It was a light weekend of NBA games because of the Super Bowl, but there’s still a ton of movement to discuss thanks to the trade deadline. Probably the biggest news item? That Anthony Davis is likely going to sit out the rest of the year after being traded to the Wizards.
It’s a devastating blow to his fantasy owners, especially because if you drafted AD in fantasy this year, it’s likely because you had a very low first round pick to begin with and he was the best choice to you of a series of somewhat underwhelming options compared to the Giannis’s and Luka’s and Ant’s of the world. “Well, I know he gets hurt a lot, but his numbers are excellent when he’s healthy and he did play 76 games two years ago,” his drafters probably thought. “Eh what the hell, let’s go for it.”
It personifies what a crap shoot it is when you draft injury-plagued players who are getting up there. Kawhi Leonard, for example, is even older than AD and has just as documented a history when it comes to being hurt, and yet he’s not only been healthy this year but is having one of the greatest seasons of his career. For every Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler, there’s a Steph Curry and a Kevin Durant too, but guessing which player will be which through a whole season is a total guess.
Other notes from this weekend:
Ivica Zubac was traded to the Pacers last week but has yet to debut with them because of an ankle injury. These are annoying times for Zubac owners because the Pacers are primed to be in full-on tank mode soon and aren’t going to be incentivized to send him out there as often as the Clippers were. And with Isaiah Jackson – Jay Huff’s primary competition for center playing time in Indiana – now in Los Angeles, Huff becomes an outstanding player to add while Zubac is out, as he has the potential to regularly play 30 minutes a night.
Now the starting center for the Clippers thanks to the Zubac deal, Brook Lopez played 26 minutes on Sunday and produced 5 points and 2 blocks. The good news for Lopez is that the minutes should absolutely be there for him now. The bad news is that he’s nowhere near as good as he used to be, and that when Isaiah Jackson is healthy, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for him to play near-even minutes with him. Lopez is still an interesting flier because of his ability to regularly block shots, but those anticipating him returning to his Milwaukee days should temper their expectations.
James Harden played his first game with the Cavs on Saturday since been traded and he played well, collecting 23 points, 5 threes and 8 assists in 32 minutes. His fantasy value should remain sky high in his new digs.
Nique Clifford scored 30 points for the Kings in 40 minutes on Saturday. While the Kings (surprisingly) did not remotely go on a fire sale and will finish the year with their veterans hogging much of the playing time from their younger guys, there’s still room for someone like Clifford to excel when given the opportunity. Of course, the only reason Clifford got that much playing time is because Zach LaVine was out, but Clifford still makes for a decent speculative add on the presumption that the Kings aren’t so delusional as to stop giving him tons of playing time when they’re all healthy.
Ayo Dosunmu made his debut with the Timberwolves on Sunday, scoring 11 points off the bench in 25 minutes. The T’Wolves starting lineup is pretty set in stone at this point, so Dosunmu’s ceiling is likely to be lower than it was in Chicago unless an injury opens the door for him to join the starting five.
Making his second game with the Celtics, Nikola Vucevic produced 11 points, 6 rebounds and a block in 23 minutes off the bench. He and Neemias Queta have been in a timeshare through his first two games, which has been brutal for both of them and has the potential to tarnish both of their fantasy values if things remain like this. With any luck, if you’re a Vucevic owner, Vuc will get elevated into the starting lineup soon, but there’s less reason to be optimistic if you’re a Queta owner, unfortunately.
Will Riley scored 27 points for the Wizards on Saturday and 9 points on Sunday. He’s been a notably good producer off the bench lately and could emerge as a sneaky good addition during silly season if he can enter the starting lineup at some point.
Michael Porter Jr. collected 23 points and 6 rebounds in a rare Nets win over the weekend. MPJ fantasy owners have to feel like they won the lottery (err, a small lottery), because after being one of the most obvious trade candidates all season long, Porter is sticking with the Nets anyway – meaning there’s every reason in the world for him to continue putting up gaudy fantasy stats with them. That’s bad news for those with Egor Demin shares however, at least in the short term.
Day’Ron Sharpe put up 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals against the Wizards on Sunday. Nic Claxton was also not traded and should continue to start ahead of Sharpe for the rest of the year, but the potential for Sharpe to be a fantasy beast at some point is easy to see. In a scenario in which Claxton or Noah Clowney get hurt and Sharpe can start to get 30 minutes a night, Sharpe would become a must-roster player.
With Amen Thompson out with an illness, Tari Eason got 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in 34 minutes on Saturday. Eason is underrated as a fantasy stud because of his propensity to get hurt, but he’s consistently been valuable as a defensive maestro when given the playing time and he’s been getting plenty of it lately after bumping Josh Okogie from the starting lineup. I wouldn’t hesitate to add him in standard fantasy leagues if he’s still on the wire for you.
Cason Wallace scored 23 points and added 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals on Saturday. He should be rostered in fantasy leagues for as long as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out with an abdominal injury.
Jared McCain made his debut with the Thunder on Saturday, notching only 5 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. Even with SGA out, McCain shouldn’t be much of a fantasy factor for the foreseeable future, but that could change down the line given that he’s still only 21 years old.
GG Jackson got 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks on Saturday. His numbers have been so-so lately, but what matters is that he’s started three straight games in Memphis, should continue to start the rest of the way now that Jaren Jackson Jr. is out of town, and has demonstrated in the past he can be a valuable fantasy asset. He is absolutely worth adding in fantasy leagues.
After consecutive DNP’s, Jusuf Nurkic returned to the Jazz lineup and finished with 3 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and a block in 24 minutes. The good news for Nurkic owners is that the Jazz showed here that they have interest in using him and Jackson Jr. in the starting five at the same time. The bad news is that Nurkic’s absences are not only likely to continue popping up, his minutes aren’t likely to be high the rest of the way either, as the Jazz flat-out benched him in the fourth quarter over the weekend – even though it cost them the game. To be blunt, if you own Nurkic in fantasy and you could trade him for someone good, I would make that trade with zero hesitation, because his fantasy arrow is pointing down in a big way. Additionally, Kyle Filipowski – who put up 15 points and 17 in Nurkic’s absence the game before – is someone to watch from here on out.
Stephon Castle exploded on Saturday for 40 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals and a block on 15-19 shooting. He’s having a phenomenal season and will be worth investing heavily in in fantasy drafts in the coming years, as there’s every reason to believe he’s a potential superstar on the rise.
