After hailing Nikola Jokic and his excellent play recently last week, it is time to bow to another top European player in Luka Doncic. The reason is none other than his 60 point triple-double against the Knicks was paired with an OT win. And not only that, he was the one to send the game to OT with this intentional miss from the free throw line.
Setting aside the fact that the Knicks managed to lose a game they led 110 – 101 with just 43 seconds to go, it was a masterful performance from Doncic who is fighting to keep the Mavs floating in the West almost single-handedly.
This performance broke the Mavericks scoring record for a single game and is only the second 60 point triple-double in NBA history. And to top it all off, he started the post-game interview with an all-time quote.
I am going to call all the beers I drink from now on “Recovery Beers”. Because technically they are used to recover after a game of basketball. The duration since the last time I played serious basketball is just a boring technicality, which I rebuke.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, both Jamal Murray and Markelle Fultz had good weeks and I expect even better performances moving forward, while Tyus Jones had a forgettable string of games.
Buy
Quentin Grimes: This is a “Run, don’t walk” situation and possibly your last chance to snag Grimes from the waiver wire. RJ Barrett left the last Knicks’ game after only 2 minutes and will miss at least one week with a finger injury, so a big chunk of his playing time will go to Grimes, as we saw in that game against the Mavericks. Granted, it was a game that went to OT, but Grimes played 48 minutes and hit 7 triples with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Let me repeat myself here for your own good. GO GET HIM NOW!! (33% owned).
A bonus suggestion here is Immanuel Quickley, who is a worse category player than Grimes, but also benefits from the injuries and played a shocking 50 minutes in the loss to the Mavs. He is available in more leagues (22 owned) and despite his bad fg% he can be a good streamer until the Knicks’ backcourt gets back to full strength.
Jeremy Sochan: Don’t look now but Sochan is averaging almost 30 minutes in the last week and has been a top 100 player with a unique combination of 8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks. He is still a rookie that is prone to bad percentages and the occasional empty game but, as we are closing in the second half of the season, he looks like a very good flier off the waiver wire that can both contribute currently and also has the potential to greatly improve, as the focus of the Spurs development. Bonus points for having a statline that vaguely resembles Draymond Green’s and his real-life defense has been also very encouraging during this 4-game run (31% owned).
Damion Lee: With Devin Booker out for at least four weeks with an aggravated groin injury, Lee can be viewed as a great streamer for triples, points and ft% impact. He is unfortunately pretty empty in the remaining categories but he looks like a good flier to see how Booker’s minutes will be distributed. The Suns definitely look like they need another capable scorer to take on some usage, and Lee can feel that role nicely (14% owned).
Sell
Christian Wood: I was advocating patience with Wood during his early season struggles, as he was a favorite draft day target of mine in the middle rounds, and that patience has indeed paid off, as Wood is enjoying undoubtedly his strongest stretch of the season. He has started in all of his last 6 games and is blocking the ball at an insane rate, with 2.5 blocks average in those games, making him a top 15 player over that span. I still like him for the rest of the season but this feels like his peak value and I would look to capitalize with a trade for a top 35 player. Kidd is also not the most trustworthy coach in terms of rotations so this is an extra point to take into consideration when exploring Wood’s trade value.
Saddiq Bey: It is always tough to give up on a guy with an ADP inside the top 100, as Bey has an ADP of 91.8, but sometimes such decisions can benefit your fantasy team greatly. Despite beginning the year as a starter for the Pistons, Bey was quickly moved to a bench role and his fantasy game has suffered as a result. He is ranked outside the top 230 in per game value for the last month and if you can’t find a trade to an owner who pays attention only to points scored, I would gladly make the decision to cut Bey and stream his spot.
Saddiq Bye…
(Featured image taken from clutchpoints)
