Julius Caesar was a brilliant tactician and politician, who expanded the Roman Empire. He got greedy, though, when he declared himself dictator. As a result, members of the Roman Senate conspired and stabbed him in the back, both literally and figuratively. Julius Randle is a no-nonsense player who bullies defenders down low. Bull in a china shop is an apt description, especially since he’s 6′ 9″ and 250 pounds. After he spent the first four years of his career in Los Angeles, he took his talents to New Orleans and didn’t mess around. He was the same bull that he had been with the Lakers. Last night, though….
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 9/13 | 3/3 |
….Julius did mess around, notching his sixth career triple-dub. In only 25 minutes! There’s been nothing but love for Julius in New Orleans, as he provides the team with a physical presence down low, who can also be a playmaker for the third-fastest team in the NBA for offensive pace. Ain’t nobody stabbing this Julius in the back. From a fantasy perspective, though, don’t go slicing and dicing your team to acquire his services. He’s a fine player, as he’s currently the 87th player according to Basketball Monster. The issues are the limited minutes, lack of threeecolas, low assists, and miniscule defensive contributions. Hopefully no one comes and stabs me in the back now.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
The Jazz got spanked 94-121, so minutes and production were off beat last night. Usually, that calls for NO BLURBS FOR YOU!!! But….
Ricky Rubio
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 28 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5/6 | 10/13 | 3/4 |
Back-to-back games with at least 20 points, 3 steals, and 13 shot attempts. Over the past four games, Rubio has been a top 50 player for fantasy. Don’t sweat it. There will probably be another buy-low opportunity.
Bojan Bogdanovic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3/4 | 9/14 | 0 |
BoBo ain’t no bobo, as he led the Pacers in scoring last night. Over the last six games, he’s been the 26th player according to Basketball Monster. He’s more like a top 100 player, though, who provides threeecolas, boards, and steals.
Myles Turner
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1/3 | 5/12 | 1/2 |
It’s happening!!! I hope. Please. Pretty please. I don’t want to walk 500 Myles.
Tyreke Evans
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2/5 | 3/12 | 0 |
Got the start for Victor Oladipo and played 27 minutes. P. U. He Reke’d up the joint.
Domantas Sabonis
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2/2 | 7/9 | 3/6 |
Aaaaaalllmmmooossst messed around. Knock knock. Arvydas, I know that’s you in there.
Aaron Holiday
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/4 | 7/10 | 3/5 |
Played 21 minutes. ‘Twas a blowout, but he did play 15 minutes the prior game. Very, very interesting. He looks good out there and we know all the Holidays be working every night.
Mikal Bridges
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3/5 | 5/7 | 0 |
Got the start and played 23 minutes. I thought that when Trevor Ariza returned, Bridges would return to the bench, but no, the Suns played him alongside Ariza and Devin Booker. That should show you what the organization thinks about the kid. He’s not a high usage player, but can contribute across the entire stat sheet.
Devin Booker
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 37 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6/15 | 13/28 | 5/7 |
Got the start at point guard and played 36 minutes. Booker averaged 4.7 assists last season. He’s dishing out more than 7 a game this year. Muy caliente.
Joel Embiid
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 33 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0/5 | 12/23 | 9/12 |
The line to sex Embiid gets longer and longer after each game.
Ben Simmons
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9/13 | 1/6 |
You know those videos that show the hostage giving hidden messages to their audience? No? I watch too many B movies. Anyways, I see a call for help in the above stat line. See it?
Jimmy Butler
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4/9 | 8/8 |
Did I get it all wrong? Maybe Butler is the Bosh in Philly. It would make sense because a butler is not the boss of the house.
Mike Muscala
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 4/6 | 9/11 |
Played 23 minutes.
Wilson Chandler
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 1/4 | 0 |
Got the start and played 31 minutes.
Wilson Muscala would make for a helluva player. As it is, they will probably neuter each other’s value.
Markelle Fultz
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 0 |
Played seven minutes. Jimmer Fredette is averaging 37.9 points in China. What would Fultz average?
LaMarcus Aldridge
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2/11 | 3/4 |
I knew last game was too good to be true. Who’s laughing now? Aldridge is the 109th player according to Basketball Monster. LMAO!
Dante Cunningham
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5/5 | 7/7 | 0 |
Never again doubt the expressions of a blind squirrel finding a nut and a broken clock being right twice a day.
DeMar DeRozan
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7/19 | 7/7 |
Has come down a touch from his top 20 production to start the season, as he’s been more like a top 60 player the last few weeks, but the floor has been high all year long.
Bryn Forbes
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5/6 | 7/8 | 1/2 |
Continues to start and shoot and shoot and shoot. Forbes is averaging about 11 shot attempts per game, but he’s not making any fantasy owners rich because he does not contribute much in any other category.
Anthony Davis
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0/1 | 13/22 | 3/3 |
Did he get hurt or something because this is about three quarters worth of production. Like I wrote in the preseason, he moon walks over and around the competition.
Jrue Holiday
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2/4 | 8/13 | 3/5 |
Just another Holiday doing work.
E’Twaun Moore
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2/3 | 11/16 | 0 |
Over the past five games, Moore has averaged 34 minutes, 22.2 points, 2.2 threeecolas, and 16 shot attempts per game. Moore please! Now, regression is obviously going to happen but he does play in one of the most fantasy-friendly environments and will get tons of open looks.
Juan Hernangomez
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/5 | 2/10 | 1/1 |
The two prior games before last night, Juancho had provided 20/11 and 25/9. He’s a great shooter, but even the Great Juancho has an off night from time to time. He’s starting, getting the minutes, and receiving the shot attempts. It’s nice that he’s provided 7, 11, 9, and 9 rebounds the past four games. A Hernangomez has been freed this year. It just wasn’t Willy. I guess the censors wouldn’t allow that to happen. Anyways, when Will Barton returns, Juancho could be negatively affected, but let’s deal with that when it happens.
Jamal Murray
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2/5 | 7/14 | 1/2 |
Murray has been a disappointing fantasy player so far, but the ceiling and potential are there. He’s getting the minutes and the usage rate is high. I believe.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0/6 | 13/25 | 3/6 |
Does anyone have a conception of what his ceiling is? Just trying to comprehend it is making my brain hurt.
Eric Bledsoe
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3/4 | 8/10 | 4/9 |
The points and steals have picked up after starting the season slow in both of those categories. The free throw percentage has been under 60% the last few weeks, though. Yuck. I’m not too worried about it, as Bledsoe should be a top 40 player for fantasy.
Harrison Barnes
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/7 | 3/14 | 3/4 |
What’s more impressive? Harrison Barnes earning $25 million a year or Barnes & Nobles still having physical locations?
Luke Doncic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3/9 | 6/20 | 0 |
Oh Luka, you’re so fine. You’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Luka. Hey Luka.
Oh Luka, you’re so fine. You’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Luka. Hey Luka.
Oh Luka, you’re so fine. You’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Luka. Hey Luka.
Oh Luka, you’re so fine. You’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Luka. Hey Luka.
With that said, from a fantasy perspective, the lack of D stats and high turnover rate makes him the 105th player according to Basketball Monster.
I still love you, Luka.
DeAndre Jordan
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6/12 | 5/6 |
First 20 rebound game of the season and 10th double-dub, which places him 8th in all of basketball. He’s still shooting 81% from the free throw line! Remember what happened to Bitcoin when it approached $20,000? Or when the NASDAQ hit 5,132.52?
Jalen Brunson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 3/9 | 2/2 |
Played 25 minutes, most likely because JJ Barea was unable to suit up due to an abductor strain. Brunson is a two-time NCAA Champ and was the Player of the Year in 2018. He is 6′ 3″ and 190 pounds. Someone to keep an eye if injuries strike the Dallas backcourt.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0/3 | 6/13 | 1/1 |
Continues to start and played 36 minutes. Stat sheet stuffer for the Grit and Grind Grizzlies.
Marc Gasol
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0/5 | 6/16 | 5/6 |
Top 20 player for fantasy and will be the newest member of the 1/1/1 club. Marc my words.
Mike Conley
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 28 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7/11 | 10/18 | 1/2 |
Mike & Marc ARE Grit & Grind.
Garrett Temple
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 3/3 | 4/4 |
Played 33 minutes. A perfect line. Maybe this Temple is holy after all.
JaMychal Green
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2/4 | 5/8 | 0 |
An impressive line considering he only played 15 minutes. Not someone you can count on for fantasy.
Shelvin Mack
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/3 | 0 |
Only played 18 minutes. So wack!
Russell Westbrook
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4/10 | 12/25 | 1/2 |
Returned from injury and played 37 minutes. Russell-mania!
Hamidou Diallo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 7/7 | 2/2 |
Got the start because Terrance Ferguson was out and played 22 minutes. Deuces were wild and another perfect shooting performance. Hamidou. Don’t mind if I do.
Dennis Schroder
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0/6 | 3/17 | 0 |
Played 29 minutes. With Westbrook back, that pushes Dennis to be a menace with the second unit, which actually isn’t a bad thing for fantasy. As long as he gets the minutes, going up against second units could be profitable. We shall see how everything pans out.
Willie Cauley-Stein
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4/14 | 1/2 |
WCS has 8 blocks in 16 games. Who does he think he is? Lake Griffin?
De’Aaron Fox
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0/3 | 1/10 | 4/6 |
Such a strange night, as there were a couple of perfect shooting performances and….there was this by Fox. With that said, he assisted in the Kings 117-113 victory over the Thunder. Crazy!
Iman Shumpert
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4/11 | 9/18 | 1/1 |
Played 30 minutes. Shumpert is a true 3 & D player. It’s tough to rely on him, though, as the minutes and shot attempts fluctuate.
Buddy Hield
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5/10 | 9/18 | 2/2 |
Played a team-high 35 minutes. My Buddy is a top 60 player for fantasy.
Marvin Bagley III
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0/1 | 6/11 | 3/6 |
Played 26 minutes, while Nemaja Bjelica played 23 minutes. More importantly, though, is that the narrative seems to have shifted. Prior to last night, Bagley would see signficant run only in blowouts.
Bogdan Bogdanovic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4/9 | 6/13 | 0 |
Played 25 minutes. Love me some BogBog, but there is uncertainty as to how the Kings will continue to bring him back into the mix.
Tobias Harris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4/8 | 8/15 | 4/4 |
He’s shooting 51% from the field and has a 1.9 turnover rate. The only blemish is the lack of D stats, but even so, Harris is the 26th player according to Basketball Monster. Beep. Beep. Beep. Please get out of the way of the Brinks truck backing up.
Montrezl Harrell
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5/10 | 15/18 |
Played 32 minutes. Has to be Sixth Man of the Year right? Over the past six games, Harrell is averaging 20.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2 blocks while shooting 69% from the field and 71% from the line. He’s been the 14th player for fantasy over that span. He’s the 35th player for the season!!!
Mike Scott
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6/12 | 6/14 | 0 |
Great Scott!!! Got most of his run because Danilo Gallinari was out due to illness. Nothing to see here, unless you bought a DeLorean on Craigslist and go 88 mph.
Alex Len
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1/1 | 5/9 | 1/1 |
Lensanity!! Played 24 minutes after receiving 20 and 13 the prior two games. I’ve never been a Len fan, so there’s obvious bias, but with John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon healthy, the minutes should be tough to come by.
Trae Young
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 25 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1/5 | 8/22 | 8/9 |
“Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?” Ha! What a perfect song for Trae.
John Collins
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 7/10 | 2/2 |
Played 21 minutes after playing 12 in his season debut. I can’t wait until he’s fully back up to speed, for both Collins and the Hawks offense. He’s going to help out tremendously.
Dewayne Dedmon
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1/4 | 5/13 | 2/2 |
Played 24 minutes. Won’t get a plate of minutes, but Dedmon will provide boards, blocks, and some threeecolas.
Cedi Osman
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 3/8 | 3/5 |
Played 30 minutes. It’s so Osman that Cedi is back in the starting lineup to tank percentages.
Ante Zizic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5/7 | 2/2 |
Played 18 minutes. I mean, why not? Play Zizic for Zion.
Jordan Clarkson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/2 | 6/11 | 3/4 |
Played 25 minutes. The usage rate is close to 30! Don’t expect many D stats, but Clarkson has been contributing a little something something in rebounds and assists.
Blake Griffin
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2/4 | 7/12 | 5/5 |
That’s an impressive line from Blake and it doesn’t matter that it was against the Cavaliers. I shall go jump into a lake now with concrete shoes.
Andre Drummond
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 10/19 | 3/3 |
Ho hum Drummond. Just another double-dub. Dre has 12 in 14 games. Joel Embiid leads the league with 17 in 19 games.
Reggie Bullock
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4/7 | 6/9 | 5/6 |
When the shots go in, Bullock is a viable fantasy asset. When they don’t, he’s not. Good thing you came here for that hard-hitting analysis.
Langston Galloway
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/10 | 2/11 | 0 |
Played 29 minutes and is averaging almost 27 for the month of November. Please scroll up to the Bullock blurb and replace Galloway for Bullock. You’re welcome.
Jayson Tatum
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1/4 | 8/15 | 1/4 |
A solid line. Compared with Markelle Fultz’s, Tatum is freaking Michael Jordan.
Kyrie Irving
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 27 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1/8 | 12/25 | 2/3 |
Over the past six games, Kyrie has a 32 usage rate and is the #2 player according to Basketball Monster. Holy green eggs and ham.
Gordon Hayward
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0/3 | 1/6 | 2/2 |
Played 31 minutes but came off the bench. We forget that players are human, not robots or code in a video game. It takes time to return from injury; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Kemba Walker
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 43 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7/13 | 14/25 | 8/9 |
A 40-burger after his 60-point explosion the night before. The Kemba Walker Label has been some high quality product this season, as in #5 overall player. Usage rate is 32 and he’s been playing close to 40 minutes a game over the past few weeks. Kemba is leading the league in three-point attempts and is second only to Steph Curry in makes.
