I worked on a trading floor before the Internet Bubble went snap, crackle, and pop. Crazy times I tell ya. I always felt bad for the IT guys, though. They used to get shitted on all day, everyday. It didn’t help that they would say, “Did you turn it off then back on?” I kid. They were a vital cog to the operation because without them, things would cease to function. But dudes on the floor could be ruthless, especially when making or losing money were at stake. The IT guy was always the punching bag. Sound familiar? Isaiah Thomas has had a rough season. He struggled mightily in Cleveland and took much of the brunt for the Cavs’ struggles. Now in LA, things are looking a little brighter, as last night he went:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6/11 | 11/20 | 1/2 |
He played 30 minutes coming off the bench. Now, Josh Hart did not play due to injury so that gave IT some extra run. With that said, he was getting around 25 minutes of run per game. Around January, I did start writing in the recaps that I was bullish on IT. He was getting the minutes and the shot attempts were there. I just felt like he was getting his legs under him. Let’s not forget that he was recovering from a hip injury. After the trade to LA, I thought it was a pretty good situation for him, as the Lakers like to play free and fast. I just had questions about how many minutes he would get and what the rotations would be. I think we have our answer now. IT is the microwave. Instant offense off the bench. The Lakers with IT on the court have a 114.9 offensive rating, highest on the team. Without him on the court, that number drops to 105.6. Crazy. Granted, it’s only been seven games, but still. He’s getting healthy and is mighty motivated, as he’s essentially playing for a big contract right now.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
Want the best tools and projections to help dominate your league? Check out the Stocktonator, the byproduct of Rudy and machine making love. Click HERE for a FREE 3-day trial.
Rudy has been hard at work in the lab. His latest creation? DAILY LINEUPS PAGE. So good. So smooth. So helpful. He decided to go with the Sonny Bono red tint, while I prefer the blue tint. What say you?
Ben Simmons:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8/14 | 2/2 |
Ain’t no bs here. Only BS! Can’t wait until he develops that J. Ohhhh, Lordy. It’s still crazy that he’s able to dominate the league without a J, but I do give the Sixers coaching staff some credit here. They do a good job of putting him in advantageous situations. For example, they utilize the UCLA high post often, which brings both big men up to the top of the key. Simmons can then choose which way he wants to drive, and with the shooters spaced out behind the three-point line, it’s game over. That’s just one example.
Joel Embiid:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0/1 | 7/18 | 3/8 |
Hakeen Olajuwon with a three-point shot.
Robert Covington:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2/8 | 4/11 | 0 |
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. As long as you understand that, you will be emotionally stable.
Ersan Ilyasova:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/2 | 2/5 | 2/2 |
First game since being re-acquired by Philly. Played 18 minutes, so I wouldn’t expect him to have much fantasy value.
LeBron James almost messed around.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 30 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2/6 | 12/24 | 4/6 |
Writing words about LeBron is disrespectful. Just let the tape do all the talking.
And there’s this sick fade away/step back…..
With JR Smith inexplicably out, Rodney Hood got the start and played 39 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1/5 | 5/14 | 0 |
Besides LeBron and Hood, only two other Cavs scored in double figures: Jordan Clarkson with 10 and Larry Nance Jr. with 13.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5/7 | 3/4 |
Played 26 minutes and is draining 20 footers. Wish they would just go small and play Nance Jr. over 30 minutes a game.
Julius Randle:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0/1 | 8/13 | 9/9 |
Played 34 minutes. Dude can straight up fill up the stat sheet. So nice to see him getting the run he deserves. Randle has one year left on his contract for $5.5 million. Next year is going to be super interesting because a) Randle is only 23 years old and will be due a fat extension and b) the Lakers could bring aboard two superstars.
Brandon Ingram:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 8/14 | 2/2 |
Played 35 minutes. Continues to grow and develop, which makes the future super exciting for Lakers fans.
Lonzo Ball:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2/3 | 3/5 | 0/1 |
Played 34 minutes. Love him or hate him, the dude can Ball. Ha! The universe is awesome. Anyways, we know he can board and pass, but the D. He racks up steals, but did you know that the Lakers without Lonzo on the court have a 108.1 defensive rating. With him on the court, that number goes down to 102.1. But he sucks at shooting. Well, since returning back from injury, he’s shot 8-of-12 from downtown in three games. Let’s not forget that he’s 20 freaking years old. He’s going to be a fantasy monster if he continues to work on, both the outside shot and finishing at the rim.
Ivica Zubac:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/3 | 4/4 |
Played 18 minutes. The Lakers destroyed the Heat, 131-113, so it could be interpreted that Zubac got garbage time. Here’s the thing, though, Luke Walton basically employed an eight-man rotation last night. Something to keep an eye on.
Justice Winslow:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3/4 | 7/11 | 0/2 |
Played 31 minutes. He’s been so bad lately that I forgot he even played for the Heat. The minutes have been inconsistent, probably due to his poor play. With that said, he does occassionally pop off from time to time. Good luck trying to predict when, though.
Josh Richardson:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3/9 | 6/17 | 0 |
My son! There have been only 11 games in which he has not recorded a steal for the season. His last four games? 3, 4, 5, and 4 steals. My son literally contributes across the whole spectrum and is 0.1 short on blocks of being a 1/1/1 guy.
Hassan Whiteside played 19 minutes and scored six points. Kelly Olynyk played 13 minutes and did not score. The Heat actually led by 3 after the first quarter, but ended up down 11 going into halftime. What I’m trying to say is that it wasn’t all due to blowout factor. Probably the threat of Brook Lopez and Zubac. Anyways, Bam Adebayo was the man in the front court, as he played 30 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6/7 | 3/4 |
This is probably an outlier game, as Whiteside and Olynyk will suck up most of the minutes. He played seven minutes the prior game and had not cracked 20 minutes in the three games before that.
Dwayne Wade:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 11/18 | 2/2 |
Played 26 minutes. Will probably get around 22-24 minutes per game and jack up plenty of shots. There’s some value in that, but expect some inconsistency. Regardless, amazing that he can still do things like this.
DeMarre Carroll:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3/6 | 8/12 | 3/3 |
King me! Response from Kings……Scoreboard. (SAC 116 BKN 111). Game went to OT, so there will be PED lines.
D’Angelo Russell:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5/11 | 5/14 | 0 |
Played 33 minutes. Still loading…..99%. I’ve been having upload issues with Windows 10. Freaking things gets to 99% then quits. I’m so tilted. Woo saaaa. Woo saaaa. Russell is almost there. Just needs to knock the rust off and he’ll be good to go.
Jarrett Allen:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6/9 | 3/4 |
The present and the future. Anyone remember Plastic Man? That’s who I think of when I watch Allen play.
Bogdan Bogdanovic:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2/5 | 9/17 | 3/3 |
BogBog is going to be a good one. He can shoot, pass, and grab boards, but it’s the steals and toughness that most impress me.
De’Aaron Fox:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1/2 | 10/17 | 0 |
Yo, Fox. Pass the rock.
Willie Cauley-Stein:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7/14 | 3/4 |
Willie playing like he trying to win Ben’s money.
Karl-Anthony Towns:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 34 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1/3 | 11/19 | 11/12 |
Played 40 minutes. Most cats are lazy as F. Not this KAT. Literally stuffs the stat sheet every game and it’s a surprise when he doesn’t double-dub. With that said, it’s both insane and impressive that he’s the #5 overall player for fantasy.
Andrew Wiggins:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2/5 | 7/20 | 5/5 |
Another night, another 20 shots from Wiggins. Send those to the KAT.
Nemanja Bjelica:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0/1 | 4/5 | 0 |
Played 34 minutes and will continue to get plenty of run. He just doesn’t shoot enough….or a better way of saying it is….Wiggins shoots too much for Bjelica to access a ceiling.
Al-Farouq Aminu:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/4 | 3/7 | 3/5 |
Will have the occassional scoring outburst, but usually is a boards, steals, and blocks guy. Not exciting, but useful. Oh, will provide some 3s as well.
Ed Davis:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5/6 | 0 |
Played 27 minutes. Mr. Ed contributed another double-dub. You need boards, Mr. Ed could be your horse.
Damian Lillard:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 35 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4/12 | 9/22 | 13/16 |
Y’all know what time it is. No better way to end this piece than with a little Dame Dolla.
