Steve Urkel and CJ McCollum have so much in common. Just look at them. Both are underappreciated and often get brushed aside. In Urkel’s case, he’s got an annoying, nasally voice, the style is juvenile, and he’s just a straight-up nerd. McCollum plays alongside Damian Lillard, who spits hot fire off the court and goes NBA Jam He’s Heating Up on it. But man, both are ballers on the hardwood. Here’s Urkel:
McCollum had his own heroics last night:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1/7 | 9/18 | 4/4 |
Yes, he did that. He rarely is a maven on defense but he got busy last night. In his career, that was the eighth time in his career that he’s notched at least two steals and two blocks in the same game. Since returning from injury, McCollum has played eight games, scored at least 20 points in four with two of those over 30, and garnered a usage rate over 30 in four of those contests. Last night, the usage rate was 22. With Norman Powell now in the mix, it will be interesting to see how the pie is spliced between Lillard, McCollum, and Powell. Regardless, McCollum gonna get his and could finish as a top 40 player in fantasy.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
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The Suns defeated the Hornets, 101-97 in OT. Therefore, the minutes and counting stats are all elevated.
Mikal Bridges
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 6/11 | 0 |
Bridges was in need of some infrastructure expenditures by the government as he was deteriorating. Outside the top 200 over the last three games and he was shooting 39% from the field. On the season, that mark is 52% so keep traffic moving. Nothing to see here. The six steals were a career-high and only the second time he’s pilfered at least five in a game. Top 60 player on the season and he’s ohhhhhh so close to being the newest member of the 1/1/1 club.
Deandre Ayton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6/11 | 2/2 |
I appreciate the symmetry. Do I like all the bagels? Not Ayton. Plus, they are not from New York. Ayton has been better over the last few weeks, posting top 30 production, but he’s more like a top 60 player this season. For sure, we do not like that Ayton.
Devin Booker
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 35 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4/11 | 10/26 | 11/12 |
The usage rate is high (32.4), the points are voluminous (25.1), he hucks and chucks (18.9 attempts), and he chips in two hands without thumbs of boards and dimes. He also provides tres and excellent percentages (49% from the field and 84% from the line). With that said, he’s only a top 70 player on a per-game basis for fantasy, though. No Mutombos. In addition, he’s exceeded 30 points 11 times. Last season, he accomplished the feat 27 times.
PJ Washington
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 0 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0/4 | 0/7 | 0/2 |
So many bagels on Sunday. Mmmmm, bagels. I like poppy and everything. Creamcheese, lox, capers, tomatoes. My mouth is salivating right now. Sorry about that. So many 2s!
Washington’s production has dived recently despite playing more minutes. He’s still providing the defensive stats, but the shooting efficiency has been terrible from both the field and line (30% from the field and 42% from the line over the last four games). As long as he continues to get over 32 minutes per game, he’ll be fine. Fine.
Devonte’ Graham
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7/16 | 9/21 | 5/5 |
The fifth time Graham cracker has scored at least 30 points in his career. Actually, I shouldn’t call him cracker. My bad. Do you know why black people call white people cracker? Back in the day, slaves called their owners that because of how they cracked the whip. Those f**kers. Alright, enough of the history lesson, the minutes have spiked with LaMelo Ball out. With Malik Monk also out due to a foot injury, there was more run to be had as well. He’s garnered a usage rate of 31.7 and 29.3 over the last two games.
Terry Rozier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4/12 | 8/19 | 2/3 |
No Ball, no Monk = fantasy goodies. Terry has been anything but scary this season. Au contraire my Razzball brethren. He’s been necessary. Top 35 player on the season and he’s now scored at least 20 points in seven of the last eight games. He’s shooting 47% from the field after posting numbers of 42%, 38%, 39%, and 36% in the last four years.
Miles Bridges
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1/5 | 8/13 | 1/1 |
Good to see that the recent infrastructure bill permeated to all the Bridges. With that said, he’s outside the top 100 because he’s averaging 26.5 minutes, 9.7 points, 1.2 tres, 5.8 boards, two dimes, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks. The across-the-board production is nice but will rarely wow. This Bridges is like a random one in Pennsylvania. Definitely not like the Golden Gate.
Robert Covington
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3/8 | 4/11 | 2/2 |
Lord Covington is a benevolent one, always providing for the people. There were doubters early in the season, but they have all repented and are jumping around like an ecstasy-infused college raver. Over the last 15 games, he’s been a top 10 player.
Jusuf Nurkic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 4/7 | 1/2 |
In 19 minutes. Since returning from a 32-game absence, Nurkic has played 19 minutes in two games. He’s stuffed the stat sheet and those who held him are….
It will be interesting to see how the Trail Blazers manage his minutes and if/when they release the Nurkic. Enes Kanter played 18 minutes.
Derrick Jones Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1/3 | 7/9 | 1/1 |
In 21 minutes. DJJ can be a source of D, but unfortunately, the J isn’t great. Hmmm, why does he have two then? Talk about overcompensation. With Powell in town, it’s going to be difficult for Jones to get more than 20 minutes a game.
Pascal Siakam
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2/3 | 8/16 | 8/10 |
With Kyle Lowry out, Siakam slid down to power forward but he still played some small-ball center. He’s been feasting in that role, producing top 30 value over the last four games. The expectations were high for Siakam entering the season. As a result, he’s been somewhat of a disappointment putting up top 50 production on the season, but he’s been an across-the-board contributor who is 0.3 blocks shy of being a 1/1/1 member.
OG Anunoby
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3/7 | 7/15 | 2/4 |
The Force truly is strong in this one. He continues to develop at both ends of the floor and is a top 50 player on the season.
Chris Boucher
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2/4 | 6/8 | 4/5 |
In 24 minutes off the bench. Y’all know my thoughts on Boucher. In the prior two games, he played 12 and 17 minutes. <insert shrug emoji> He’s a per-minute god but the minutes are inconsistent.
ATL led 35-31 after the first quarter. Going into halftime, DEN was up by 10. They then extended the lead to 18 before the start of the fourth quarter. As a result, only three players played over 30 minutes.
The Hawks players crapped the bed. John Collins scored 11 points while Clint Capela went for 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Trae Young
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3/7 | 8/14 | 2/2 |
Played 34 minutes, the only Hawk above 30 minutes. Four boards and 9.4 dimes are magnifique. The 4.3 turnovers? No bueno. 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 43% field goal percentage? Yuck. The most troubling thing for Trae is the decrease in tres. Ha! Last season, he was at 3.4. He’s down to 2.4 this year. More tres, Trae.
Aaron Gordon
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1/4 | 6/9 | 0 |
Made his Nuggets debut and played 21 minutes. Let’s see how the rotations and minutes distribution works out for Gordon. In Orlando, he was outside the top 200 for fantasy. Just remember that.
Michael Porter Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/5 | 6/12 | 1/1 |
In 27 minutes.
Nikola Jokic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | 7/12 | 1/2 |
In 28 minutes.
JaMychal Green
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3/5 | 7/12 | 3/4 |
In 14 minutes! L. O. L. I thought Green would be something for this Nuggets squad. I’m a stupid, stupid man. Over the last eight games, he’s averaged 15.1 minutes per game.
Dwayne Bacon
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/6 | 9/19 | 6/6 |
Led the team with 33 minutes. The Bacon was sizzling. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmmm. He’s played 35 and 33 minutes the past two games and garnered a usage rate in the mid-20s. It’s a nice run but keep in mind that Bacon is a 39% shooter from the field on the season and Terrence Ross has been out. When he returns to the mix, Ross will be the alpha and usage hog. Oink oink.
Michael Carter-Williams
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0/1 | 0/6 | 0 |
Only played 13 minutes due to a knee contusion. Chasson Randle was the direct sub and would start if MCW misses any time.
The Lakers will be receiving the services of Andre Drummond. I have reservations but realize that there’s tremendous upside here, from both a real-life and fantasy perspective. Drummond is a beast of a man and can bully smaller teams down low. Efficiency-wise, he’s pretty terrible in the post and he will jack up some horrific shots. With that said, he won’t be the main guy to run the offense through like he was on past teams. Now, without LeBron and AD, he may be that guy but Vogel is an excellent coach, so hopefully, he puts him in positions to succeed. When the Lakers are healthy, Drummond should get plenty of lobs and easy buckets because of LeBron and AD. He’s not a great defender in the post but has size and agility. The same goes on the perimeter. The awareness isn’t great but Frank Vogel is a great coach so it will be interesting to see how he utilizes him. LeBron and AD also possess tremendous IQ and are vocal leaders, so maybe they can guide and rub off on Drummond. We’ve never seen him in this situation so there is some potential. As a rebounder, he’s a beast but isn’t technically sound. He gets by because of his physicality, not technique. Drummond also does possess some playmaking acumen. He has a decent handle for a big man and is an adept passer. The free-throw shooting is a bugaboo but, when locked in, he can provide elite boards, steals, and blocks. How many minutes will he play? The Lakers have Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. If he gets over 30 mpg, he could feast. The biggest question is what will his motor and motivation be like? Can LeBron and AD push him? Because it can be painful watching Drummond play at times. Hopefully, he can be engaged because he could truly be a beast.
Markieff Morris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2/6 | 5/11 | 0 |
In 32 minutes. Once Drummond gets into the mix, he will go back to playing in the teens, maybe less.
Kyle Kuzma
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5/15 | 8/20 | 0 |
Despite playing over 34 minutes since LeBron went down, Kuzma has been a top 180 player. He provides points, tres, boards, and has chipped in some dimes too, but no D, high turnovers, and poor field goal percentage. Three strikes and you’re out, right?
Dennis Schroder
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1/3 | 7/14 | 9/10 |
Top 30 player since LeBron went down. The usage rate has spiked up to 27 while he’s played four more minutes than his season average. As a result, more points, boards, and the dimes and steals have skyrocketed. Enjoy it while lasts.
Montrezl Harrell
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8/13 | 2/4 |
In 28 minutes. It will be interesting to see how much run he gets when Drummond gets into the mix. I’m thinking not much. 18 minutes? We shall see because it is all predicated on what Vogel does with Drummond.
