Early in the day on Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced that All-Star Todd Frazier was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-player trade. Wait, I thought this was a basketball blog! Well, one of those guys involved in the trade was Trayce Thompson. Not quite a Splash Brother, but the biological brother of the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and former NBA player, Mychel Thompson, who now plays in Italy.
As brothers, it’s pretty common to be competitive with each other. We may not be on as big of a stage as the Thompson brothers, but my older brother and I make almost everything a competition between each other, whether it’s games of one-on-one, 10-mile races, or Settlers of Catan.
While Trayce was gaining popularity as a new member of the Dodgers in California, Klay went off for 27 points in the 3rd on his way to a game high 43 points (15-22 FG, 8-13 3PT). It must be a happy time for the Thompson family!
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Warriors blew out the Suns by 25, leading by 40 after the 3rd quarter.
With the game in hand, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry weren’t even needed in the 4th quarter. That was enough minutes for Green to go for a triple double (16/11/10/5) and Curry to drop 25 points and 7 assists. So much for feeling sad about their first loss.
Channing Frye – Frye started for the Magic and scored a season high 17 points, all on three pointers and free throws (5-7 from three and 2-2 from the line). Frye can be an undervalued fantasy player for his ability to knock down the three as a big man. He’s received 23 and 30 minutes the last two games (both Magic wins) so perhaps he’s earned more playing time.
Evan Fournier – A popular drop recently, Fournier bounced back to score 15 points with 3 rebounds, assists, and threes each. It was only his second double digit scoring night in the last 6 games. He was bound to cool off, but his recent numbers are making it hard to roster him in most leagues.
Rest of the Magic – It was a good night to be a Magicican (that’s the term for a player on the Magic right?) as they beat the Hornets by 15. They had 7 guys score in double figures. In addition to Frye and Fournier, Tobias Harris (13/5 and 2 threes), Nikola Vucevic (14/8/4), Elfrid Payton (12 points, 9 assists), Jason Smith (10 points, 2 blocks), and Victor Oladipo (11/4/4) also scored in double figures.
Kemba Walker – Among the Hornets’ starters, Walker had the best night (12 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds), but it was mostly a forgettable night for the Hornets starters otherwise.
Jeremy Lamb – Despite not starting, Lamb has continued to be a decent fantasy contributor off the bench. In 24 minutes, he went 16/5/4 with 4 steals on 7-10 shooting. Lamb definitely won’t excite owners, but he’ll consistently put up double digit points with some rebounds and threes each night. P.J. Hairston still starts over him, but doesn’t contribute enough for fantasy. He went for 14 points with 3 threes, but that was his first game with double figures since November 3rd.
Hassan Whiteside – What a find for the Heat. He continues to impress (20 points, 13 rebounds).
Dwyane Wade – Wade led the Heat with 28 points on an efficient 13-17 from the field. He even blocked 3 shots, 2 more than Whiteside!
Goran Dragic – He’s off to a slow start, based on expectations, but posted 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds last night. I still think he’s a guy you should trade for. Better days are ahead.
Brook Lopez – Poor Brook. He continually outperforms his brother (25 points and 6 rebounds), yet Robin Lopez (6 points, 2 rebounds) has appeared in more playoff games (22 to 13). This season isn’t looking very good for Brook to add to his playoff appearance either.
Jarrett Jack – Jack dished out 10 assists to go along with 22 points. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nets trade him at some point this season, but for now, he’s a cheap source of assists on a very bad team.
Ricky Rubio – Wow, what a night for the Spaniard. He was 2 steals and 1 point away from being the 5th player in NBA history with a quadruple double. His final line: 9 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and 8 steals. Wow.
Gorgui Dieng – Kevin Garnett (old) and Nikola Pekovic (right Achilles tendon) both sat, giving Dieng some more minutes. He responded with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal in 36 minutes. If only he could get this playing time consistently.
Karl-Anthony Towns – 25 points and 10 rebounds for the rookie. Even knocked down 2 threes!
Andrew Wiggins – Wiggins led the team in minutes (partly due to Kevin Martin being out with a bruised right wrist), scoring 23 points with 5 rebounds. We’d like a little more variety in the stats, but that’s now 3 games out of the last four where he’s scored 20+.
Kristaps Porzingis – He rebounded nicely from a 0 point outing, to post 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a whooping 7 blocks. Rookies will go through some rough patches, but I’m not at all concerned. He’ll be fine. Send an offer for Porzingis if his owner is anyway concerned.
Carmelo Anthony – While Ricky Rubio was close to the hallowed quadruple double, Anthony almost messed around got himself a triple double: 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. Porzingis has taken some of the rebounds and scoring away from Melo, but he should still be a top 40 player for the season.
Arron Afflalo – Afflalo still seems to be working back up to speed, but scored 29 points for the Knicks on Wednesday. Outside of a 31 point outburst at the end of November, this was only the second time Afflalo has cracked the 20 point scoring threshold this season. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, but he’ll always be, at best, the third option on the Knicks.
David West – With Tim Duncan out (old age), West received the start. He scored 9 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. He’ll be fine to play in daily leagues whenever Duncan sits, but just won’t be consistent enough to matter in standard leagues.
Kawhi Leonard – 27 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists/steals/threes. Another strong night for the top 10 fantasy performer.
Tony Parker – For the first time this season, Parker dished out double digit assists (10 points and 10 assists). I would say trade high, but he hasn’t even been that great lately.
Manu Ginobili – There were a lot of minutes to go around for the Spurs’ bench in their blowout win over the Wizards. Ginobili took advantage with 11 points, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds.
Kelly Oubre, Jr. – Not a lot of bright spots for the Wizards in the blowout, but it was nice to see rookie Oubre score a career high 18 points off the bench. I’m sure J.B. is very excited [editors note – hellllllllllllll yeah I am!!!!!!!!]! It’s now 4 straight games of increased playing time, but his minutes are too inconsistent to trust this season, even with Bradley Beal’s leg injury.
Marcin Gortat – He’s continued to put his early season struggles in the rear view. 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks for the Polish Machine.
John Wall – Wall has really taken on the scoring lately, coinciding with Beal’s leg injury. 20/11/5 for him last night, giving him 20+ points in 8 out of the last 10 games.
Monta Ellis – The revenge game gets overblown (just look at LeSean McCoy this past weekend), but Ellis scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter to guide the Pacers to a win over his former team.
Paul George – A down night for him, but still solid none-the-less: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 threes.
C.J. Miles – Coming off the bench, Miles exploded for 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 threes. He’s been surprisingly more valuable than overly owned scorers Kevin Martin and Jamal Crawford, but still could be available in your league (68% ownership).
Raymond Felton and Zaza Pachulia – In a 26 point blowout, there aren’t usually many bright spots. Felton continued his strong play with 16/3/2 and 3 threes, while Zaza grabbed 14 rebounds. Felton is up 17% ownership and should be picked up, while he’s playing this well.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Pope led the Pistons to victory, scoring 31 points in 44 minutes of play. That’s now 89 minutes in the last two games! It’ll be interesting to see if he maintains his large role with Brandon Jennings nearing a return from his Achilles injury. Either way, don’t expect to see 40+ minutes this often.
Andre Drummond – The Pistons won by three and they can thank Andre Drummond (in addition to KCP). Drummond buried a half court three at the end of the 1st half, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals. Now if only he swished his free throws like he does his half court buzzer beaters.
Isaiah Thomas – The Celtics may have lost, but it wasn’t Thomas’ fault. He scored 38 points to go along with 7 assists.
Jared Sullinger – Sullinger continues to reward owners who picked him up off waivers, as he went for 17 and 10.
Dennis Schroder – Playing around 20 minutes off the bench each night, Schroder took advantage of the 76ers with 17 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
Isaiah Canaan – Canaan led the team in scoring with 24 points (6-8 from three), but did little else (1 rebound, 0 assists, and 1 steal). That’s not too good for a starting point guard.
Kendall Marshall – Starting alongside Canaan, Marshall dished out 4 assists, but only received 15 minutes of court time. Tony Wroten, who is coming back from a torn ACL, came off the bench for 12 points and 2 rebounds. In the City of Brotherly Love, I wouldn’t want to own any of the 76ers point guards, but Wroten is the most intriguing for fantasy purposes.
Anthony Davis – Not nearly as dominating a stat line as he usually posts, but the Brow still posted 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Ryan Anderson – I keep hearing rumors that teams are looking to trade for the sharp shooting big man. Anderson has been putting those rumors aside as he went for 24 points and 4 rebounds off the bench, including a perfect 13-13 from the line.
Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday – Nice performances by the oft-injured Pelicans’ point guards. Evans went for 11/4/5, while Holiday went for 15/4/3. In the last 6 December games that Holiday has played (he rested his leg in 2 others), he has posted double figures with a handful of assists and steals. He’ll still continue to rest every couple of games, but his fantasy numbers are slowly rising.
Derrick Favors – Known for his rebounding and blocks, Derrick Favors dished out 5 assists to go with his 22 points and 7 rebounds. Owners in head to head leagues must like the surprise assists they’re getting this week.
Gordon Hayward – Coming off a poor game in a blowout to the Spurs on Monday, Hayward rebounded for 20 points and 6 rebounds.
Pau Gasol – Pau won in the battle of the Gasol brothers, as the Bulls defeated the Grizzlies. Pau posted 10/14/2 with 2 blocks, while Marc Gasol went 8/7/7.
Jimmy Butler – Another day at the office: 24/4/4.
Derrick Rose – Rose is not the same player that he once was, but went for 19 and 5. The numbers aren’t consistent, and there’s always the risk for injury, so I would recommend selling high after he puts together a few more strong games.
Courtney Lee – The Grizzlies have gone with a smaller lineup recently, which has featured more of Jeff Green and Matt Barnes at the 4, giving lots of playing time to Lee at the 2. He’s performed well, posting 18/7/6 last night. Zach Randolph, who Green pushed out of the starting lineup, still produced off the bench with 10/11/5.
Kevin Durant – Durant led the Thunder in scoring with 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. It was much needed, as Russell Westbrook had an off night (13/5/3 on 5-15 shooting).
Enes Kanter – Enes kant seem to block any shots. Sure, the 12 points and 13 rebounds are great off the bench, but he has only 9 blocks this season. That’s terrible for an almost 7-footer. For those Thunder big men who can actually block shots, Steven Adams went 11/11/1, to keep up his average of over 1 block a game, while Serge Ibaka blocked 4 shots to go with his 13 points and 4 rebounds.
Mason Plumlee – Since we’re talking about brothers so much in this week’s daily notes, Mason continues to show he’s the better Plumlee brother. 14 points and 10 rebounds for Mason (2 points and 3 rebounds for Miles Plumlee).
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum – With Bradley Beal out with a leg injury, the 2nd best backcourt in the NBA is up in the air (the Splash Brothers are #1). Lillard and McCollum are doing their best to claim that spot. Lillard went for 20 points and 5 assists and McCollum went for 24/4/4, in addition to each guard hitting 4 threes.
Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe – The Suns want in on the 2nd best backcourt as well, but had a little harder going in their blowout loss to the Splash Brothers. Knight scored 17, but didn’t little else, and Bledsoe shot an inefficient 3-12 with 5 turnovers (6 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists overall).
Mirza Teletovic – After a quiet couple games, Teletovic used the blowout minutes to explode for 24 points with 3 threes on 9-13 shooting. T.J. Warren got in on the fun for the Suns as well, with 19/8/3/2/1. As long as Markieff Morris is benched (I can never remember which one is which), there will be minutes for Teletovic and Warren.
Blake Griffin and Chris Paul – There were a lot of minutes to go around for the Clippers so their stars didn’t have to put up their usual beastly numbers. Paul contributed 21/6/8 with 3 threes, while Griffin went for 15/8/5.
Michael Carter-Williams – MCW re-entered the starting lineup, pushing Giannis Antetokounmpo (9/11/2) to the bench. The Bucks still lost, but MCW went for 17/6/5 . Don’t look now, but that’s 4 solid performances out of the last 5. I still think he’s too talented to play this poorly, but don’t expect many threes.
Khris Middleton and O.J. Mayo – Starting alongside MCW, Middleton and Mayo also shined, with 15/5/6 for Middleton and 17/5/6 for “Miracle Whip.”
