Fantasy Basketball: Alex Len Gave Us Sunshine This One Time

If you grew up in the 90s, there’s no doubt you heard “Steal My Sunshine” by Len. The radio stations only played it five times every hour for months on end. Remember, this was before iPods, iPhones, Spotify, and XM Radio. It was also a time when MTV and VH1 would actually….you know…play music videos, so the inundation was widespread and impossible to eradicate. The song had a nice summer vibe to it and made one feel happy, but if you dig into the lyrics, it’s about depression…at least in the beginning, but the song is ultimately about overcoming depression and being happy. Well, Alex Len has been a source of depression for fantasy owners for a long, long time. We’ve always been tantalized by the potential but he could never put it together on a consistent basis. Last night, though, it all came together….

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	9	2	0	2	0	5/8	9/18	5/8

…at least for one night, a career-high night in points no less. Now, don’t get gassed because he received his first start since late December, as John Collins and Omari Spellman both did not play due to injury. He did play 36 minutes in the prior game and put up 24/10, but that game went to triple overtime. In addition, both games were against the Bulls. Put your head down in shame Bulls. Anyways, when the Hawks get healthy, Len will return to coming off the bench and receiving fewer than 20 minutes of run, but keep in mind that when injuries strike, Len does have some upside. He has eight dub-dubs on the season.

Here’s what else I saw yesterday:

Dewayne Dedmon

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
13	12	2	1	0	0	0/2	4/9	5/7

My buddy has been trying to get me to watch The Walking Dead for the longest time. I’ll be honest, I could never get into it. Question: how are all the lawns so perfectly manicured? Anyways, there are plenty of shows that took me a while to get into, Lost and Breaking Bad are but two examples, so I will give it another go at some point. With that said, seeing Dedmon ball the F out recently has sparked a little itch within me to start it up again. I know, I’m a weirdo. Over the past six games, Dedmon has averaged 27.7 minutes, 12.5 points, 10.2 boards, 0.7 tres, 2.3 dimes, 1.2 steals, and 2.7 blocks. He’s been a top 30 player!

B. J. Johnson

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

Ha! B. J. Johnson. Someone didn’t think things through. I shouldn’t be one to clown, though. My wife and I named our daughter Mira. I didn’t think anything of it until we went out for Mexican food. My daughter was on the other side of the restaurant when I yelled, “Mira!” Everybody in the restaurant looked at me with a quizzical expression of what? where? Anyways, B. J. is on a 10-day contract and received 19 minutes of run because of all the injuries. No one to get excited over.

Jaylen Adams

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
14	4	4	0	0	3	4/7	5/9	0

Played 26 minutes. Adams went undrafted and was signed to a two-way contract by the Hawks. Over the past six games, he’s played 26, 12, 5, 13, 14, and 11 minutes. Prior to that, he had played a total of 45 minutes. Adams received extra run yesterday because Trae Young was ejected in the third quarter, but he looks to be the primary backup at point guard now.

Lauri Markkanen

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	9	3	2	0	1	3/9	6/21	4/5

Led the Bulls in shot attempts by a large margin. Markkanen is the Yin and Yang of the NBA. Lauri sounds so sweet and sensitive, but Markkanen invokes visions of beserkers invading the shores. Markkanenen has the look of a choir boy, yet plays like someone is trying to take his lunch money. He’s already a good one and could be the next great one. From a fantasy perspective, the only cat he’s light in is blocks.

Robin Lopez

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	6	4	0	1	1	0	8/10	0

Played 28 minutes. He’s been averaging over 33 minutes over the last few weeks and been a top 50 player! Hilarious! Lopez is providing points, boards, and excellent percentages. The boards are light, though.

Antonio Blakeney

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	2	1	0	0	2	1/2	8/13	0

Played 20 minutes off the bench. Received playing time because Otto Porter Jr. did not play.

Zach LaVine

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

Only played 28 minutes, as the Bulls did not want to push him after Friday’s 4OT game in which he played 56 minutes.

Jusuf Nurkic

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
26	15	6	2	1	2	0	8/13	10/11

Nurkic isn’t the most consistent player, but he does access ceiling. Over the past six games, he’s been a top 15 player. The last two seasons, Nurkic has ended as the #193 and #107 player on a per-game basis. So far this season he’s a top 35 player. The primary differences are the increase in points due to increased efficiency and the spike in dimes.

C. J. McCollum

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

Did he do that? Yes he did. It happens from time to time, just like how he morphs into M. J. to access ceiling games occasionally.

Rodney Hood

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
27	1	2	2	0	0	3/6	9/14	6/6

Played 24 minutes off the bench. The best game for Hood since he joined the Trail Blazers. In the 10 previous games, he failed to score double figures in nine of them. It’s usually never a good idea to venture into the Hood, but periodically it can be a profitable venture. Just watch your back.

Kemba Walker

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	0	12	0	0	4	2/9	5/21	6/6

Played 39 minutes. I’m surprised he didn’t trip into a rebound or steal. Anyways, Kemba has only eclipsed the 10 dime threshold four other times this season. I understand why the bottle of Kemba Label doesn’t get passed around, but sharing is caring.

Frank Kaminsky

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	7	0	0	0	2	2/6	5/10	6/7

Played 28 minutes. Kaminsky had been buried on the depth chart, but he’s received 28 and 24 minutes the past two games and been productive in both. Correspondingly, Cody Zeller, who had been averaging close to 30 minutes a game saw his minutes dwindle to 24 and 21 minutes.

Jeremy Lamb

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
23	5	2	0	0	3	4/4	9/13	1/1

Played 34 minutes off the bench, which has suited him just fine. Top 30-40 player since the move. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad, which is good.

Chris Paul

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	6	12	3	1	5	3/8	4/10	4/5

Stuffing that stat sheet like we know and love from our good neighbor. It’s all about health for Paul.

James Harden

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
42	7	4	2	1	4	6/18	14/31	8/9

Played 39 minutes. I am Harden excited once again.

Eric Gordon

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
32	3	3	1	0	0	8/12	11/18	2/6

Got the start and played 35 minutes. Gordon had been hampered by a knee issue, but everything looked good yesterday. He’s fifth in the NBA at 8.61 tres attempts per game and lately, he’s been getting his 211 on, which has allowed him to put up top 60 production.

Kyrie Irving

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
24	9	6	0	0	4	3/5	7/11	7/8

Played 36 minutes. Another day, another loss for the Celtics (104-115). Don’t be fooled, though, as the game was out of hand for most of it. They have to figure it out as some point right? Bueller? I guess one silver lining in all of this is that Kyrie is going to have to ball out the rest of the way.

Al Horford

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	6	2	0	0	1	1/2	7/8	4/4

Like love and marriage, Al can be boring yet satisfying at the same time. He provides a little something something across the board, yet will rarely win a week for you.

Marcus Smart

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	4	6	1	0	2	3/6	4/8	7/7

Marcus darlin’ has been shooting 57% from the field and drained 2.3 tres over the past four games. Is it time to get Smart? He’s a low usage player, but provides everything but blocks. Won’t ever win a week for you, but helps a team. Hmmm, maybe the Celtics have too many of those kind of players?

Jayson Tatum

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

The Pelicans have been desperately ringing Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, but for some reason, it keeps going to voicemail. In addition, Channing is on the brink of depression.

Noah Vonleh

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	12	3	0	1	2	1/2	6/8	4/5

He’s back! But for how long? Vonleh contributed 16/10 the prior game but only played 22 minutes in that one. Such a strange season for the Knicks and Vonleh in particular. He was balling out earlier in the season, providing across-the-board production, then Fizdale pulled the plug. Now, he’s slowly inserting whatever it is into the wall socket? Hope it’s not his fingers. I like Vonleh. I have all season, but have no idea what Fizdale is going to do. Prior to the last two games, Vonleh was averaging fewer than 20 minutes and hadn’t scored in double digits and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in only two games (a span of 14 games).

Dennis Smith Jr.

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
8	1	6	2	1	1	0/3	3/11	2/4

Got the start and played 28 minutes. The inefficiency from the field is rearing it’s ugly head again, as he’s been sub-40% over the past five games.

Mitchell Robinson

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	13	1	0	4	2	0	7/8	2/2

In 23 minutes off the bench. Anyone remember Shaq’s TWISM? Ha! Funniest shit ever. Anyways, the world is truly in Mr. Robinson’s neighborhood. Top 10 player over the past five games, averaging a dub-dub with 4 blocks!

Emmanuel Mudiay

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	4	3	3	0	1	2/4	6/15	2/2

Played 29 minutes. Since returning from injury, he’s played 26, 19, 32, 22, and 29 minutes. He has scored double figures and atttempted 10 or more shots in every game, though. He could play 15 minutes or 40 minutes next game, and I wouldn’t be surprised with either.

Allonzo Trier

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	1	4	0	0	3	3/3	5/7	3/4

Played 25 minutes. He’s so good. Maybe too good, perhaps?

Nikola Vucevic

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	13	6	2	2	3	0	13/16	2/2

Has definitely surpassed Tesla on Mt. Nikola.

D. J. Augustin

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	5	5	0	0	2	2/5	6/12	5/5

Sprained his ankle the prior game, but gutted it out yesterday. A good D. J. always says that the show must go on.

Terrence Ross

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

Anyone remember Press Your Luck? No Whammies, No Whammies, No……….Ha! That’s Ross for fantasy in a nutshell.

Kevin Love

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
16	14	2	0	0	0	3/8	3/11	7/8

Played 29 minutes. Love will sit in back-to-backs, but the playing time has gone from 22 to 29 minutes. I guess there’s a chance he starts getting over 30 minutes. Anything is possible, since it doesn’t really makes sense for the Cavs to be playing him anyways. With that said, he’s playing, and at a high level, like top 25 over the past five games. The efficiency hasn’t been great and the D stats have been lacking, but the points, tres, and boards have been voluminous. Love is indeed in the air.

Larry Nance Jr.

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

Got the start and played 32 minutes. Unfortunatley, that’s not always the case. Why? Beats me. Same reason why they keep giving Love a ton of run.

Brandon Knight

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

Continues to start and played 19 minutes. Stop trying to make Knight a thing, Cavs? No one is going to bite.

Jordan Clarkson

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	1	2	0	0	2	3/6	5/9	5/5

Played 27 minutes off the bench. If you want high volume, low efficiency points with little else, then Clarkson is your guy.

Pascal Siakam

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
21	9	5	0	0	3	1/4	10/20	0/2

Played a team-high 44 minutes. Top 50 player on the season.

P. S. – He’s really good.

Marc Gasol

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

Got the start and played 38 minutes. Serge Ibaka only played 20 minutes, although he did pull down 11 boards. Gasol has played 32 and 38 minutes the past two games, while Ibaka has seen his playing time dip to 16 and 20 minutes respectively. Sayonara Serge.

Kyle Lowry

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
35	7	5	1	0	3	6/14	11/24	7/9

Whoa….where did that come from? That was the first time Lowry had attempted more than 20 shots in a game since October of last year and the 35 points were a season high. Kawhi Leonard was out, but he’s sat before and Lowry had not done this. There is a thing out there about playing point guards against Detroit. I guess that narrative has been reaffirmed once again.

Jeremy Lin

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

Got the start and played 25 minutes. Linsanity indeed. Unfortunately, not the good one.

Blake Griffin

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
27	7	1	0	1	5	2/8	9/21	7/10

He blocked a shot!!! Hallelujah! He’s now tied with Tyler Johnson and Kyrie Irving with 25 on the season.

Andre Drummond

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	17	1	2	1	3	0/1	5/10	5/8

Just another Dre Day. Top 10 production over the past six games.

Wayne Ellington

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	3	1	3	0	1	2/4	3/6	3/5

Got the start and played 35 minutes. Ellington has started the last six games and averaged over 28 minutes per game. A true 3-and-D player, let’s not forget that Ellington averaged 7.9 attempts and shot 39% from downtown last season with the Heat.

Luke Kennard

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
19	2	5	0	0	2	5/9	6/10	2/2

Played 35 minutes off the bench. Over the past six games, Kennard has averaged 27 minutes, 16 points, 3.3 tres, 2.8 boards, 2 dimes, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks. That’s been good for top 60 value. He can shoot and has good awareness on D, so if he continues getting the minutes, Kennard will be a useful fantasy asset.

Karl-Anthony Towns

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
28	1	7	1	1	4	2/6	12/18	2/2

Meow! Top 3 player over the past two months. He literally does it all. For the season, is 0.1 shy of becoming a 1/1/1 member.

Taj Gibson

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
14	10	2	0	0	2	0/1	6/8	2/2

Played 21 minutes off the bench. Can still provide the occasional dub-dub with some D stats, but he’s only averaging 21 minutes per game. Mario with the D continues to start but he only played 22 minutes.

Derrick Rose

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
18	2	3	0	0	1	0/1	8/17	2/2

Played 24 minutes off the bench. The usage rate is still above 30 and Rose is jacking up over 15 shots per game, but the playing time has been decreased down to 24 minutes a game.

Bobby Portis

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
26	12	0	0	0	1	3/6	10/18	3/4

Continues to start at center and played 28 minutes. The boards have been consistent, but the shooting has been all over the place. In addition, he’s averaging just 26-27 minutes per game.

Jabari Parker

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

Played 26 minutes. Forrest Gump would be all over Parker because you truly never know what you’re gonna get. He literally could score 20 or 0.

Sam Dekker

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

Played 15 minutes. If things ever look bleak in your life, just remember that Dekker still gets run in the NBA. I kid, as he’s better than 99% of the players out there, but he does suck compared to the 1%.

Bruno Caboclo

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
11	4	1	0	1	2	1/1	3/6	4/4

Bruno has started the last three games and averaged 29 minutes per. He’s a super low usage player, but will grab board and get his block on. He’s starting and getting minutes.

Jonas Valanciunas

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

Free at last! Free at last! Oh my goodness, JV is free at last! Top 55 player, averaging 28 minutes, 19 points, 11 boards, 2 dimes, 0.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks over the past five games. He’s even chipping in 0.4 tres! And the percentages have been excellent.

Delon Wright

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	8	6	2	1	1	1/4	6/14	4/4

Got the start and played 36 minutes because Mike Conley did not play. That could be happening more frequently as the season winds down.

Avery Bradley

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
27	5	7	2	0	3	2/6	11/19	3/3

Played 35 minutes. Top 40 player over the past four games. He’s been averaging over 34 minutes per game and garnered a usage rate of 23. 20 points, 2.8 tres, 5.8 boards, 5.5 dimes, and 1 steal ain’t bad. Who knew that Memphis was the place for rejuvenation? Does that mean Elvis is alive and well?

Joakim Noah

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

Only played 16 minutes. Noah is still producing, but the minutes aren’t there.

Steven Adams

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
13	22	0	2	1	4	0	6/10	1/6

Only the second time Adams has pulled down over 20 boards. He’s averaging 9.7 boards on the season, but with how diesel he is, I always find it surprising that he doesn’t pull down 10 every game. Westbrook is not only a ball hog but a board hog as well.

Russell Westbrook

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
22	6	5	3	1	4	4/13	7/20	4/6

I swear I didn’t look at Westbrook’s line when I wrote Adams’s blurb. So, Paul George has missed the past three games. Over that span, Westbrook has been outside the top 200. Things that make you go hmmmmm. 5.5 turnovers, 40% shooting from the field, and 60% shooting from the line on 7.5 attempts will do that.

Dennis Schroder

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
17	12	6	2	1	3	1/4	6/22	4/4

Got the start and played 41 minutes, in place of Paul George. Speaking of shooting efficiency, Dennis has been a menace but shooting 30% from the field while he’s filled in for George. Yuck. He has contributed the tres, boards, dimes, and steals, though.

Abdel Nader

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	3PT	FG	FT
15	2	1	2	0	1	3/6	4/10	4/4

Played 23 minutes off the bench. Has played 17, 25, and 23 minutes the past three games, due to PG being out. Nothing to see here. Move on along. Hey you! Stop rubber necking!