You’re all aware of the safety warning, “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear,” right? If not, please text me before you drive so I can stay home. Anyways, the warning is placed on the side mirrors of cars because the convexity of the mirror, while allowing one to see more area, also makes objects appear smaller. This gives the impression that an object is closer than it appears. So easy a SON can get it. Well, if you’ve been reading me all year, you know that I walked 500 Myles earlier in the season. It was a challenging endeavor, but all worth it in the end, as last night Myles Turner was able to post a career-high in…..
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1/1 | 3/11 | 3/4 |
…..blocks. He had posted 6 blocks in a game five times in his career. Now, due to my loyalty when things were tough, Myles let me ride shotgun as we drove along the coast and reminsced. As he was telling me stories of his childhood, I got freaked out when I saw Brook Lopez’s face in the mirror. It kept getting bigger and bigger, like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. I was about to pass out when Myles just turned, smirked, and said, “chill out, Son. Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.” He then calmly explained that Lopez was a distant second to him in blocks because he played seven fewer games. Myles has 159 blocks on the season in 57 games, compared to 143 in 64 games for Lopez. That breaks down to 2.79 vs 2.23. Whew. Anyways, from a fantasy perspective, the blocks are great and he provides tres from the big man position, but because he likes to hang out on the perimeter, the boards, points, and efficiency from the field are light. He also doesn’t provide dimes. With that said, over the past four games, he’s been a top 25 player primarily on the blocks alone, as he’s Myles ahead of the competition in that category.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2/7 | 9/18 | 4/6 |
Played a team-high 39 minutes. Gordon brings out the gamut of emotions from me, like a hot crazy girlfriend. The jumping-over-mascots-with-legs-perpendicular-to-the-rim dunks, handles to put defenders in the spin cycle, and ability to connect from downtown are so freaking hot. Unfortunately, there are far too many times when I hear Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in my ear yelling:
Just outside the top 100 for fantasy, as the contributions on D are minimal and the usage rate is only 22.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0/1 | 5/15 | 2/2 |
A disappointing game for Vucevic in what was a pristine matchup on paper against the Embiid-less Sixers. At least 12 is my favorite number.
Evan Fournier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5/10 | 9/21 | 2/2 |
The shooting efficiency hasn’t been pure (40% over the past seven games), but Fournier has been contributing a trifecta of tres, boards, and dimes.
Terrence Ross did not play due to a sore Achilles. Ross was closed for business last night. I’ve been waiting all season to write that.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/3 | 8/15 | 4/4 |
So silky smooth Tobias is. Why am I talking like Yoda? Anyways, he’s been a top 10 player over the past six games. Embiid has missed four of those games, yet the usage rate has barely crept up for Tobias. He’s that efficient and contributes across the board. Sayonara Jimmy Butler.
Amir Johnson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1/3 | 5/9 | 2/2 |
Got the start and played 20 minutes. Embiid, Boban Marjanovic, and Jonah Bolden were all unavailable due to injury.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6/15 | 4/5 |
Played a team-high 40 minutes. Simmons truly is a conundrum from both a real-life and fantasy perspective. He is so good, yet is so bad. The phrase, one must experience pain to appreciate and understand bliss, keeps flooding into my head when I think about Simmons. In my left hand, I am holding a piece of volcanic rock that is burning through my skin, while at the same time my right hand is lifting a donut into my mouth.
J. J. Redick
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6/9 | 8/16 | 4/4 |
J. J. has been bad recently, as he’s been shooting 30% from the field, so it was nice to see him go Redick again. Normally, he’s a top 90 player who will provide points, tres, boards, and dimes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 5/10 | 4/4 |
It’s kind of crazy how Butler went from gangster walking over everyone in Minnesota to getting neutered in Philly. He was posting top 30-ish value, but he’s barely a top 100 player now.
Mike Scott
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3/8 | 4/9 | 0 |
Played 28 minutes off the bench. The past five games, Scott has played 30, 31, 21, 32, and 28 minutes, as the Sixers have been banged up in the front court. Scott is a stretch big who will provide tres and boards, but that’s about it. When the team gets healthy, he will slide back into a reserve role and get around 15 minutes of run.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 14 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/7 | 4/14 | 5/6 |
The shooting was off the Markkanen, but Lauri has been a rebounding maniac since the end of January. In 15 games since January 27th, he’s averaged 13 boards a game and produced 8 dub-dubs over that span. The D stats are light with Markkanen, but the points, tres, boards, and percentages are lovely.
Robin Lopez
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9/18 | 2/2 |
Played 31 minutes. Ha! Top 40 player over the past seven games. HA! Points, boards, and blocks specialist who is averaging 32.9 minutes a game.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2/6 | 10/22 | 5/7 |
I was never a big LaVine fan, but he’s grown on me. I did think that he’d be Andrew Wiggins 2.0, but he’s developed his game and contributes across the board. The D stats are light, but he does give a little something something. I’m excited to see if the skills can match his athleticism.
Thaddeus Young
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/3 | 5/13 | 0 |
Played a team-high 37 minutes. Young has been somewhat of a revelation this season. We drafted him for the D stats and boards, but the increase in dimes have been eye-opening.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4/5 | 9/14 | 5/6 |
The usage rate has been in the 30 range over the past few weeks and Bojan is averaging 5 more attempts than his season average. As a result, he’s put up 31.5 points, 2.4 tres, grabbed 4.7 boards, dished out 2.3 dimes, and stolen 0.9. An impressive heater for sure, which has resulted in top 25 value over the past four games, but Bojan is more like a top 90 player, so expect some regression.
Darren Collison
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 5/6 |
Top 75 player. You’re here for the dimes, but Collison does have the ability to explode from a points perspective from time to time. In addition, he rebounds well for a guard and provides steals. I’m usually a hater when it comes to Collison, but I acknowledge that he is useful and has value.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4/7 | 1/3 |
Played 34 minutes. Since returning from injury seven games ago, the boards have been there, but the blocks and scoring have been down. The usage rate has been at 12, while that number was up in the 18 range pre-injury. Have you seen Harden’s step back move?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0/3 | 1/10 | 3/3 |
Good thing he has insurance, because the bricks were raining all over the place.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 35 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3/9 | 12/30 | 8/8 |
Nothing to get Harden excited about, yet…..the Rockets went into Toronto and defeated the Raptors, 107-95.
Gerald Green and Austin Rivers were the only players to receive more than 20 minutes of run off the bench. Green scored 18 points in 21 minutes, while Rivers scored 13 points in 25 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2/4 | 7/12 | 1/4 |
P. S. – he’s gotta be MIP, right?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/4 | 10/22 | 5/5 |
On a per-game basis, Kawhi is a top 5 monster. Unfortunately, he’s missed 19 games so far this season, with more on the way.
Serge Ibaka
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4/7 | 2/3 |
Got the start and played 30 minutes. Iblocka is alive!!! With that said, I’m thinking this was just a matchup thing, as he was better suited to play against the Rockets than Marc Gasol, who only played 18 minutes. Gasol will likely start and get the majority of minutes against teams that employ a traditional big man.
Maurice Harkless
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 9/13 | 1/2 |
His early struggles seemed to have been due to injury. Now that he’s healthy, he’s been a top 40 player, providing points, boards, and steals (over 2 per game).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0/1 | 3/8 | 0 |
Maybe he did learn a thing or two from Jokic. Anyways, Nurkic has been great this season, contributing in everything but tres, but there are still inconsistency issues.
Damian Lillard scored 24 points with 8 dimes, while C. J. McCollum produced 27 points.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 40 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6/7 | 12/18 | 10/15 |
A career-high in points! I always thought Conley dropped a few 50-burgers in his career. Hmmm. I blame the THC. Still baffled that Memphis didn’t trade him when they had the chance. Oh well. Top 50 player over the past few weeks, but there could be plenty of “rest” days on the horizon.
The front court was divied up as such:
Jonas Valanciunas got the start and played 21 minutes. He scored 17 points and grabbed 2 boards.
Ivan Rabb played 24 minutes and scored 2 points, grabbed 8 boards, dished out 4 dimes, and blocked 1.
Joakim Noah played 27 minutes and produced 9 points, 10 boards, 7 dimes, and 2 steals. Noah had played 16 and 17 minutes the prior two games. The range is from 16-30 minutes. No idea where the playing time will land on any given night.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/2 | 9/13 | 6/7 |
Played 26 minutes. Delon has the Wright stuff to fill the stat sheet, but is inconsistent and doesn’t always get the playing time.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4/14 | 8/25 | 5/7 |
Returned from a three-game absence and played 38 minutes. By George, no need to be curious about Paul’s health anymore.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5/6 | 3/9 |
The points, boards, and D stats are all there, but…..the free throw shooting. 40% on 5 attempts over the past seven games. I used to always wonder in amazement how the moai heads were moved around on Easter Island. When I think of a tribe of Steven Adams’, I wonder no more.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 38 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5/10 | 15/28 | 3/7 |
Yawn. Didn’t mess around. Is everything ok, Russ? Should I go look for a life coach?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 41 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3/5 | 15/27 | 8/10 |
ME F’IN OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That’s what I’m talking about KAT! I still don’t believe he can lead a team to the Promised Land, but I’m open to players developing and growing.
Jeff Teague
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/1 | 5/7 | 5/7 |
You’re basically rostering him for the dimes, which at over 8 a games is great. How great you ask? That’s good for 5th in the NBA.
The Celtics went into Oakland and demolished the Warriors, 128-95. What a wacky season it’s been!
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2/5 | 7/15 | 3/4 |
Kyrie has fallen back from the top 10 value he was producing earlier in the season, but he’s still been providing top 30 production. You get the points, tres, dimes, and some D stats, but the two most impressive stats are the 5 boards and only 2.6 turnovers per game.
Gordon Hayward
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 30 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4/6 | 12/16 | 2/2 |
Played 28 minutes off the bench. Some blowout run, but good to see regardless. If things remain the same, Hayward is going to be a great value next year.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/2 | 2/3 | 0 |
I finally figured out what Draymond is. He’s the Costco samples of the NBA. You get a little something something from each station. Each individual sample by itself is unrewarding, but when you combine all of them together, it makes for a hearty snack.
Kevin Durant scored 18 points, DeMarcus Cousins contributed 10 points with 9 boards and 4 dimes, and Steph Curry provided 23 points, 3 boards, 4 dimes, and 1 steal.
