Son had a nice moment of self-reflection on the latest podcast, recognizing how he – and we all – tend to get easily sucked into preseason storylines that make us overhype or dismiss certain players without questioning the herd mentality around said player.
Case in point: Myles Turner, who was discussed more for his potential to be traded than for his promising fantasy game. After sitting out a couple games and taking one to ease back to form, Turner put up 27 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 assists while shooting 3-4 from three, 7-14 from the field and 10-10 from the line as the Pacers beat the Wizards 127-117. The trade talk will eventually reemerge, but in the meantime, Turner owners may get to feast on a steady diet of blocks with quality numbers across the board. It’s worth remembering he’s just 26, when big guys usually enter their prime. If that age and experience turns into consistency for Turner, there’s Top 15 value to be had here.
More notes from a busy Friday night in the Association:
Jalen Smith and Aaron Nesmith each chipped in 15 pts and 7 boards in about 30 minutes as the Pacers went heavy with the starters, leaving benchers Benedict Mathurin, Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson to ho-hum nights. It may have been a result of coach Rick Carlisle missing the game. Tyrese Haliburton did Tyrese Haliburton things with 25 points and 12 assists.
Monte Morris dished out a season high 12 assists, but not much else as he’s now scored single digits in 4 of 5 games. Bradley Beal is still good at basketball. He had 31 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block in the losing effort, and is shooting 60% from the field in his first five games.
Tyrese Maxey brought out his finest Brunswick cue and nearly ran the table in a game of 9-ball, making his first seven 3-pointers on his way to a 44-point, 8-rebound, 4-assist performance (9-12 from deep, 15-20 overall) as Phily beat Toronto 112-90 despite Joel Embiid taking the night off (sore right knee). De’Anthony Melton got the start and put up an appetizing fantasy line of 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in 31 minutes. Melton is averaging a steal per 10 minutes of play thus far.
Pascal Siakum keeps posting big numbers, finishing 26-10-6 against Philly, now averaging 25-9-8 in the early going. The efficiency could use a boost, especially his sub-70% free throw shooting.
The Orlando Magic started 34+ feet worth of men and stomped all over the Hornets, 113-93. Bol Bol got the start and finished with 11 points, 7 boards and a hashmark in each of the assist/steal/block departments. Mo Bamba actually had the best performance of the 7-footers with 19 points, 6 boards and 3 blocks in just 19 minutes of play.
The main story in Orlando is that Paolo Banchero (21 pts., 12 rbds., 7 asts. / 8-14 shooting, 2-4 from three) is now playing point guard and continues to exceed expectations early in the season as both a scorer and playmaker.
Cade Cunningham put up season highs of 35 points, 9 boards and 8 assists, and tidied up the slop giving away just one turnover after committing 7 in his previous game. The sell window is closing on Bojan Bogdanovic (22 pts on 5-12 shooting, 3-6 from three and 9-9 from the line; with 4 rebounds) as the Pistons are steamrolling their way to the tanks.
Trae Young went 4 of 6 from deep after a rusty shooting start to the season – not that anyone is worried about it – and finished with 36 points and 12 assists. Aaron Holiday had a nice game off the bench with 14 points on 5-6 shooting and helped the Hawks break away from the Pistons in the 136-112 win. They didn’t need scoring from the bigs, John Collins and Clint Capela, who combined for 9 points but contributed 10 boards and 3 blocks, and 11 boards and 2 blocks, respectively.
Caris LeVert had himself a night with 41 points on 12-21 shooting, 6-8 from three, 7 assists, 4 boards and 3 steals, and iced the game in overtime with back-to-back treys to help Cleveland beat Boston 132-123. Donovan Mitchell matched him with 41 points, too, on an equally efficient 15-25 shooting, although he committed 7 turnovers.
This was a game fantasy players love to see. The Cavs got double-doubles from Evan Mobley (19-10) and Jarrett Allen (12-11). Jaylen Brown (32-8-4-2-0) and Jayson Tatum (37-7-4-1-1) put up near identical lines.
Bones Hyland had the breakout game owners have been waiting for, scoring 26 points, hitting 7 of 12 from deep, as the Nugs blew away the Jazz, 117-101.
The Spurs had a ridiculous 37 assists on 46 field goals as they beat Chicago 129-124, despite Devin Vassell being out. Jakob Poeltl posted a tasty line of 21-13-4-1-1 on 10 of 12 shooting. Zach Collins scored 16 points with 6 boards, 3 assists and a block, and has been kind of sneaky good lately, but only getting about 17 minutes a game (his per 36 numbers are 19-8-7-1-3).
Andre Drummond finished with 17 and 14 and 3 steals, as he is averaging nearly a double-double off the bench for the Bulls.
Alperen Sengun fans rejoice! The young Turk got the start and posted 14 points, 11 boards and 3 blocks, although the minutes (26) were about the same.
The Blazers easily handled the Rockets without Damian Lillard, who’s out a week or two. Shaedon Sharpe got the start and continues to impress. He scored 14 points on 7-12 shooting, but didn’t contribute much else for owners who picked him up in daily leagues. Anfernee Simons took advantage of the expanded role with Dame out, scoring 30 points while hitting 7 of 15 three-pointers. He added 7 assists, 5 boards and a block and steal. Jusuf Nurkic unleashed the Beast with 27 points, 15 boards and 3 blocks. Justise Winslow continues to be a Swiss Army Knife for Chauncey Billups squad, contributing 7-6-7-3-1 off the bench.
Mikal Bridges (27 points, 10 of 13 shooting, 3-5 from three) made up for a lackluster night by Chris Paul and Devin Booker to lead the Suns to victory over the Pelicans, 124-111. Naji Marshall got more than 30 minutes for New Orleans for the second game in a row, and made them count with 21 points, 6 boards and 5 assists.
Rudy Gobert put up a monster game with Anthony Davis out, feasting to the tune of 22 points and 21 boards. Karl Anthony-Towns posted 21-8-7. Russell Westbrook came off the bench. And things just aren’t looking good in La La Land as the Lakers shot 41% from the field and had more turnovers than assists.
