It’s crunch time fantasy ballers! These are the games that make or break your season. A lot of guys who have been reliable stat-stuffers all season disappear or are rested down the stretch and waiver pickups come up with career performances. Bam Adebayo has been fairly reliable for a while, but came up huge last night going 16-11-8-0-4-5 on 6-of-11 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. Hassan Whiteside is in Eric Spoelstra’s doghouse for one reason or another, which has opened the door for Bam to flourish. It’s all about the adds and drops at this point, so I’m not gonna get into all the big-name superstars. So let’s dive on into the daily notes, and the game-changing performances in the fantasy basketball playoffs. BAM!
Kelly Olynyk– 2-14-7-5-2-3-1 on 6-of-9 shooting. The Missing ‘Lynyk with the rainbow line out of nowhere! The Miami Heat had four games this week, so it was a good idea to own any of their players, and they played all four games in six days so you can go ahead and drop any of them if you need to.
Dion Waiters– 4-19-3-3-0-0-0 on 7-of-13 shooting and 1-for-1 from the line. He’s been a nice cheap source of 3’s if you streamed him. He’s got 11 over the last three games.
Dwyane Wade– 2-20-9-5-1-0-2 on 9-of-16 shooting and 0-for-2 FTs. His stat lines are kind of random, but he’s scoring a bit. The Heat are squeezing all the toothpaste out of the tube with Wade, so he’s not really resting at all down the stretch. As an aside: all these rest days are getting absolutely ridiculous. I’m not sure how many of these injuries are real, but so many key guys are being listed as day-to-day down the stretch. I’m thinking of pushing my leagues’ playoff schedule up two weeks next year.
Jaylen Brown– 5-29-4-4-1-2-1 on 10-of-13 shooting and 4-of-7 FTs. Brown delivered for his owners, just not in the FT department. He was really bad in his previous two, so this might be too little too late for his owners.
Miles Bridges– 3-20-7-3-3-0-1 on 8-of-13 shooting and 1-of-2 FTs. He’s been coming on in the three games and Borrego seems to be doing the right thing and playing the young guns. Scoop him up if you need points, boards, and steals.
Kemba Walker– 6-36-11-9-2-0-2 on 11-of-25 shooting and 8-of-8 FTs. Kemba has not missed a game all year. These are the winning players you want on your squad. His previous three seasons he’s played 80, 79, and 81 games respectively and he looks to be on pace for another 80 game season. Those Bronx guys are tough. Keep Walking.
Jimmy Butler– 25-6-4-2-1-1 on 6-of-13 shooting and 13-of-13 FTs. Butler coming up big in the FT volume. His scoring upside is capped on the Sixers with all their playmakers, but he’s still a rock-solid 2nd/3rd round guy.
Trae Young– 4-32-6-11-0-1-6 on 11-of-20 shooting and 6-of-7 FTs. Double-doubles in three straight, all with 21+ points. Trae Bay-Bay! Not much in the defensive categories, but man, can he get it done on the offensive end. Hawks love to run too so there’s always tons of points to be had in their matchups.
Rudy Gobert– 21-14-2-0-4-0 on 9-of-11 shooting and 3-of-7 FTs. The FTs have regressed since last season, but they are right in line with his career numbers, so this might just be who he his as a free throw shooter. The scoring, assist, and rebounding averages are all career-bests though.
Kris Dunn– 4-3-5-1-0-0 on 1-of-8 shooting and 2-for-2 FTs. The Bulls are an absolute mess right now and they got spanked by the Jazz last night. I was lucky enough to enter the semi-finals week with Zach LaVine and Otto Porter Jr. on my squad locked and ready to go. Dunn had been pretty solid with all the available playing time, but he is prone to these horrible shooting nights, so buyer beware.
Tyus Jones– 1-12-3-9-1-0-1 on 4-of-8 shooting and 3-for-3 FTs. With the overall fragility of Jeff Teague, Tyus seems to get some key starts every year as one of the better backup point guards in the game. He’s a nice source of assists and steals.
Josh Okogie– 1-17-6-4-1-1-4 on 5-of-11 shooting and 6-for-6 from the line. You got more production out of Josh Okogie than if you started Giannis all week. That is how wacky the fantasy playoffs are. He’s worth an add for scoring and 3’s.
Jonas Valanciunas– 2-23-3-2-0-3 on 7-of-15 shooting and 5-of-7 from the line. Here’s a guy who’s coming up HUGE for his owners. It’s so hard to predict before the season starts who is going to come up clutch down the stretch. Jonas Valanciunas playing for the the freaking Memphis Grizzlies is winning people their leagues…
Delon Wright– 2-12-4-6-2-0-2 on 5-of-10 shooting in 27 minutes off the bench. Another ex-Raptor who is coming up big. He’s kind of low end, but will get you a little of everything without killing your ratios. Memphis plays four games next week, so I would add him if possible.
Dirk Nowitzki– 5-21-5-1-0-2-0 on 8-of-14 shooting. He’s in the same boat as Wade, but there’s a lot less toothpaste in the tube for Dirk…
Luka Doncic– 4-23-11-10-3-0-3 on 6-of-14 shooting and 7-of-11 FTs. I’m usually not a guy who drafts too many rookies, but this years’ class is ridiculous. Congrats if you own Luka, you probably are making the finals, unless you’re going up against James Harden.
Jalen Brunson– 1-11-4-5-0-0-0 on 5-of-9 shooting. Action Brunson had been quiet for most of the year, but has gotten the opportunity to show what he can do down the stretch and has scored in double figures in 11 straight games.
Draymond Green– 1-6-3-2-1-0-3 on 2-of-4 shooting and 1-of-2 FTs. His value took a pretty big hit this year and games like this are the main reason why. It’s going to be an interesting offseason for the Warriors, but Green’s value should probably go up whatever happens.
Klay Thompson– 8-2-0-1-0-0 on 4-of-13 shooting. The Warriors still have one game left in their big five-game week, but Klay only has nine 3’s in four games. That’s coming up small. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a huge night tonight, but he could also sit out.
Reggie Jackson– 4-24-2-1-1-0-2 on 9-of-16 shooting and 2-for-2 from the line. He had been absolutely brutal for stretches of the season, but he’s been scoring over his last five. The Pistons need him to play well as they battle for playoff seeding.
Wayne Ellington– 5-1-3-1-0-0 on 2-of-5 shooting and 1-for-1 from the line. He was a popular 3’s streamer with Detroit’s four-game week, but he couldn’t deliver last night and Detroit took the Ell-ington.
Blake Griffin– 3-27-3-6-1-0-2 on 10-of-18 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. I was watching the end of this game and was saying to my friend that Blake just looks more gritty. I guess that’s what happens when you move from LA to Detroit.
Al-Farouq Aminu– 2-22-7-1-1-0-1 on 8-of-13 shooting. And 4-for-5 FTs. His stat lines don’t indicate it, but he’s a top-100 player on the year. He pretty much starts every game, which is the keystone to his value.
Damian Lillard– 6-28-6-9-0-0-4 on 9-of-16 shooting and 4-of-5 FTs. I was wishing for Damian to get hot, and he definitely has been on the week. CJ McCollum has been absent, so Lillard has had to shoulder more of the load, and of course he was up for the task. Blazers get four games next week, so if you made it with Lillard, you’re in great shape.
Seth Curry– 1-16-5-1-0-0-0 on 5-of-9 shooting and 5-for-5 FTs. I would definitely give him a look if you need points, 3’s, steals, and FT% next week.
Mikal Bridges– 1-11-4-4-3-0-1 on 5-of-9 shooting. He could be the next Trevor Ariza (stat-wise) so I would be looking for him in drafts next year. As for this season, he’s a cheap source of steals, with a trickle of 3’s, points, and assists.
Devin Booker– 2-32-2-10-2-0-3 on 10-of-27 shooting and 10-for-10 from the line. The five steals over his last two games are a big boost for his owners. He’s usually just a four-category player (Points, 3’s, Assists, FT%).
Nmanja Bjelica– 2-13-17-5-1-1-1 on 5-of-10 shooting and 1-for-2 FTs. If you just held him all year, you’d have a top 100 player. His PT is so inconsistent though so I’m sure he was one of the most added and dropped guys of the year. He’s had 27+ minutes in three straight so I could see taking the risk on him.
Buddy Hield– 7-25-7-2-1-1-2 on 9-of-20 shooting. His numbers on the year are not far off from Klay Thompson. Just consider that next year when drafting.
Marvin Bagley III– 16-11-1-2-0-2 on 5-of-13 shooting and 6-of-7 FTs. This guy was the second overall pick for a reason. Again, this is one of the best rookie classes in recent memory and although it was not as top-heavy as the ’03 draft, overall quality-wise it’s the best I can remember.
I wish you all the best of luck in your fantasy playoffs and I leave you with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvazQUYG1kE
