My wife grew up in Brooklyn, New York. More specifically, Bay Ridge. When I first met her, the neighborhood was primarily Italian. Now, it’s mainly Chinese. Everytime I head out there, I enjoy exploring, whether it be on foot, subway, or car. If I take the D train down towards Coney Island, it’s mainly Russian and Eastern European neighborhoods. If I drive a few miles north, the Orthodox Jews have laid down their roots. If I cross the bridge and enter Manhattan, Chinatown is right on the water front. But the landscape is always changing. Chinatown is now becoming hip with art gallerys and Trader Joe’s. And so it is with the basketball team in New York. Not too long ago, Kristaps Porzingis was the King of New York. Now, he’s in Dallas. But the vacuum has to be filled by someone. Welcome to Mister RobinSON’s Neighborhood.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6/9 | 5/6 |
Mitchell RobinSON didn’t come out of nowhere, as he dominated in high school and was a McDonald’s All-American, but he did not play a game of college ball because he was suspended for violating team rules. At 7′ 1″ and 240 pounds, the physical talent was never questioned, yet he was an enigma and a risk because he did not play against college competition. As a result, he fell in the draft and was selected with the 36th overall pick. We saw what he could do in the Summer League, which would have gotten Mister Rogers to shout a few expletives. During the regular season, the minutes were sparse and erratic early on. He was blocked on the depth chart and he had a penchant for fouling. Despite that, Mr. RobinSON was among the league leaders in blocks per game. Then Enes Kanter got shipped off to Portland, DeAndre Jordan got hurt, and Coach Fizdale decided to give him more run. Over the past five games, Mr. RobinSON has been a top 15 player, averaging 24.6 minutes, 10.4 points, 10 boards, 1.4 steals, and 4.4 blocks! He’s even shooting 70% from the line on 4 attempts. The past two games, Mr. RobinSON has played 30 and 33 minutes. Now, Fizdale has been doing wonky things all season with the rotations, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he holds Mr. RobinSON down. The Knicks are “Not Tryin’ for Zion” after all, so Mr. RobinSON may be too good for that campaign. There’s also unknown as to how things will shake out when Jordan returns. Regardless, welcome to Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood, as he’s an important part of the community no matter how many minutes he gets.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1/3 | 8/16 | 9/12 |
That’s how bad the Knicks defense is. They let Gordon have a great game! I kid. I just expect so much more from Gordon because he has the physical talent and skills to dominate. He just doesn’t on a consistent basis, but it’s games like this that keep me going back for more. I am in an abusive relationship, right?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4/6 | 6/12 | 0 |
Top 75 player over the past four games. It’s all about the offensive side of the ball for Isaac, as he’s a maven on D and will provide the stocks. The only thing he doesn’t do is dish out dimes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2/2 | 12/19 | 0 |
He’s entered the “yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn” tier of fantasy players. So good on a nightly basis that they are boring. We’ve become numb to their production and only get excited if they produce more and more each night. Hmmm, maybe I should rename the tier, “crack.”
D. J. Augustin
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3/6 | 5/10 | 0 |
D. J. is just one of the solid ones who knows what songs to play, transitions well, and doesn’t let the tracks skip. Top 130-ish player who will provide tres, boards, and dimes.
Evan Fournier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0/7 | 6/16 | 3/4 |
Fournier was a top 60 player last season. Now, he’s basically D. J. Augustin. The main culprit has been the drop in shooting efficiency.
Terrence Ross
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/6 | 1/10 | 0 |
There’s a reason why it’s a discount store.
The Knicks defeated the Magic, 108-103. Interestingly, no starter scored in double figures and three played fewer than 20 minutes. Shrug emoji.
Dennis Smith Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/3 | 3/10 | 2/3 |
Played 21 minutes. See, it’s Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood.
Henry Ellenson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3/6 | 5/11 | 0 |
Played 36 minutes off the bench. He was acquired from Detroit three games ago and played 4 minutes in the prior game. In Detroit, he played a total of 17 minutes all year. Ok, then.
Emmanuel Mudiay
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0/3 | 8/18 | 3/5 |
Played 32 minutes off the bench. I don’t see him overtaking DSJ on the depth chart, but he will get run when DSJ is not playing well. Tough to trust for fantasy.
Allonzo Trier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1/1 | 4/5 | 9/10 |
Played 21 minutes off the bench. He had played 28 and 30 minutes the prior two games. Iso Zo can fill up the stat sheet on any given night. The playing time is just so erratic.
The Celtics got spanked, 95-118 in Toronto. No player scored more than 17 points, while nine players received at least 20 minutes of run. NO BLURBS FOR THEM!
Marcus Morris led the team with 17 points. Al Horford scored 8 points (4-of-10), grabbed 4 boards, and dished out 5 dimes. Kyrie Irving scored 7 points (3-of-10), grabbed 4 boards, dished out 5 dimes, and stole 1. Jaylen Brown scored 10 points, grabbed 8 boards, dished out 4 dimes, and stole 4.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4/5 | 10/16 | 1/1 |
Played a team-high 30 minutes and led the Raptors in shot attempts. Top 40 player on the season and top 10 over the past four games.
P. S. – he’s really, really good.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 9/15 | 2/3 |
We know Kawhi laughs, but does Kawhi cry? His owners may be Kawhi-ing because he takes so many days off (how many sick days does he have anyways?!), but on a per-game basis, he’s top 10.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1/4 | 2/6 | 2/4 |
The usage rate is low (18-19) and the volume and efficiency from the field aren’t great, but Lowry provides tres, boards, dimes, and steals. The 9.2 dimes per game is second in the NBA. Top 40 player for fantasy.
The center minutes were divied up like this: 20 for Serge Ibaka, who got the start, and 23 for Marc Gasol. Ibaka scored 14 points and grabbed 2 boards, while Gasol scored 5 points, grabbed 5 boards, dished out 8 dimes, and blocked 1. Good for real-life, but crappy for fantasy.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3/14 | 7/24 | 8/8 |
The first game back from the All-Star break, George shot 17-of-31 from the field for 45 points. In the two game since, he’s shot 11-of-43 (25%). Only one other game did he shoot under 30% from the field. S**t happens. Over the past three games, PG has averaged 26.3 shot attempts per game and had a usage rate of 27.2. I’ve never seen that before.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2/3 | 9/12 | 1/1 |
Grant has quietly been putting up a top 60 season, averaging 13.1 points, 1.2 tres, 5.1 boards, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks. Could we have another member of the 1/1/1 club?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2/5 | 8/14 | 4/8 |
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn….
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/7 | 5/17 | 0 |
Played 32 minutes off the bench. Schroder has been getting the minutes, but only able to provide some points, tres, and dimes. The shooting efficiency has been a detriment (41% over the past few months and sub-30% the last two games. Top 200 player.
Paul Millsap
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0/1 | 4/7 | 4/6 |
Got the start and played 27 minutes. Top 20 player over the past four games. He was the lede a few nights ago, so click HERE. Do it so I can get that .0000000000000000000001.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 36 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4/7 | 11/25 | 10/13 |
I don’t care that Nikola Tesla invented all these things that benefitted society as a whole, Jokic has surpassed him on the Nikola hierarchy. I also don’t care that Jokic doesn’t block many shots or turns the ball over at a high rate. IDC IDC IDC! With that said, Jokic is top 10 on the season.
Will Barton
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/4 | 9/16 | 4/4 |
Barton had been struggling as of late, so it was good to see him put up this performance. Last season, he put up top 50 value. I don’t see that replicating, as the Nuggets play at a much slower pace and have so much depth. In addition, he’s not getting the minutes (averaged 33 minutes last season compared to 29 recently) and the D stats have been lacking.
