Tim Hardaway Jr., 2017 Fantasy Basketball

I love craps. Not the sitting on the toilet kind, but the rolling of them two dice. It’s the one game that feels like I have some modicum of control. I shoot the dice, can decide when and where to bet, move chips around, and finally take money off the table if I so choose. It’s all an illusion, though. Yes, money management can always help, but the numbers are not in my favor over the long run. The probability of rolling a 7 is 16.67%. 13.89% to roll a 6 or 8, 11.11% to roll a 5 or 9, and 8.33% to roll a 4 or 10. The hardway bets? 2%. Even though I know the numbers, the game is too freaking fun. And I have those stories when I was down to my last chip and proceeded to go on a crazy heater, hitting multiple points, and making everyone jump around. It’s those times that keep me going back to the tables to replicate that feeling. That is what it must be like to own Tim Hardaway Jr.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
37	5	1	2	0	3	6/9	14/24	3/3

Every once in a while, he will go on a heater that gets you all excited. More often than not, though, he will shoot 4-of-13 and make you cry like that guy in the casino bathroom that just lost the proverbial house. Since the Knicks lost Porzingis, THJ has seen usage rates of 29.4, 21.9, and 28.3. The high usage rate and minutes should continue to be plentiful. But like my experiences at the craps table, the likely scenario will be “7 OUT!” As long as you keep expectations in check, THJ will have some value. Just beware of emotionally point-chasing the performance from last night.

Here’s what else I saw last night:

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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?

Tomas Satoransky:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
9	4	11	0	3	1	1/4	4/8	0

Chants can be heard reverberating thoughout Washington D.C., “We don’t need no stinking Wall!” Satoransky has been a top 30 player for fantasy since Wall went down.

Bradley Beal:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
36	5	7	3	2	3	4/7	14/22	4/4

Played 43 minutes. Walls are mighty expensive and possibly superfluous? Things that make you go hmmmm.

Ian Mahinmi:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	8	0	1	3	4	0	6/8	5/8

Played 26 minutes, while Marcin Gortat only played 22 minutes. I wouldn’t make too much of it, though, as last night was the first time Mahinmi received more than 25 minutes in a game since December 7th.

Michael Beasley:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	11	3	0	0	1	0	8/24	0

Played 40 minutes. Beasley is the Michael Bay of the NBA. Explosions and shot attempts mezmerize and keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Enes Kanter:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
24	14	5	0	1	0	0	9/15	6/8

Kanter is a freaking machine. That’s now nine straight double-dubs. Why he hasn’t been playing at least 30 minutes every game is beyond me. Oh, I keep forgetting. I’m talking about a coach that continues to start Jarrett Jack at point guard. My bad.

Speaking of Jarrett Jack, he played 28 minutes, while Emmanuel Mudiay played 20, and Frank Ntilikina played 11. <shrug emoji>

Russell Westbrook messed around.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
23	13	15	1	2	4	0/4	6/14	11/12

That’s now 16 times Russ has messed around on the season. LeBron is second with 10.

Carmelo Anthony:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	1	0	0	1	0	4/10	7/18	1/1

Outside of the one rebound and one block, this is a Melo stat line that indicates that I’m living in the correct universe. I do need to go check the tape and make sure both are legit, though. Did Melo slip, fall down, and the ball land on his chest? Did the ball run into his arm when he was indicating to the bench that he was tired and needed a breather?

Raymond Felton:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
12	1	4	3	0	1	2/4	3/7	4/4

Played 23 minutes. Has played 23, 14, 34, and 31 minutes the past four games. <shrug emoji>

Andrew Harrison:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	2	3	0	0	2	5/5	10/16	3/3

Played 33 minutes. Has had a few crappers, but Harrison is getting plenty of run and opportunities. Will also contribute across the board. Just keep in mind that both he and the Grizzlies kind of suck.

Tyreke Evans:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
23	9	7	1	1	3	4/7	8/18	3/5

Played 31 minutes. Looks like I was wrong and Brent was correct in regards to the playing time for Reke. Still makes no sense to me what Memphis is doing. If I were a fan, I’d be super pissed if the Grizzlies were to miss out on one of the top guys in this year’s draft because Reke led the team to a couple more wins in a meaningless season.

Jarell Martin:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	8	2	2	1	3	1/2	7/12	2/2

Played 31 minutes off the bench. JaMychal Green only played 19 minutes. So, the Grizzlies are going with the youth movement now? So, why is Tyreke playing again? I’m flummoxed.

Dillon Brooks:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
14	5	3	1	0	0	2/6	6/15	0

Played 39 minutes. You know the expression, “regressing to the mean?” Well, it’s unnecessary now, as a picture is worth a thousand words.

Dragan Bender:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
6	4	0	0	0	1	2/5	2/5	0

Got the start at power forward and played 25 minutes. Triano to his wife, “Heading to the bar for my nightly Bender.”

TJ Warren:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
5	1	0	0	0	0	0	2/7	1/2

Played 22 minutes. Was in foul trouble all night long. The Regulator got regulated.

With Tyson Chandler out, Alex Len got the start at center and played 38 minutes.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
14	7	0	3	4	0	0	3/7	8/10

Is it happening? Probably not.

Elfrid Payton messed around.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
13	11	12	1	1	5	1/2	5/11	2/2

Played 39 minutes. This could become a nightly thing, until Elfrid slaps Triano across the face with his hair.

Devin Booker:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	5	3	0	0	2	6/14	8/20	6/9

Played 36 minutes in his return from injury. Getting healthy and returning to shooting guard are both positive developments.

Josh Jackson:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
22	7	2	1	0	2	2/3	10/15	0/1

I was worried about Jackson’s role with Elf in town. I worry too much. Microwave off the bench seems to suit him just fine. May be the best role for him, as he can go up against weaker defenders and won’t have to compete with Booker for usage.

Derrick Favors:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	12	2	0	1	1	0/1	7/9	4/6

Played 33 minutes. Doing himself plenty of Favors for when he negotiates his next contract in the offseason.

Royce O’Neale:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	5	2	2	1	1	3/3	7/12	2/2

Played 36 minutes. Got the start at shooting guard with Ricky Rubio out again. Rolls Royce had the gawkers gawking.

Rudy Gobert:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
14	17	1	0	0	0	0	5/8	4/4

Rudy! Rudy!

Donovan Mitchell:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
24	4	7	0	0	3	4/11	10/24	0

Till death do us part. DM me.

Jae Crowder:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	7	2	1	0	0	0/4	5/12	5/6

Played 25 minutes. Looks to have found a home in Utah. Has scored 15, 14, and 15 points since coming to the Jazz. I blame LeBron.

JaKarr Sampson:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
7	7	2	1	1	2	0	3/3	1/2

Got the start at power forward and played 24 minutes. I keep getting flash backs of Jar Jar Binks for some reason. I can no longer write about JaKarr. It’s too intense.

Bogdan Bogdanovic:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
20	4	5	2	0	2	4/8	8/15	0

Played 30 minutes. It’s a Bog Bog life for us. It’s a Bog Bog life for us. <sung to the music from Annie> He’s been really steady for fantasy. Averaging 30 minutes a game, scoring in double figures, and chipping in boards, dimes, 3s, and getting his 211 on. The only concern is that Trump deems him a criminal immigrant and ships him back to Serbia.

Justin Jackson:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
12	5	4	0	2	1	2/5	5/9	0

Has been starting at small forward and played 34 minutes last night. Remember when I was talking about regressing to the mean earlier?

Vince Carter played 24 minutes. Mmmmm kay.

James Harden almost messed around.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	9	9	2	1	6	5/15	7/19	9/11

Scrub.

Clint Capela:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
13	11	1	1	2	0	0	6/11	1/1

Four straight double-dubs. Since the beginning of February, Capela has blocked 2.9 shots per game! C&C Music Factory making everybody dance now!

Joe Johnson:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
9	3	0	1	0	2	1/5	2/9	4/4

Played 31 minutes. Johnson to get Harden excited.

Serge Ibaka:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
20	7	2	0	2	1	2/3	9/12	0

First time scoring 20 points since January 5th. Don’t expect dimes or steals from Ibaka, but points, boards, blocks, and 3s are always on the menu.

Kyle Lowry:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
20	7	10	1	0	0	4/7	5/10	6/6

Does everything but get his block on. Would be an outlier on Twitter.

The Raptors defeated the Bulls, 122-98.

As a result, Zach LaVine (11 points) only played 27 minutes and Justin Holiday (8 points) played 27 minutes. Kris Dunn (8 points) returned from injury and played 20 minutes

Bobby Portis:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	3	1	1	1	0	0/2	8/14	2/4

Played 22 minutes. Always packs a punch.

Denzel Valentine:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
6	5	3	0	0	0	0/3	2/7	2/2

Played 21 minutes. Couldn’t get any love.

Danilo Gallinari:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
20	9	1	0	0	1	2/7	4/11	10/10

Damn, the Celtics are a bunch of hackers! I’ve always appreciated Gallinari’s game because he doesn’t just settle for Js. He’s definitely not a soft Euro and takes it to the rack when the opportunities present themselves.

DeAndre Jordan:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
30	13	3	4	0	2	0	11/14	8/9

A career-high in points and only one missed free throw? Maybe I did get planted into a parallel universe after all.

Kyrie Irving:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
33	1	8	1	0	4	5/7	11/21	6/6

Kyrie was looking around for help, but couldn’t find any. More evidence that the world is indeed flat.

Greg Monroe:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
8	5	0	1	2	0	0	2/3	4/4

Played 10 minutes. Hmmmph, wasn’t he brought in to help against bigs like DeAndre? For fantasy, Stevens is going to utilize him as a specialist. What that specialty is remains to be seen, but he won’t have much fantasy relevance.

Myles Turner:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	14	1	1	1	0	1/1	2/8	6/6

Played 29 minutes. The Odometer was clicking away last night, but it was against Brooklyn. Every big man feasts against them. Myles has been one of the bigger disappointments this season for fantasy, as he’s been dealing with a bevy of injuries. With that said, I was surprised to see he’s a top 50 player. I thought he was way worse. The 2.1 blocks per game help.

Cory Joseph:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	11	3	2	2	2	1/1	5/12	4/7

You know you’re bad when you let Cory Joseph go HAM.

DeMarre Carroll:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
21	10	4	1	1	2	5/8	6/13	4/6

Played 35 minutes. Damn, what’s gotten into DeMarre lately? A double-dub in three of the past four games. One measley rebound would’ve made it four straight. Anyways, he’s playing 33 minutes a game and hoisting up 13 shots a game. He will grab some boards and knock down 3s. Enjoy the music while it’s hot.

Allen Crabbe:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
24	8	1	0	0	4	5/11	9/16	1/1

Is on one of those heaters right now. Last four games: 36, 33, 44, and 36 minutes with 16, 13, 24, and 22 shot attempts respectively.

D’Angelo Russell:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	3	9	0	0	1	0/2	7/14	4/4

Still loading…..73% complete.

Dante Cunningham played 28 minutes, while Timofey Mozgov played four minutes. <shrug emoji>

Josh Richardson:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
6	1	2	1	1	2	2/3	2/5	0

My son! There will be days like this. Don’t fret.

Hassan Whiteside:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	10	1	0	3	0	0	7/10	2/3

Played 29 minutes. Bam Adebayo only played 19 minutes. I wish Ms. Cleo was still taking calls so I could get a better handle on the center situation in Miami.

Ben Simmons messed around.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	12	10	4	0	4	0	8/15	2/5

Damn, a lot of messing around last night. Duh, it was Valentine’s Day!

With Joel Embiid sitting, Amir Johnson got the start and played 20 minutes, but it was Richaun Holmes who played 28 minutes.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	9	2	0	2	1	0/2	4/7	3/5

Orale Holmes.

TJ McConnell:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
2	3	0	1	0	0	0	1/6	0

Didn’t he just triple-dub the other night? Played 20 minutes last night and reminded everyone that he’s TJ McConnell.

Marco Belinelli:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	1	0	0	0	2	3/5	7/12	0

I thought he would affect the minutes for Redick. Looks like it will be TJ. I forgot who, but one of the commentators was on that tip. Viva la Razzball!

Dwight Howard:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
22	13	2	0	2	1	0	9/16	4/6

Does the revenge narrative fit here? Dwight wanted out of Orlando right? Am I misremembering things?

Jeremy Lamb:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	5	3	1	1	4	2/3	6/10	3/3

Played 26 minutes. Doesn’t always get the run, but when he does, contributes a little something something across the board. Someone to keep an eye on in uptempo matchups.

Bizmack Biyombo:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	11	1	0	0	0	0	3/7	5/6

First double-dub since mid-January. Nikola Vucevic is targeting February 22nd as his return date, so Bizmack Biyombo to Bench soon.

Mario Hezonja:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
21	10	3	2	0	0	1/6	10/20	0

Super Mario!

Marreese Speights:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	5	2	0	0	0	4/8	5/12	2/2

Played 19 minutes. He must’ve lost control of the ball twice because I’ve never seen him pass the ball before. He’s like the guy that sees his replacement walk over to the scorer’s table and starts jacking up shots. Except, that’s Speights every minute he plays.

Draymond Green:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	12	7	2	4	0	1/3	6/13	3/3

That line is so money. Money is Green, at least in the US. Therefore, Green is cash money.

Kevin Durant: ALERT! ALERT!

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
50	7	6	0	2	4	6/14	17/27	10/10

A freaking 50-burger couldn’t get the lede. That’s how rare a Hardaway night is. Anyways, the Warriors lost, 117-123 to the Blazers with both KD and Green going off.

Both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson scored 17 points. Awww, that’s so cute.

Al-Farouq Aminu:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
9	11	2	3	0	2	1/2	3/4	2/2

Had a 7.7 usage rate last night. Yet, he still contributes. Top 90 player for fantasy.

Jusuf Nurkic:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	13	3	1	0	0	0	7/14	3/6

Played 30 minutes. I’m a Nurkic fan, so I believe in the skill set. With that said, the minutes are so unpredictable.

Damian Lillard:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
44	3	8	2	0	4	4/11	14/25	12/12

Always balls out against Golden State. Y’all know what time it is. Dame Dolla!

For the Hawks, Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, and Ersan Ilyasova all did not play.

John Collins:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	10	0	1	2	1	0/2	3/8	5/6

Played 31 minutes. Can’t wait to see him unleashed next year.

Malcolm Delaney:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	0	7	3	0	3	1/2	3/9	4/5

Got the start at point guard and played 27 minutes.

Tyler Dorsey got the start at shooting guard and played 31 minutes.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
9	5	6	1	0	1	1/4	4/11	0

Isaiah Taylor:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
13	1	7	1	0	3	0/2	6/9	1/1

Played 25 minutes and got significant run at the point.

Julius Randle:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
20	5	3	0	1	4	0	9/13	2/2

Played 31 minutes. Dude is a beast down low.

Brandon Ingram:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
21	2	5	1	0	5	0/1	9/17	3/4

Played 31 minutes. Still only 20 years old!

Isaiah Thomas was ejected after five minutes.

Josh Hart:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	6	2	2	1	2	3/3	5/6	2/3

Got the start at point guard and played 31 minutes. Such a solid player. Will be interesting to see what happens when Lonzo returns, but I think he’s carved out a significant role for himself.

Kyle Kuzma:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
23	5	1	1	0	2	3/8	10/20	0

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuzma!

Played 27 minutes.

Anthony Davis:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
42	15	3	3	2	1	2/2	15/18	10/11

Left the game in the first quarter due to injury. Was able to return and ended up playing 33 minutes. Whew. He is so freaking good. Such a joy watching him play.

Jrue Holiday:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
24	4	11	4	0	2	2/5	10/19	2/2

Consecutive 20/10 games. Holiday is a top 30 player for fantasy.

Nikola Mirotic:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	7	2	2	2	2	2/8	7/17	0

Played 30 minutes coming off the bench. That’s probably a great role for him, as he can be “the guy” on the second unit and soak up the usage when AD sits.

Darius Miller:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	4	4	0	0	0	4/6	6/8	3/3

Played 31 minutes. He has played 31 and 30 minutes the past two games. Prior to that, the minutes and shot attempts were all over the place. Miller could be a source for 3s, but keep an eye on the minutes allocation going forward.