In a motorsport race, a pace car is utilized to….if you guessed set the pace, then winner winner chicken dinner! There are many reasons the pace car exists: to keep the competitors bunched up so that advantages of time and space are negated, to conserve fuel, and for safety concerns during bad weather or accidents on the track. In essence, they are the boring cars on the track because they don’t get to race and compete for victory. That’s not to say the pace cars are hoopties, though. They are often performance cars that would dust any commercial vehicle on the market. For example, the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 was a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which boasted 755 horsepower, could go from 0-60 in 2.85 seconds, and had a top speed of 212 mph! Bojan Bogdanovic is a pace car in the NBA. He’s boring and delivers steady production, but there’s muscle under the hood. Last night, Bojan was able to put the pedal to the metal and paced Indiana to victory.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 37 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4/7 | 13/22 | 7/9 |
The 37 points and 22 shot attempts were both season-highs. His career-high was 44 points back in 2015. I told you. There’s muscle under the hood. Now, since Victor Oladipo succumbed to injury back on January 26th, Bogdanovic has played 15 games and averaged 32.2 minutes, 20.6 points, 3.7 boards, 2.1 dimes, and 0.7 steals. He’s shot 51% from the field on 15.3 attempts, 38% from downtown on 5.5 attempts, and 81% from the line on 3.5 attempts. He’s consistently been a top 100 player, has scored in double figures 18 straight games, and is garnering a usage rate close to 30. Bogdanovic won’t win many weeks for you, but he consistently delivers what you expect from him and has access to ceiling games.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
James Harden
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 58 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 8/18 | 16/32 | 18/18 |
The Chinese were especially happy with the numbers Harden put up last night. So ridiculous. What else is there to say? Kenneth Faried and Eric Gordon did not play so…..from a fantasy perspective, cut them now!!!
Due to Eric Gordon sitting, the minutes trickled down to Austin Rivers and Gerald Green, who played 31 and 34 minutes respectively. Rivers scored 17 points, while Green scored 6.
Karl-Anthony Towns
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 42 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3/8 | 15/29 | 9/13 |
ME F’ING OOOOOOOW! What a beast! The crazy thing is that he scored 23 points in the first quarter.
Andrew Wiggins
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0/3 | 4/14 | 3/5 |
Yup. What’s going to go down as the worst contract? The four-year, $147 million for Wiggins or the 13 year, $330 million one for Bryce Harper?
Jeff Teague
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4/9 | 5/7 |
Returned to the starting lineup after missing two games due to injury and played 29 minutes. Not much to say here. It’s all about the knee.
The power forward minutes were split again, except Anthony Tolliver was thrown into the mix. Dario Saric got the start and played 21 minutes, Taj Gibson received 21 minutes, and Tolliver got 20 minutes of run. Blech.
Myles Turner
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1/2 | 1/4 | 0 |
Only played 23 minutes due to foul trouble. MEOOOOOOOOW! Turner leads the league in blocks per game at 2.71.
Darren Collison
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1/9 | 6/6 |
Collison has been shooting sub-40% over the past five games, but he’s still providing those dimes, tres, boards, and steals.
T. J. Leaf
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 7/12 | 3/3 |
Played 22 minutes off the bench. Domantas Sabonis was out and both Kyle O’Quinn and Myles Turner were in foul trouble, so Leaf floated around on the court. He’s an athletic big man who can shoot from downtown, but he gets punked down low. As long as Sabonis is out, he could get some run, but would likely need more foul trouble from the other bigs to crack 20 minutes.
Cory Joseph
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2/4 | 3/6 | 0 |
Played 29 minutes. Tyreke Evans did not play, so Joseph likely got some more run due that. I can never trust Joseph and wouldn’t be surprised if he plays 21 minutes the next game and puts up a dud.
The Magic made the Warriors disappear, 103-96. The Magic are currently the eighth seed in the East and…..brace yourselves….possess the best defensive rating (100) and net rating (11.9) during the month of February.
Aaron Gordon
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2/5 | 9/15 | 2/2 |
Yes, Aaron! This! More of this please! He’s got the potential and skills. Just has to do it on a consistent basis.
Nikola Vucevic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1/2 | 4/15 | 3/4 |
As each game ends, the closer Vucevic gets to surpassing Tesla on the Nikola ladder. I’m doing this to see if Tesla figured out how to time travel.
Terrence Ross
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4/12 | 5/14 | 2/2 |
You usually get what you pay for at Ross, but you’re pleasantly surprised from time to time, which keeps you going back. Or you’re just frugal. I respect both.
DeMarcus Cousins
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0/4 | 8/16 | 5/6 |
Played 32 minutes. The prior game, Cousins played 31 minutes and produced 24 points, 11 boards, 3 dimes, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. I’m a stupid, stupid man.
Stephen Curry
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 33 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5/17 | 12/33 | 4/4 |
Yawn. Curry makes more tres per game than most players attempt.
Kevin Durant did not play, so Alfonzo McKinnie got the start and played 24 minutes. Andre Iguodala did not play as well.
Kevin Love
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3/6 | 6/12 | 11/11 |
Played 28 minutes. Love has played six games since returning from injury. He’s been a top 45 player over that span. If you want to zoom in closer, he’s been top 10 over the past three games, as the minutes have increased from 21 to 28. For those that stayed strong with Love, nice job.
Cedi Osman
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3/4 | 7/10 | 4/4 |
Top 20 player over the past four games, as he’s been shooting 60% from the field. That’s obviously not going to continue, as he was shooting in the low-40s for much of the season, but has been over 50% for the past 20 games. For those that held onto Osman through the trials and tribulations, you are freaking Osman!
Collin Sexton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/6 | 7/15 | 6/9 |
Jordan Clarkson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/8 | 7/13 | 5/6 |
Basically the same player. Both are bad, but one starts and the other comes off the bench.
Noah Vonleh
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7/7 | 2/5 |
Got the start but only played 22 minutes. Noah’s are making a comeback! “It’s about time,” says the biblical Noah.
Kevin Knox
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/4 | 3/12 | 2/4 |
Knox is the opposite of Osman, yet Osman was just as not Osman earlier in the season, so there’s a modicum of hope.
Henry Ellenson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3/5 | 4/10 | 2/2 |
Played 27 minutes. Ellenson has played 36 and 27 minutes the past two games. He’s replaced Luke Kornet as the tall white guy who can shoot.
Allonzo Trier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/4 | 8/15 | 4/5 |
Played a team-high 32 minutes off the bench and led the team in points and shot attempts. Iso Zo has the offensive package, but we just have no idea when Fizdale is going to give him the run. Case in point, the second unit played just as much as the starters.
NOT TRYIN’ FOR ZION!!!
Kelly Olynyk
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3/4 | 9/14 | 0 |
Continues to start and played 33 minutes. Top 70 player over the past five games, as he’s been soaking up most of the power forward minutes because James Johnson has been out. Olynyk provides points, tres, boards, with some dimes and steals. Don’t expect any blocks.
Bam Adebayo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3/6 | 4/4 |
Hassan Whiteside was out again, so Bam got the start and played 29 minutes.
Goran Dragic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3/6 | 5/12 | 8/8 |
Played 25 minutes. It’s tragic that Dragic missed so many games due to injury, but the minutes are slowly creeping up. Since returning from injury, he’s played 16, 23, 20, and 25 minutes.
Joel Embiid missed his third game in a row, so Jonah Bolden got the start and played 20 minutes. Didn’t Embiid play in the All-Star game? As for Bolden, he scored 14 points, grabbed 3 boards, and stole 1.
Tobias Harris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 32 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5/7 | 11/19 | 5/5 |
Played 40 minutes. With Embiid out of the lineup, Harris has been the #3 player in those three games with a usage rate of only 21.5! Someone gonna get piggidy paid this offseason.
Ben Simmons
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5/9 | 1/4 |
Played 41 minutes. Just another night messing around for Simmons. The same can be said for Tristan Thompson as well.
Jimmy Butler
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0/2 | 9/20 | 2/5 |
The tres have been lacking while the free throw shooting has been poor, but the culprit could be the wrist injury he suffered back in January. What’s your excuse, Simmons?
Markieff Morris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 7/12 | 2/2 |
Got the start because Paul George was out, but only played 19 minutes. Since arriving in OKC, Morris has played 17, 20, 14, and 19 minutes.
Jerami Grant
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2/5 | 10/17 | 1/2 |
Top 40 player over the past 24 games. Grant is averaging 34.4 minutes, 14.9 points, 1.4 tres, 5.6 boards, 1 steal, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52% from the field and 74% from the line on 3.1 attempts. Grant is a poor man’s Pascal Siakam.
Steven Adams
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4/9 | 3/6 |
The free throw shooting stinks and the blocks are light for a big man, but Adams provides excellent field goal percentage, points, boards, and steals. Whatever. I’m staying on his good side because when the zombie apocalypse comes, I’m going to jump on his shoulders and feel completely secure.
Russell Westbrook
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1/9 | 8/24 | 6/9 |
Ho hum. Just another trip-dub for Westbrook. Maybe this shooting from downtown thing isn’t working, though, as he’s shooting 27% from beyond the arc. Ben Simmons is like, “See! It’s not worth it!”
Dennis Schroder
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2/5 | 4/15 | 4/5 |
Played 33 minutes off the bench. In 535 minutes with Paul George off the court, Schroder has a 34.3 usage rate, an increase of 7.6%, the largest on the team. He just didn’t shoot well last night, but food for thought the next time the scenario arises.
Derrick Favors
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 4/7 | 7/8 |
Played 30 minutes. It’s all about the minutes for Favors. Unfortunately, the range vacillates from 16-32. Points, boards, blocks, and good field goal percentage are what he provides.
Joe Ingles
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2/9 | 4/12 | 5/6 |
The field goal percentage can be a drain, but Ingles provides across-the-board production. Over the past three games, he’s averaged a whopping 38.7 minutes, 4 tres, 5 boards, 6.3 dimes, 1 steal, and 1 block. That’s been good for top 50 production. With that said, he’s more like a top 100 player.
Donovan Mitchell
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4/8 | 9/19 | 2/4 |
Ricky Rubio did not play, so Royce O’Neale got the start, which essentially made Mitchell the defacto point guard. I always love sliding into the DMs. After a slow start to the season, Mitchell is playing at the top 50 level he ended last season at.
Kyle Korver
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6/10 | 8/15 | 0 |
Played 22 minutes. Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecolas! Korver will pop off like this from time to time, but he’s been too inconsistent from a playing and production standpoint to trust for fantasy.
Nikola Jokic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0/1 | 5/15 | 6/7 |
Didn’t mess around. What a Jokic! I kid, which is appropriate in this blurb. Y’all know my love for Jokic. Top 10 player.
Will Barton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1/2 | 7/16 | 6/6 |
Played a team-high 38 minutes. That’s back-to-back good games for Barton. Is he back? Only time will tell, but it looks like things are headed in that direction. I know a lot of people have both Gary Harris and Barton on their teams. I’m choosing Barton over Harris no doubt. His versatility allows him to get more playing time, while even if Harris does get back to full health, the backcourt is so stacked in Denver.
