I imagine even some Knicks fans were chanting that!
In what ended up being a nailbitier for the Cavs in MSG, Kyrie Irving was unstoppable shooting 12-18 FG (3-6 3PTM 10-11 FT). Heat check! Just don’t say that about LeBron when he’s hot… Uncle Drew making NY Blue! Gave him 37 big ones for a 37/3/2/2/0 with LeBron James assuming the point-forward role racking up a diming with 12 assists. Freaky Friday! Well I guess it’s Freaky Thursday, but I like the idea of Kyrie Irving as an angsty teenager in kinda a goth phase… But while he just “doesn’t connect” with Jamie Lee Curtis, he’s been one of fantasy’s biggest surprises this year. As mentioned on the Pod yestderday by our guest Justin Phan, for Kyrie to be averaging MORE points a game from last year with the Cavs big three now amassed, it’s amazeballs. Coming into last night’s game, Kyrie was 5th in per game value and 6th in total value according to the BB Monster metrics, and probably passes Damian Lillard for 5th in total value after this bigun. While the assists have understandably fallen from 6.1 last year to under 5 thus far in 14-15, I don’t really think there’s anything unsustainable. Maybe shooting over 48% and over 42% from deep fall a wee bit, but with Lebron and Kevin Love out there, I do see him having career-highs in both. And the big kicker – TO were at 1.7 last night and will remain well under 2.0 a game even with 3 against the Knicks. Plus that great FT volume… and baby you got a stew goin’! I feel like I’ve revelled at every single one of Kyrie’s stats… So go get him if you can! Drafted in the late 2nd/early 3rd in most drafts, if you can only spend 2nd round value to bring in Uncle Drew, it’ll make you party it up on Championship Sunday of your H2H final like Drunk Uncle! Here’s what else went down in the three games last night:
Rodney Stuckey – Hoping to fill in that PG void! Both Paul George and point gaurd voids… Enter the Void! I’m depressed just thinking about that movie… Anyway, Stuckey started at the 1 and went 16/6/5/0/0 shooting 7-15. 4 TO is no bueno, but pretty solid showing and is must-own in 12ers. I had been tooting the Stuckey horn for a while now! Just needed time to get over all the minor injuries and I think sticks at the 2 whenever/ifever George Hill gets back.
Donald Sloan – DNP. Oh man, Pacers fans were slingin’ it seeing this! Of course I’m biased – I like Sloan like I’m Ferris – but C.J. Watson got all the backup PG minutes, and was pretty brutal shooting 2-12 in 19 mins. The final line is fine – 4/3/3/1/1 – but I think they get Sloan involved again. Not like the Pacers did anything impressive out there with only 82 points against the Blazers…
Lavoy Allen – Another Pacer DNP that didn’t make Pacer Nation too happy. Ian Mahinmi was hitting the glass pretty hard, but his FT shooting (0-2 last night) is just so, so atrocious… I want to play him and Josh Smith in knockout! Can’t block my first FT shot!
David West – Nearly rainbowed in 31 minutes (finally getting over 30) for 13/8/3/2/1. Still yawning over hurr.
Nicolas Batum – An actual rainbow! 13/5/5/3/2 on 5-13 shooting hitting a trey finally. Only 1-5 from deep last night though, as his struggles beyond the arc are catastrophic. 2 for his last 29 now over the last 6 games. Get the Frenchy some spectacles, seeing this awful shooting is hurting my testicles!
Robin Lopez – Uh ohhhhhh! “Did I do that?!” Starting to look terrible! Zero blocks in three of the last four (given he had 5 blocks in that one he did get some swattage) in a 4/7/0/1/0 line. Losing a board-and-a-half a game is his biggest downgrade form last year, but I still think the on-pace Pts & Blks fall off as he’s about 4 minutes a game under the 31:45 he played in 13-14. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the Blazers having a solid bench (mostly Chris Kaman), gives them an offensive option at C behind RoLo and an impetus to play him less. I’m still holding in 12ers, but in 10-team leagues, I’m more than fine moving on from the Sideshow.
Anthony Davis – Good golly, he can take over a game! Of course, the Warriors won in a blowout, but Davis was taking isos the rack left and right, and was the only reason this was a 20-point blowout not 40. 30/15/3/2/3 for yet another rainbow shooting 14-19. Really no other Pelican had any business taking a shot – Davis shoulda pulled a Wilt Chamberlain and taken 60!
Tyreke Evans – It’s only one game, but geeeez! TOing it over like he’s trying to be a Carter-Williams! Looking to marry MCW’s sister, who would have to change her name to Masey Carter-Williams-Evans. 11/3/5/2/1 for Tyreke, on an awful 5-15 shooting and 7 giveaways to the Warriors… 13 TO the past two games now. “I hate the West Coast!” Didn’t you play for the Kings, Tyreke…? “Used to!”
Dante Cunningham – Not to get too serious, but in a rough year for sports it’s been “guilty until proven innocent” with domestic violence. Cunningham’s girlfriend accused him of choking her and sending threatening texts, only to have charges dropped and no crimes formally charged… It’s not like we have record of a text like Elijah Duke’s “You Dead, Dawg”! All of that mess made it take Cunningham forever to find work… No one but the parties involved know the whole story, but he made his 14-15 debut for the Pels for 2/3/0/1/0. Only 1-6 shooting, but appears to be in the rotation. In the deepest of leagues, worth keeping an eye on and trying to reserve judgment on the morality scale.
Ryan Anderson – Ugh, that was a stinker! Stats as near extinct as real rhinos!
Draymond Green – Whew, we dodged a bullet #Occupy Nation! Huge game from DrayDray posting up 14/14/2/0/1 and a couple of treys. Couldn’t guard The Brow, but then again who can?!
Marreese Speights – I had him as a speculative streamer yesterday, and delivered even with Green healthy! 12/6/1/1/1 and had this nasty right-hand to off left-hand little jumper thingy in the paint. The ace of Speights! Yeah, keep riding this as David Lee is still limping his way back.
Harrison Barnes – Back-to-back dubdubs, but he’s just not very good… 17/10/1/0/0 last night and 0.6 combined steals and blocks heading into the game. Shooting 50% from the floor is nice, but he’s somehow turned from an uber-athletic wing with great upside into a Pts/Reb only guy… Which I guess is fine in a Tristan Thompson-from-last-year sorta way!
Tim Hardaway Jr. – Got hot off the bench for 8-14 shooting (4-8 3PTM) 20/3/1/0/0. Had 16 I think it was in the first half, but then pffftt. Flatulence – just like ebola, silent but deadly! Timmy J with the ThrAGNOF of the night award!
Amar’e Stoudemire – Another start and another 30 minutes. Even my young, non-surgically repaired knees hurt seeing all these minutes! 18/9/2/1/1 shooting 8-13 and you just gotta ride the Stoudemide as long as you can.
Carmelo Anthony – Ya know, the overall multi-cat line salvaged his night (9/19/4/1/1), but anytime Melo is in single-digits, you know something was rough… 4-19 shooting and 5 TO. Didn’t get to the line once! Settling for too many jumpers, Catan!
Jose Calderon – What’s the Spanish phrase for “…like that time your friends light a bag of poop on fire and ring your doorbell and run away”? Yeah, that. 3/1/3/1/0. “Well smack my ass, and call me droppable!” I’m not smacking my ass in all leagues, but in shallower 10s, I’d do some smacking.
Streamers/Cheap DraftKings Picks:
Jason Terry (7% owned) – Ugh, I feel so dirty! Recommending Jason Terry?! It’s like a demon Jim Carrey just vomited on me… But he’s had back-to-back fantasy usable games (18/6/5 4 treys, 16/3/5/4/0 3 treys), and will be starting again with Patrick Beverley out and Isaiah Canaan more than likely out. Will kill some treys for you and chip in some dimes, so stream away!
James Ennis (1% owned) – Going bold here! Luol Deng hurt his hand Wednesday and hinted he’ll miss time, so Ennis could get some serious roll tonight. Especially against an inconsistent Bucks team, particularly on the wing. Could be a coming out party!
I hope everyone had a fantastic week, and be sure to set your line-ups for full maximization over the weekend. We’ll see ya on Monday!
