Top o’ the morning, Razzballers. It was a battle of the past versus future down in the Garden last night, with the Knicks besting the Thunder. Unfortunately, Kristaps Porzingis sat with a knee injury. Fortunately, Michael Beasley gifted us all a gem of a game in his place, going for 30/5/4/0/2 on 11-for-18 FG (2-for-2 3P, 6-for-7 FT) and only turning it over twice. Beas has put up some nice fantasy lines when given the minutes, but that doesn’t happen too frequently. Next time Porzingis misses time, keep Beas in mind for the stream. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy basketball:
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Doug McDermott: Thought to be the primary beneficiary of Kristaps’s’s absence, but was obviously outplayed by Beasley. Still got over 32 minutes off the bench for a solid 13/1/1 on 5-for-9 FG (3-for-5 3P).
Ron Baker: 11/1/2/2 on 4-for-5 FG (3-for-4 3P). He’s probably the third PG on the depth chart, but he’s a good steals stream.
Courtney Lee: Continues to be solid while Tim Hardaway Jr is out, going for 20/5/2/2 on 5-for-12 FG (3-for-6 3P, 7-for-7 FT).
Russell Westbrook: Broke his ugly streak of 16 games shooting below 50% from the field as he went for 25/7/7/2 on 9-for-18 FG (0-for-3 3P, 7-for-10) with four turnovers.
Paul George: Ugly games from the rest of the Thunder Big 3. PG13 had 18/9/4/2/1 on 6-for-14 FG (4-for-7 3P, 2-for-4 FT).
Carmelo Anthony: Especially ugly game for Melo in his return to New York. A very disappointing 12/5/1/1 on 5-for-18 FG (2-for-4 3P, no FT) and three turnovers. Yuck.
CJ McCollum: 25/2/3 on 10-for-17 FG (4-for-6 3P, 1-for-2 FT) and two turnovers. A bit of an empty line, but he was a big reason the Blazers were able to beat the Hornets tonight.
Damian Lillard: 18/7/11/1 on 7-for-19 FG (3-for-9 3P, 1-for-2 FT) with five turnovers.
Nicolas Batum: 23/4/5 on 9-for-17 FG (5-for-9 3P, no FT). Huge game, and one that he really needed after struggling with his elbow for so long. His elbow is still a concern, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction for Nic.
Dwight Howard: 9/15/4/2/1 on 3-for-10 FG (3-for-5 FT) and three turnovers. The turnovers are still a problem, and his FG% is the lowest it’s been in 10 years, but Dwight’s still putting up a hell of a 14th season.
Kemba Walker: Yikes. 14/6/6/2 line but on a brutal 7-for-26 FG (0-for-9 3P, no FT).
Frank Kaminsky & Michael Carter-Williams: Just so Kemba doesn’t feel bad, I wanted to include two other Hornets who shot poorly. Frank and MCW combined for 3/7/3/2/2 on 1-for-12 FG (0-for-5 3P, 1-for-2 FT). At least they rainbowed!
LeBron James: 29/11/10/1 on 9-for-15 FG (1-for-4 3P, 10-for-10 FT). His defensive stats have made a resurgence this year, and he’s pretty much been the best player in fantasy so far. This guy is unbelievable.
Kyle Korver: The rest of the Cavs were pretty unremarkable in their win over the Jazz, but Korver did his thing going for 12/2/2 on 5-for-9 FG (2-for-3 3P).
Ekpe Udoh: With both Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert out with injury, Udoh had free reign over the paint. He used this to go 9/7/3/3/6 on 4-for-6 FG (1-for-2 FT). It was a juicy rainbow, but Udoh’s really just a blocks specialist while Gobert is out.
Donovan Mitchell: 26/2/1/1 on 11-for-16 FG (3-for-6 3P, 1-for-2 FT) and four turnovers as he was the only Jazz starter to score in double digits. I’m getting tired of talking about how great this kid is.
Alex Len: Avoided the DNP-CD (it went to Greg Monroe instead) and went for 12/19/6/2/1 on 6-for-9 FG and four turnovers in 28 minutes, leading the Suns to a narrow win over the Timberwolves. Len’s put up decent numbers, but it’s hard to trust him when he could get DNP-CD’d on any given night. Still, it might be worth adding him if he provides the stats you need.
Marquese Chriss: 3/2/2 on 1-for-6 FG (0-for-3 3P, 1-for-2 FT) as he puts up yet another dud.
Dragan Bender: The bench was the story tonight, and Bender had his best game as a pro, putting up a 17/2/1/1/1 line on 6-for-10 FG (5-for-8 3P). He probably supplants Chriss in the rotation as the season goes on.
Troy Daniels: 17/1 with two turnovers on 5-for-8 FG (4-for-6 3P, 3-for-3 FT) as he puts up his second good game in a row. He’s really just a THRAGNOF.
Karl-Anthony Towns: 28/11/4/2/1 on 7-for-17 FG (4-for-7 3P, 10-for-12 FT) as he continues to cruise along posting elite lines, even though this one was in a loss.
Taj Gibson: 18/10/1/0/2 on 8-for-14 FG (2-for-2 FT). He’s been putting up pretty good numbers as Thibodeau continues to play him at a career-high minutes per game.
Andrew Wiggins & Jimmy Butler: Bad games from the other TWolves stars as Wiggins put up 13/1/1/3/1 on 5-for-16 FG (1-for-6 3P, 2-for-4 FT) and Butler put up 10/6/2/3 on 5-for-18 FG (0-for-3 3P, no FT).
James Harden: 31/6/5/0/1 on 8-for-21 FG (4-for-10 3P, 11-for-14 FT) and three turnovers. It’ll be rough to watch him come 2nd in MVP voting yet again.
Chris Paul: The Point God went for 25/5/6/1 on 7-for-13 FG (3-for-8 3P, 8-for-8 FT) but an uncharacteristic six turnovers. Maybe just Point Demigod.
Ryan Anderson: Had the opportunity with Clint Capela sitting with injury, but went 0/4/1/1/2 on 0-for-4 FG (all threes). Nene Hilario stepped up and posted 16/4/1/1/1 on 7-for-9 FG (2-for-3 FT) in 20 minutes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 28/9/5/4 on 10-for-22 FG (0-for-3 3P, 8-for-10 FT) and three turnovers. He’s averaging nearly 30/11/5 on the season but it feels like his insane preseason and early-season hype hasn’t carried over into the middle months. Just remember that he’s very very good.
Khris Middleton: The Duchess put up 23/6/2/2 on 8-for-17 FG (3-for-9 3P, 4-for-4 FT).
Malcolm Brogdon: 20/4/2/1/2 on 7-for-12 FG (3-for-5 3P, 3-for-3 FT) off the bench as he hasn’t really missed a beat.
Josh Richardson: A career game, going for 28/3/2/1/3 on 10-for-16 FG (6-for-8 3P, 2-for-2 FT) and putting up more than double the points of any other Heat player. Richardson started off the season really slow, but he’s really picked it up recently. I doubt he’s still available on your wire, but grab him if he is.
Kelly Olynyk: 11/5/4/5 on 4-for-10 FG (1-for-4 3P, 2-for-3 FT). Kelly’s been good, especially with Hassan Whiteside out and he’s probably worth owning.
James Johnson: Left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. It didn’t look particularly serious, but Jordan Mickey (9/4/2/2/3) and the other bigs are the beneficiaries if JJ misses time.
Milos Teodosic: 13/6/5 on 5-for-14 FG (2-for-10 3P, 1-for-2 FT). He’s still getting up to speed and he’s probably better than Austin Rivers. Pick him up if he’s out there.
DeAndre Jordan: 12/20/2/1 on 6-for-9 FG (0-for-4 FT). Where are the blocks at??
Montrezl Harrell: 15/2/0/0/2 on 7-for-10 FG (1-for-2 FT) in 16 minutes. He’s someone to keep an eye on in case DeAndre Jordan is traded away.
Jamil Wilson & CJ Williams: Who are these people?
Jayson Tatum: 19/9/1/2/2 on 7-for-13 FG (2-for-2 3P, 3-for-3 FT) and no turnovers. He’s only 19 years old!
Al Horford: 15/7/6/0/1 on 7-for-12 FG (1-for-2 3P, 0-for-1 FT). He doesn’t put up sexy stat lines, but he’s just so well-rounded. And the out-of-position assists are fantastic.
Aron Baynes: 13/6 on 6-for-8 FG (1-for-1 FT). He’s had some solid games recently, but he’s really just a deep league guy at most.
Marc Gasol: 30/10/2/3 on 11-for-19 FG (4-for-6 3P, 4-for-5 FT). It’s rough sailing for Marc these days with the Grizzlies being so pathetically bad. He has very little help out there, but it was nice to see him put up a huge line against the Celtics of all teams.
Tyreke Evans: The only help Marc Gasol has. 25/3/5/1/1 on 7-for-16 FG (4-for-8 3P, 7-for-8 FT). It’s nice to see him really coming into his own after years of injury problems.
Dillon Brooks: 14/1/1 on 5-for-12 FG (4-for-5 3P) in 35 minutes.
Manu Ginobili: 12/5/3/1 on 5-for-9 FG (0-for-3 3P, 2-for-2 FT). Wow. How did the Mavericks lose this? Well, because the Spurs went on a 13 to zero run with four minutes left. Naturally, the 40 year old Manu hit the game winner. Not much to see here for fantasy purposes though.
LaMarcus Aldridge: Wow, the Mavericks really blew this one. 22/14/1/0/1 on 9-for-18 FG (4-for-4 FT) for the big man, as well as the game-tying basket.
Pau Gasol: 0/1/1 on 0-for-4 FG in 15 minutes as he played when Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tony Parker all sat out. Pau’s had a rough three-game stretch, but he’s still worth holding onto.
Maxi Kleber: 21/3/0/0/3 on 9-for-10 FG (3-for-4 3P). He’s been starting for a while, and maybe now the production will catch up with his minutes.
Yogi Ferrell: 17/11/6/1 on 7-for-14 FG (2-for-4 3P, 1-for-1 FT). A huge game, but remember that Dennis Smith Jr and Seth Curry are both out still and figure to come back soon.
JJ Barea: 9/6/6 on 4-for-10 FG (1-for-5 3P) and five turnovers off the bench. The turnovers were rough, but JJ might be having the best season of his career at age 33. He also figures to get less run when Curry and DSJ are back, but he’s worth holding until then.
Dirk Nowitzki: 19/2/3 on 8-for-13 FG (3-for-6 3P) in only 25 minutes. This is the Dirk I like to see.
That about does it for this week’s edition of Any Given Saturday. Tune in next week when we livestream the Razzcoin ICO!
As always, leave comments, questions and concerns down below. Cheers guys!
