After recording three wins in a row the Suns have now suffered back-to-back losses. It appears the Suns are setting again, but the most recent shakeup to the starting line up may prove there’s still fantasy value to be had in Phoenix. Yes, Suns FA pick ups just in time for Daylight Savings–first, the Morris Twins–Markieff Morris had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and Marcus Morris had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. You know I’m a sucker for the twinsies starting together–pulls at all the right heartstrings. This is real basketball people. But I must say fantasy-wise it’s hard to tell them apart–they’re both pretty mediocre. They’re worth watching for now, but if you’re have to own one, Marcus is the brother to own, but they don’t recommend separating the two.
Wesley Johnson could be an even better pick up, and Friday he scored 19 points, with 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in the start. Wes has developed a sixth man-type role over the past few games but he got the start last night over Jared Dudley and made coach proud. Johnson, a former top 10 pick, always had the pedigree to do this, maybe its about time he got it done. Wesley was the only one who could save Princess Buttercup and if he can continue to play well in this role, maybe he could save your fantasy team come playoff time.
Here’s what else happened in fantasy basketball Friday night:
Isaiah Thomas – 27 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl, 4 3pm. The Kings and Suns squared off in Friday’s marquee match up and clearly the stars of these lovable losers got a chance to shine. IT2 was everywhere Friday night, dude was en fuego. So of course he was inexplicably benched in the fourth quarter for Toney Douglas. Clearly, a tank job from coach Keith Smart, but despite his efforts the Kings still managed to take this one. They can’t even win right.
DeMarcus Cousins – 22 pts, 14 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl. The media makes him out to be a little crazy but can you blame them? Those stats are insane!
Reggie Evans – 11 pts, 24 reb, 5-16 ftm. What a line from Reggie. Gotta love the 24 boards, but its the 11 missed free throws that really make me smile. Don’t ever change, Reg.
Deron Williams – 42 pts, 5 ast. 3 reb, 11 3pm. The 11 threes were a team record, including 9 first half threes, also a team record. He also set the record for most fist-to-chest-bump-point-to-sky gestures at 26. D-Ron is averaging almost 22 pts, 7 ast and 3 threes a game over the past two weeks. If only they could merge Brook Lopez’s low post game and Reggie Evans’ rebounding into one super player: Brookie Lovans. Then Brookie will single-handedly bring Brooklyn its first championship. Get on that, science.
Ben Gordon – 19 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 3pm. Gordon is averaging 16.3 pts over the past three games. Gerald Henderson, who had 21 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, is averaging 13.4 pts, 3.0 rebs, 2.1 ast over the past 2 weeks. Both could be serviceable options if you’re looking for points and threes and you hate yourself. Oh B-Cats, I keed, Henderson has been more than solid of late and at less than 40% owned in leagues he’s definitely worth picking up.
Beno Udrih – 12 pts, 7 ast. Despite the return of Jameer Nelson (10 pts, 7 ast) Beno managed to maintain some value. Looks like E’Twaun Moore (6 pts, 11 minutes) is the odd man out. I heard there’s a movie out where a kid trades his goat for Magic’s Beno, and Beno brings him into the sky to fight giants. Finally, a true fantasy film.
Moe Harkless – 3 pts, 6 reb, 0-8 fgm. Harkless? More like Moe Scoreless. Ugh.
Tobias Harris – 7 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk in 21 minutes. Tobias got promoted to the starting line up over Andrew Nicholson and responded by getting into foul trouble early and playing just 21 minutes. Tobias, you blowhard! Harris needs to be owned everywhere regardless of this blip.
Ed Davis – 12 pts, 9 reb in 19 minutes. Z-Bo misses another game and Eddy gets another chance to show his stuff, this time he fares a lot better. He’s just 10% owned, but I like Davis and he showed he could be valuable earlier in the year with Toro. Grab Davis if Z-Bo stands to miss anymore time.
Tony Allen – 11 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl. TA’s a stone cold fantasy thief (1.0 steal per game over the past 15 days) but not much else. Don’t let the minutes fool you, Tony’s a much better real life player than he will be for your fantasy team.
Tayshaun Prince – 8 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk. Averaging 7.5 pts, 4.8 reb, 3.0 ast over the past 2 weeks. Will see plenty of minutes, but like Tony Allen his value remains grounded more in reality. Personally , I don’t care much for this “reality.”
Mike James – 12 pts, 3 ast in 29 minutes. Old Mike has been starting the past few games over Darren Collison (11 pts, 8 ast, 3 reb), but James only holds value in the deepest of leagues and senior citizen leagues.
Brendan Wright – 14 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk. With Shawn Marion a late scratch Jae Crowder (2 pts, 5 ast) got the start, but it was Brendan “If He’s Wrong, I Don’t Want To Be” Wright who shined in this one with his third straight double digit scoring effort and three blocks. With Chris Kaman seeing minutes as well, I can’t recommend Wright until he sees more consistent playing time.
Thaddeus Young – 25 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl. I keep hearing Tommy Lee Jones plays him in the movie Lincoln and was even Oscar nominated for the role. I imagine the age difference must be weird at first, but I can’t help thinking basketball wasn’t even invented until the late 1800s. It must be some performance, I guess that explains the nomination. You go, TLJ.
Spencer Hawes – 13 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk in 30 minutes. Spence is just over 53% owned in yahoo leagues and now that Philly is over their Andrew Bynum denial I think Hawes is worth scooping up.
Lebron James – 25 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk, 2 3pm. The Heat win their 17th game in a row. Fantasy pro tip!* Own Lebron James.
Marvin Williams – 14 pts, 10 reb. Derrick Favors 11 pts, 10 reb and Enes Kanter 10 pts, 3 reb. With the return of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, Williams, Favors and Kanter aka the Three Amigos, were all back to the bench. Womp womp. The depth of the Utah team really is astounding at times, if only they had more than one average point guard.
Mo Williams – 2 pts (1-7 fgm), 3 ast, 4 reb, Who you calling average? Aww. I love ya Mo, but you will always be swallowed in Deron Williams’ shadow.
Nate Robinson – 14 pts, 7 ast, 6 reb (1-8 3pm) in 36 minutes. Lil’ Nate is just 34% owned in yahoo leagues, I know he has been shooting very poorly lately but the minutes are there and with Kirk Hinrich out I think he needs to be owned everywhere.
Marco Belinelli – 22 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 3pm. Beli hit the game winning three at the end of regulation. Mama mia! That’s-a spicy meatball-a! Over the past 3 games, Marco is scoring 16 pts a game, with 2 rpg, 5.3 apg, and 2.7 3pg. He’s available in most leagues and you don’t need to shout “Polo!” to get him. With the Bulls beat up right now, Belinelli is a nice grab if you need points and threes.
Paul Pierce – 27 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 3 3pm. In the post game interview, he said in his best Murtaugh voice, “I’m getting too old for this!”
Damian Lillard – 35 pts, 3 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl, 3 3pm. The Blazers beat Spurs 136-106. Huge win for PDX over the fierce-some, Tony Parker-less Spurs. It must be an omen! Close, it’s THE Omen.
Eric Maynor – 23 minutes, 2 3pm, 20 pts, 6 ast, 2 stl. Maynor’s best game of the season, he’s averaging 9.7 pts, 6.3 ast, 2.3 reb and 1.0 3pm over the past three days and is carving out a niche for himself scoring off the bench, a role that Portland’s been lacking all year. He’s got a 5-game week coming up and could be worth a look.
Cory Joseph – 13 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl. Joseph got the start and played 26 minutes in what was his best game of the year. As long as Tony Parker is out, he’s worth a look as a deep league option.
Patty Mills – 18 minutes, 6 pts, 2 ast. The other PG in the mix, Mills could see more time in Parker’s absence but really I’m only mentioning him because his name is so great.
Andrew Bogut – 3 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl. You don’t own Drew for his scoring so if you do own him you’ve go to be happy with the 11 boards. And hey, he didn’t reinjure himself! Silver linings, bro, Bradley Cooper knows what I’m talking about.
Kobe Bryant – 41 pts, 6 reb, 12 ast, 2 stl, 5 3pm. Mamba was in straight up superman-mode last night, hitting two circus threes to force overtime and this dunk to seal it. At this point does anyone doubt that Kobe will single-handedly carry the Lakers to the playoffs? It’s fun watching him try harder to win these games than I’ve tried at anything in my life.
Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap, as fantasy basketball continues next week, all week long!
