Moe Harkless struck the Thunder for a career high 25 points last night and the rookie added 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 blocks and hit 3 threes. I’ve been pushing Moe for a while now, so this performance was a long time coming. Maurice is averaging a mediocre 10.7 pts and 5.4 rebounds over the past two weeks, but what really raises my fantasy eyebrow is the 3 steals a game. Do you know where your wallet is? No? Probably because Harkless just took it. Just like that. He’s that good. In fact, Moe has 21 steals in the past 6 games alone! Hashtag cleptomanic! Nikola Vucevic sat this game, and Arron Afflalo left the game in the first quarter in some serious pain. This explains Moe’s 45 minutes, and he should get major burn and plenty of touches going forward. Harkless is available in over 20% of leagues, if your looking for a playoff push, Harkless has all the tools to fill up all a stat sheet. And the steals! *drools Go steal him from waivers before someone else does!
Here’s what else happened in fantasy basketball Friday night:
Beno Udrih – 13 pts, 5 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl. Arron Afflalo’s hamstring injury was one of a few fantasy-player casualties last night. It’s a tough time to lose a player, but on the bright side, with every injury, another waiver wire opportunity presents itself. In Afflalo’s case, Beno could be a beneficiary and he played 36 minutes Friday night. Udrih should be a good bet for 10-12 points a game with 4-6 assists if he manages to see 30+ minutes a night.
Tyler Hansbrough – 22 pts, 12 reb in 27 minutes. David West sat this one out with a bad back. Doctor says he needs a backiotomy. Not really though. Hansbrough got the start and Tyler has proven a capable starter (18.2 pts, 11.7 rebs in 4 games this season). West’s back continues to be an issue and Big-Ty is a great add as long as West stands to miss time.
Kenyon Martin – 19 pts, 11 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk in 36 minutes. 2003 called, they want K-Mart back! If you’re desperate for rebounds, Kenyon is averaging eight a game over the past week, but don’t expect a lot more games like this from the 35 year old.
Alan Anderson – 35 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 6 3pm. Anders blew up last night for a career high in points, including a 20-point third quarter! Rudy Gay left this one with a back injury and Toro has already said he won’t play Saturday. Uh oh. Until we know more about Rudy’s status Anderson is an instant add. That’s right. OMFG!1!! Go pick him up quick you guys!
Lebron James – 29 pts, 8 reb, 8 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk. And the Heat win 25 in a row. Hot dog! Lebron was about to lay down a killer dunk on poor Brandon Knight standing all alone in the lane, but Knight quickly ran to the locker room. Good move.
Al Horford – 15 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk. Bring on the playoffs! Al is obviously ready.
Devin Harris – 8 pts, 5 ast, 2 3pm. If you can deal with being consistently underwhelmed, Devin is available in most leagues and a decent-to-not-very-good option if your looking for assists on the wire.
JJ Redick – 4 pts, 3 reb (1-11 fgm) Milwaukeeans, your $40 million dollar man!
Shaun Livingston – 14 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk. I told you to BUY him last week. The stats are underwhelming but he’s seeing plenty of minutes. If there’s something much better out there I wouldn’t blame you for dropping, but there probably isn’t something much better out there.
Thomas Robinson – 15 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk in 22 minutes. T-Rob! Yes! Finally. Didn’t get the fantasy boost we thought he would after being traded to Houston, and he only got extra minutes Friday because of the blow out, but this was still nice to see.
Jeremy Lin – 4 pts, 6 ast. But Harvard beat New Mexico! Excelsior!
Anthony Davis – 18 pts, 15 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk. Yup. Starting to really look like the player we all drafted way too early. Averaging 16.4 pts, 10 reb, 1.4 blk over the past two weeks. Ask UPS, that’s what Brow can do for you.
Robin Lopez – 23 pts, 10 reb, 4 blk. Ropez is a frustrating own, which is why he’s available in over half of leagues. His past four games totals: 6 pts/2 reb, 20 pts/11 reb, 4 pts/2 reb, 4 pts/4 reb. Just like his brother. Own him if you hate yourself.
Tony Parker – 22 pts, 5 ast, 2 reb. Sacre bleu! Tony returned to start Friday night and if he’s somehow hanging out on your waiver wire you need to grab him quick. Like, Tony-Parker-in-the-lane quick.
Kawhi Leonard – 21 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk, 3 3pm. Every Spur has his days–Friday night was one of Kawhi’s.
Brendan Wright – 23 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk. There are pieces of food in Dirk’s hobo-beard that are more exciting than these pickups but Wright’s averaging 11 pts, 6 reb over the past two weeks and could be worth a look in deeper leagues. Meanwhile, Mike James (7 pts, 6 ast) could be a deep league add for those desperate for assists, and sleep. Yawn.
Greg Stiemsma – 14 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk. The Steimsma-roller was the standout with 34 minutes as the Wolves bench got some major burn in their 31-point bashing of the lowly Suns. Dante Cunningham scored in double digits for the second game in a row and put up 18 pts, 8 reb and 2 stl in 30 minutes. So if your question was, can the Timberwolves bench beat the Suns starters, the answer is yes, by 30.
Trevor Ariza – 25 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast. Averaging 15.3 pts, 5 reb and 2.5 asts over the past 3 games. With Nene banged up and Emeka Okafor, Bradley Beal and A.J. Price out Friday, Trevor took advantage of the extra minutes and hit 7 threes in the process! Clearly, he’s still upset the Lakers didn’t resign him. Bittermuch? Still available in about half of leagues, Ariza’s a good grab if you need a bit of everything.
Kobe Bryant – 21 pts, 11 ast, 2 stl. But Mamba couldn’t stop John Wall (24 pts, 6 reb, 16 ast, 3 stl) and the Wiz pulled one out of the hat with a huge comeback and grabbed the win in the final seconds. Antawn Jamison (11 pts, 7 reb) also left this one with a wrist injury. But there is good news Lakers fans, Pau Gasol returned to the starting line up with 4 pts and 8 rebs. Pau was a bit rusty (2-10 fgm), but we ain’t mad at cha. It’s just nice to see the whole gang back together.
Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap as fantasy basketball continues next week, all week long!
