The All-Star break is over. Now, I’m guessing a lot of you are switching to baseball prep mode. You have permission to do so, and our baseball page has everything you could possibly need.
But the winning, the contending, in the NBA is about to be harder than ever. I’m giving you my blessing to ignore the Wizards, Pacers, Kings, Grizzlies, Nets, Jazz, and other tanking teams. Their issue is that they want to lose, so if a player is having a good game he sits.
Look at Tristan Vuckcevic (I spelled it right, don’t @ me) on the Wizards. [Editor’s Note: It’s actually spelled Tristan Vukcevic. 🙂 ] He’s too good to get big minutes. 12 points, 5 boards, and 5 steals in just 17 minutes and then he sat. So I can’t pick him up, because the second he does well he’s on the bench. Teams like the Wizards in the last 1/4 of the season just don’t care about developing players in games. So I’m done talking about them.
Unless I have to, of course.
Hornets
As expected, with suspensions to Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges, Grant Williams got the lion’s share of the minutes. 20 points and 9 boards against a good Rockets team should get your attention and a short term pickup. Each of the suspensions were four games; take away one of them and Williams has three good ones left if my calculator is accurate. And yes, 4-1 is a calculator worthy math equation.
Hawks
To continue my theme of teams that start with the letter H, here’s Atlanta. Jock Landale continues to be a solid add. He got 22 minutes of basketball cardio and was reasonably productive (10 points, 7 RB). Jalen Johnson is the main offensive hub, but CJ McCollum for some reason is allowed to get up 13 shots and 10 free throws in 30 minutes. Keep your Hawks flying in your lineup if you have them.
Celtics
Payton Pritchard is coming off the bench, but still playing over 30 minutes and is the exact value as before. Sam Hauser continues his Kyle Korver or JJ Redick character arc; 4 threes in 28 minutes and even chipped in 5 assists. I’ve added and dropped him a few times, but I think it’s time to just hold him if you need three pointers (and who doesn’t!) Nikola Vucevic (28 minutes) and Neemas Queta (18 minutes) are pretty much cooked. Vucevic role is diminished, which makes sense leaving Chicago. Those two poor tall cannibals! They just eat each others’ value.
Clippers
Well, Bennedict Mathurin can have moments like this. 38 minutes, which likely isn’t a theme for the rest of the season, but when you score 38 points on just 22 shots you’re going to stay in there in a close game. He’s worth an add, but obviously this was a heater, not a full breakout. Derrick Jones, Jr. is back and logged 34 active minutes (22 pts, 2 3PM made) but not sure about him yet. There’s few rebounds or stocks. If you have a spot sure, grab DJJ. He’s a fickle player, though. Brook Lopez mans the middle now for 31 minutes, but only got a single-single in that time (8 points, 6 RB, but 2 stocks). Low end add for the aging big.
Magic
Jevon Carter played 23 minutes, hitting threes and dishing four assists. Obvious pickup, right? See, this is the stupid part of this time of year. The Kings aren’t a real NBA team now, so the Magic dog-walked them, and Carter got to play a bunch of minutes. Make sure the context is noted. Bench players getting a bunch of extra minutes is pretty meaningless when the game context is like this.
Thanks for sticking with the fantasy hoops content!
