jeff Green– 5-33-5-3-0-0-2. Could be a factor in the real life playoffs? What is going on? This was just a wacky night in the NBA…
LeBron James– 4-44-11-11-2-1-8. Whoop-de-doo Basil…Still lost to the Sixers, who now own the third seed and the Cavs the fourth. This week is so useless for fantasy, but there are a few teams apparently, still playing meaningful games.
Ben Simmons– 27-15-13-4-1-3. Wow. He has topped almost everyone’s expectations this year. If he ever develops a 3-point shot and starts hitting FTs, he could be LeBron-Adjace-esque.
Robert Covington– 2-11-4-0-3-3-0. Has 25 combined steals/blocks in his last four games. That’s winning fantasy basketball.
Tyler Dorsey– 4-22-3-1-0-1-0 in 31 minutes off the bench. He’s been strong the last five games so he could be a name to look at next year.
Sean Kilpatrick– 5-24-3-0-1-0-1. I might be biased because he’s an ex-Net, but I really like him as a scorer off the bench. I hope he finds a role next year.
Greg Monroe- The Moose got loose, for possibly the most unlikely triple-double of the year. 19-11-10-2-1-3 in 28 minutes off the bench.
Damyean Dotson– 4-30-11-1-1-1-0. Seemingly out of nowhere, Dotson might go down as the latest scapegoat to ruin the Knicks draft pick, as they beat the Heat last night, and Phil Jackson is giving a slow-clap somewhere in the world.
Luke Kornet– 4-17-8-4-0-1-1. If he ever gets minutes, he’s a unique 3-point shooter and blocks guy. I’d keep an eye out if he makes the roster next year.
The Pacers- Scored 73 points last night… I’m of the opinion that the season should be shortened by at least five games. These games were unwatchable last night, and I can’t believe every team was giving a real effort. The fans deserve better!
Jrue Holiday– 4-22-6-10-2-2-2 on 8-of-15 shooting. He’ll end the year as a top-25 Fantasy player. Just keep in mind for next year.
Tyler Ulis– 2-16-5-4-2-0-3. Finishing the year strong again. I really wish he did this all year after I drafted him in the last round…
Jeff Teague– 2-25-4-8-2-0-1 on 9-of-16 shooting and made all five free throws. He’s someone who could be undervalued next year.
Josh Hart– 3-20-11-0-0-0-3 on 50% shooting. Hart’s War will be battling for playing time next year. I really like what he’s shown as a great rebounding guard. The Lakers could be a vastly different team next year, but hopefully they can carve out a bench role for Josh.
It’s been a long season, and I’m tired. I’m ready for the NBA playoffs, because the regular season could have ended 20 games ago and the end result would probably be the same. These last four weeks were solely there to determine if the Nuggets will get the 8th seed. I’m looking forward to sleeping in on Saturdays again, but I just want to thank everyone for reading. I did it for you guys. As always leave a comment.
