Two nights ago, Andre Drummond punked the Indiana Pacers worse than Dr. Dre and Snoop did Eazy-E in Dre Day. 32 points, 23 boards, 2 dimes, 3 steals, and 4 blocks! With no Blake Griffin in the lineup, it’s all about Dre. I contemplated making his performance the lede, but Kyrie’s 50-burger took precedence, so Dre Day was overshadowed. Last night, Dre was nice again, putting up a line of:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8/12 | 5/6 |
Dre is stuffing the stat sheet and shooting 13-for-16 from the free throw line so far in two games!!! Yet, he was once again overshadowed by Trae Young, as last night was Trae Day.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 38 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6/10 | 11/21 | 10/12 |
He shoots from the logo at halfcourt, breaks down defenders if they get up too close, and dishes exquisite dimes. The Hawks play at a hyper-fast pace and have a plethora of shooters surrounding Trae, so every game could be a Trae Day. Do we have to start calling him Trae Souffle? Because he cooks his opponents? How about Trae Sensei? Because he educates his defenders. Put your suggestions in the comments. Anyways, Trae isn’t going to shoot so efficiently from the field every game, and the turnovers will be high, but the points, tres, dimes, and excellent free throw percentage should be there every night. If he chips in boards, then…..
Here’s what else I saw last night:
Deandre Ayton is facing a possible 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug policy. I no longer like him Ayton. Aron Baynes should see an uptick in minutes, while Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre Jr. will see usage rate bumps. Last season, with Ayton off the floor, Booker posted a usage rae of 34.9.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/3 | 8/15 | 1/1 |
Collins dub-dubbed in half his games last season. He should improve upon that rate this season and be an excellent source of points and boards. What kept his fantasy value in check was the lack of stocks. Well, well, well. Looky what we got here. If he contributes the D, that will make all the ladies and men in Atlanta happy, and could produce a top 20 fantasy season.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0/2 | 1/5 | 2/2 |
Got the start at center and was able to chip in a little something something across the board. Unfortunately, he only played 24 minutes, Bruno Fernando got run and the Hawks played plenty of small ball. Len got some of his sunshine stolen.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 3/6 | 0 |
Played 14 minutes and could become more involved as the season progresses. Someone to keep an eye on, especially since Len has a history of injury and sucking.
Jabari Parker
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 8/11 | 1/1 |
The Andrew Wiggins of power forwards, Parker received 23 minutes of run and will provide plenty of points this season.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/5 | 0/6 | 1/2 |
Got the start and played 21 minutes. Reddish is athletic and has nice form on his J, but he’s inconsistent. All show, no go.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0/2 | 0/3 | 0 |
Played 14 minutes off the bench. Don’t worry too much about the lack of production, as he’s still recovering from an offseason knee issue. Once he gets up to full speed, Reddish will be returned to the soil.
Deandre’ Bembry
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 4/5 | 0 |
Played 24 minutes off the bench. Bembry is athletic and versatile, but he’s behind Huerter and Reddish on the depth chart.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/4 | 3/11 | 0 |
Got another start with Blake Griffin out and played 26 minutes. In two starts so far, Morris has shot 3-for-11 in both games.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/3 | 2/8 | 1/1 |
Only played 15 minutes because Jackson aggravated his back. I thought Reggie Jackson was Mr. October. We got the bootleg version.
Derrick Rose
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0/1 | 11/16 | 5/5 |
Played 25 minutes off the bench. Every Rose has its thorns, which is injury for Derrick. With Jackson injured, Rose could get more minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/9 | 3/12 | 4/4 |
Played 31 minutes. In two games, Kennard has played 28 and 31 minutes and attempted 12 and 13 shots respectively. He won’t provide much in the defensive cats, but tres with a side of boards and dimes are on the menu.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 30 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2/5 | 11/17 | 6/11 |
Damn…..
That’s the stat line of a true G. He’s making tres and messing around already. G is going to be a bigger problem for the league than he already was.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1/3 | 4/9 | 2/2 |
Played 27 minutes and provided what you drafted him for: tres and blocks. Brook told the Rockets to talk to the hand.
Eric Bledsoe
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/4 | 4/12 | 1/1 |
Got the start but only played 16 minutes. He’s still recovering from a rib injury, so I wouldn’t make too much of his performance.
Ersan Ilyasova
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1/2 | 6/8 | 0/1 |
Played 20 minutes off the bench and continued his good play from the summer. Ilyasova will likely only play around 20 minutes per game, so the shot attempts won’t be voluminous, but he will chip in boards and tres.
George Hill
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2/4 | 3/7 | 0 |
Played 31 minutes off the bench. By George, he’s not over the Hill just yet.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1/8 | 2/13 | 14/14 |
A poor shooting night for Harden and the turnovers were high, but you’re getting across the board production. Last season, Harden had a usage rate approaching 40. Last night? 28.6. I wouldn’t worry too much. He’s going to get his.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3/7 | 7/17 | 7/11 |
Russ had a usage rate of 28.1. I’m surprised at the rebound number, but I guess I’m just a stupid man. You know who’s not stupid? The Stocktonator, as it had Russ as the #2 player last night. Russ and Harden are going to be fine….until they get into the playoffs.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5/10 | 3/6 |
C & C Music Factory provided the jams you paid for: boards, blocks, and crappy free throw shooting.
Tyson Chandler
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5/6 | 0/1 |
Played 11 minutes. I didn’t even realize he was still in the league. Ignorance is bliss so you should make believe that he isn’t.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3/12 | 4/19 | 0/1 |
Was a team-worst +/- of -22. Ha! Well, you drafted him for the tres, and he attempted 12. Gordon will provide what you drafted him for. If you expected anything else, then maybe it’s time to start prepping for baseball.
NEWS FLASH……NEWS FLASH……NEWS FLASH……
The Clippers are going to be a f’ing problem for the entire league, while the Warriors will be hosts to games of patty cake. Clippers 141. Pacifists 122.
Patrick Patterson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6/10 | 7/13 | 0 |
Got the start and played 28 minutes. This is what I was envisioning for Patterson when he joined OKC, a big man who can stretch the floor and make it rain from downtown. Injuries hampered him the last few years, but he looks spry now and is getting the playing time.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4/5 | 8/9 |
In 18 minutes! Zubac got the start and he’s a walking dub-dub. He just doesn’t get consistent run.
Lou Montrezl Williams Harrell
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 18 | 3 6 | 8 3 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 0 6 | 1/3 0 | 5/11 8/9 | 11/11 2/5 |
Sweet Lou and Montrezl are the Siamese twins of the fantasy basketball world, except neither is Siamese and they aren’t conjoined physically. They work so well as a unit and when Paul George returns, Doc may just run two separate lineups; one with Kawhi and PG and the other with Lou and Montrezl.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 3/6 | 4/4 |
Played 28 minutes, but left early in the first half due to an arm/elbow contusion. He looked fine and was able to make some shots in the second half. Maybe that’s the key. Someone needs to pound his arm before the start of every game.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/1 | 1/4 | 0 |
Got the start but only played 10 minutes due to a hamstring issue. This is something that has been hampering Looney for a few weeks now.
Glen Robinson III
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/4 | 5/10 | 2/2 |
Instead of tres, I should just write III from now on. I kind of like that. Anyways, GRIII will grab some boards, but is primarily a III guy.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4/8 | 6/16 | 4/4 |
Had a blistering first quarter, then remembered that he’s D’Angelo Russell. His +/- was -35 last night!!!! I’m not too worried, though. The Clippers are that freaking good. Russell and Curry are going to get theirs because….have you looked at the Pacifists roster?
Eric Paschall
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 6/13 | 2/3 |
Played 31 minutes off the bench. With all the injuries, Paschall could see plenty of run in the short term. He’s very versatile on both offense and defense, and seems to have the trust of the coaching staff.
Marquese Chriss
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 6/6 |
Played 14 minutes. How many times y’all gonna fall for the bananna in the tailpipe?
Steph Curry
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2/11 | 8/20 | 5/5 |
The Curry was not hot last night. As mentioned ad nauseum, the Clippers are going to be a freaking problem. Their defense is so damn good. Curry is going to get his, but against good defensive teams, he’s going to struggle because who else needs to be guarded on that team.
