What is best in life? Conan said it was “To crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women.” Ah, the barbarian life. For the rest of us, it’s all about marketing. To get the girl, you better look good and smell good….at least to her. She also has to know that you exist. That’s pretty important. To get the job, the resume better be more than a blank piece of paper. To sell a product, #brand awareness. Why do you think regular television is “free?” Anyways, love him or hate him, Lavar Ball is a freaking genius. He is the modern day Barnum & Bailey. Trotting around the country….and Lithuania….to make his BBB brand known. But like Barnum & Bailey, all the hype in the world doesn’t mean squat if there is no substance behind it. Barnum & Bailey provided elephants, freaks, and performances to entertain. Lavar Ball has his sons, Lonzo, LaMelo, and LiAngelo. Now, we can add the BBB from another mother, , Bizmack Biyombo. Last night, he went:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3/7 | 4/5 |
Bizmack Biyombo Blocks. Bizmack Biyombo Boards. Bizmack Biyombo Balls. Bizmack Biyombo Buckets. There is no fluff, no hype to Biyombo’s game. Bizmack Biyombo Business. Since Nikola Vucevic, who is out for at least another month, went down Biyombo has scored 10.1 points, grabbed 10.9 boards, and blocked 1.9 shots a game. Approved by the BBB (Better Business Bureau).
Here’s what else I saw last night:
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Khem Birch:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4/6 | 4/4 |
Played 19 minutes and balled the F out. Birch is 25 years old, 6′ 9″ 220 pounds, and played his college ball at both Pitt and UNLV. He went undrafted and played in the D-League and overseas in Turkey and Greece. Prior to last night, Birch had played a combined 20 minutes all season. Marreese Speights did not play last night, so that contributed to him getting run. With that said, Vogel may want to start giving the young kids a look.
Evan Fournier:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6/12 | 12/22 | 2/2 |
Evian was pure and hot last night. The 22 shots were a season-high. The downtowners made and attempted were both season-highs. So, it’s only logical that the 32 points scored were a…..season-high. He was getting the minutes and hoisting up the shots. They just weren’t going in.
DJ Augustin:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/3 | 6/9 | 4/5 |
Played 24 minutes, while Elfrid Payton only played 24 minutes. I wouldn’t expect that to be the norm, but Vogel has shown the penchant to go with the “hot hand.”
Jimmy Butler:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 28 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2/5 | 11/22 | 4/4 |
Butler always delivers the tidy line. Always keeps the house in order. Must be tough with a KAT roaming around.
Andrew Wiggins:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/2 | 4/12 | 1/2 |
Was the only starter to not score in double figures. There hasn’t been a ton of Gettin Jiggy Wiggins. Why is everyone throwing tomatoes at me? I was down on him coming into the year, but he’s been waaaaaaaaaay worse than even I expected. 5-year, $146.5 million contract extension.
Anthony Davis:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 45 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0/3 | 16/34 | 13/15 |
That’s back-to-back 45/15 games. 45/16 and 48/17 to be exact. The Twitter account @isTheBrowHurt should’ve sent out a tweet: Hell mother f’ing no! What’s the over/under on when @isTheBrowHurt sends out: YES!
Ian Clark:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 7/10 | 0 |
Clark has played 32, 25, 26, and 20 minutes the past four games. Jameer Nelson has missed the past two games, so that partially explains the increase in minutes. The Pelicans have been running a tight 8 to 9 man rotation lately, so mid-20s minutes for Clark is not out of the question. And minutes is half the battle. Yo Joe!
Jrue Holiday:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3/5 | 9/16 | 2/4 |
An impressive performance, considering the Celtics defend the perimeter very well. That 5-year, $131 million contract extension doesn’t look so bad <cough> Andrew Wiggins <cough>.
DeMarcus Cousins:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1/6 | 7/20 | 4/6 |
Do a little dance. Make a little love. Get down tonight.
Kyrie Irving:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5/12 | 8/24 | 6/7 |
Since the start of the new year, Kyrie’s performance has been a little flat. Like drinking soda that’s lost some of it’s carbonation. It still tastes sweet and will make a two year old bounce around like a Tazmanian devil, but there’s obviously something missing. While the scoring is down to 17 a game the past five games, Kyrie has been pulling down 7.5 boards and dishing out 6.3 dimes. It’s crazy to think that he has only one double-dub for the season. Anyways, with all that said, he’s still a Top 15 player for fantasy.
Al Horford:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4/5 | 5/9 | 0 |
Not the sexiest. Not the smartest. Just the significant other that will put food on the table and make you smile.
Jaylen Brown:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2/7 | 7/14 | 0/1 |
I feel good. Da da da da da. I knew that I would, now! Still can’t get the crazy notion out of my head that Brown will be the next Kawhi. Am I crazy? Am I now on the other side of the “Do I look fat?” question from my wife?
Marcus Smart:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5/14 | 3/8 | 3/3 |
Played 30 minutes. Still can’t shoot, but will contribute a little something something in all but blocks. That describes the perfect person to hit the club with.
Dennis Smith Jr.:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0/1 | 11/18 | 3/3 |
My boo! As it was revealed that Agent Smith was in fact the One, so it shall be revealed for DSJ. May the Matrix keep DSJ safe, sound, and healthy for the duration of his career.
With JJ Barea out, Yogi Ferrell was the main guy off the bench and played 35 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1/5 | 5/10 | 2/4 |
Yabba dabba doo! Yogi has played over 30 minutes in the past four games and, not so coincidentally, scored in double figures in all of them.
Nikola Jokic:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0/2 | 11/23 | 7/10 |
My love knows no bounds for Jokic. Yes, even my boo DSJ has to sit in the back seat. Wait, isn’t that where all the magic happens? Sorry to do this, DSJ, but would you mind driving?
Jamal Murray:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1/3 | 3/9 | 0 |
The matchup couldn’t have been better for Murray. Interestingly, he’s attempted only 9, 7, and 7 shot attempts in his past three games. Prior to that, he was consistently hoisting over 10 a game with a few 20+ games. I buy.
Trey Lyles:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 1/4 | 0 |
Played only 15 minutes after playing 20 minutes the game before. That makes back-to-back 3 point outings. I’m not ready to dump, yet, but the decrease in playing time and shot attempts are something to monitor. Malone has been running his starters out there for a ton of minutes. Wilson Chandler, for example, played 38 minutes. Uno. Dos. Not a good day. With that said, Malone does do a lot of quirky things with his lineup so….No se.
Will Barton:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2/5 | 9/15 | 2/4 |
Played 42 minutes. It’s crazy how much his playing time fluctuates. He’ll play 40 minutes one night, then get 19 minutes the next. He can drop 37 one night, then turn around and score 2. The range of outcomes is very wide with Barton. He’s a true set it and forget it because you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to time that market.
Devin Booker:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 43 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5/12 | 14/29 | 10/10 |
Booker’s second 40-burger of the season. He had an insane 38.6 usage rate! We’ve known that he can score. What’s really got me excited is the increase in boards and dimes. If he continues to improve in the periphery stats, he’s going to be a fantasy stud.
Tyson Chandler got the start at center and played 23 minutes. Greg Monroe DNP-CD. That left 25 minutes for Alex Len.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/5 | 5/5 |
It’s something. Could be nothing, though, as it was the first time Len received 20 minutes of run in six games. Until one of Chandler or Monroe gets traded, Len is nothing more than a speculative hold.
Troy Daniels:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6/11 | 6/13 | 0 |
A 3 & D player, but without the D. Keep in mind that TJ Warren did not play last night and Josh Jackson got in foul trouble, so that would explain the elevated minutes.
Josh Jackson:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/4 | 4/12 | 0 |
Still can’t shoot, which is troubling considering the goal of basketball is to put the ball through the hoop. With that said, JJ has super high potential and the Suns will probably start giving him more run to develop.
Damian Lillard:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 31 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4/8 | 11/19 | 5/5 |
Y’all know what time it is.
CJ McCollum:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6/10 | 9/18 | 3/3 |
Let’s cut to highlights of last night’s game:
Seriously, though. Do the Blazers have the best backcourt duo in the NBA? Hmmm, there’s Paul/Harden, Curry/Thompson, Wall/Beal, Lowry/DeRozan…..I guess fifth, huh?
Al-Farouq Aminu:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4/7 | 5/12 | 0 |
Since January 1st: 24, 5, 14, 9, 10, 6, 19, 6, and 14 points. This is when I mortgage the house that Aminu will score in single digits next game. That’s how it works, right? Aminu plays the minutes, gets the shot attempts, will grab some boards, and get his 211 on. Not sexy and often priced low for DFS, but has value. In fact, he’s a Top 100 player for fantasy right now.
Jusuf Nurkic:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4/9 | 1/2 |
Played 22 minutes after playing 20 the game before. Zach Collins has played 20 and 29 minutes the past two games. I’d imagine that Nurkic will get back to playing close to 30 minutes a game, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.
