I’ve got to admit. I was a D’Angelo Russell hater before he came to the Nets. The incident where he exposed Nick Young as a cheater by filming him, talking about it, and posting it on social media made me think he was kind of a bonehead and a snitch. I also thought he was a guy who would never meet the expectations of being the number two overall draft pick. I also, was not a fan of his game from a fantasy perspective. He turned it over too much and he had poor shooting percentages, both from the field and the line, while contributing almost nothing in the way of D stats. However, since being traded to the Nets I have changed my tune on him, especially this season. He made a huge improvement in his FTs, going from 74% last season to 81.8% this season. He also upped his assists by 1.5 while not adding too many turnovers, and upped his scoring by nearly 5 points. He has also shown the ability to absolutely take over games and last night was one of those nights. D-Loading went 6-40-1-7-2-1-4 on 14-of-31 shooting and 6-for-6 from the line. It was also his 23rd birthday, so as a Nets fan I felt compelled to give him the lede. It’s hard to believe he’s already a four-year veteran, but that’s what happens with these one-and-done guys. They also can take some time to fully download.
There was a huge slate of games last night so let’s dive on in to the daily notes!
Joe Harris– 3-19-2-4-1-1-0 on 5-of-7 shooting and 6-for-6 FTs. Shout out to my man Joey Buckets on winning the 3-point contest in a David vs. Goliath battle against Stephen Curry. He put on another stellar performance last night.
Jarrett Allen– 11-11-2-0-3-1 on 4-of-8 shooting and 3-for-6 from the line. The FTs have regressed a bit from last season, but he’s still a great source of blocks, boards, and FG%. Also, he has the best afro in the league.
Caris LeVert– 2-6-5-2-1-1-3 on 2-of-8 shooting. Started and played 30 minutes. He took a backseat to D’Angelo in this one, but it’s good to see his minutes ramping up. I’m still amazed he didn’t miss the rest of the season the way his leg looked when he injured himself.
Kemba Walker– 6-32-1-3-2-0-1 on 12-of-28 shooting and 2-for-2 FTs. He’s just an easy 2nd round pick. If you’re panicking in the second round, just go with Kemba. I don’t think he does enough to ever be a first rounder, but he’s a pretty safe top 30 bet.
Tony Parker– 21-5-5-0-1-2 on 10-of-16 shooting and 1-for-2 FTs. Played 30 minutes off the bench. TP wiped the floor with the Nets, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Damian Lillard– 1-17-6-8-1-0-1 on 5-of-10 shooting and 6-for-6 FTs. I don’t remember the last time he failed to score 20 in back-to-back games, but it was still a solid all-around performance for The Omen.
Maurice Harkless– 1-13-5-2-3-2-1 on 6-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes. He goes quiet a little too often to be ownable and he’s battled injuries all season, but he could be a nice streamer for D-stats.
Enes Kanter– 16-8-4-0-0-2 on 6-of-14 shooting and 4-of-5 FTs. Came off the bench and played 21 minutes. Kanter doesn’t need too many minutes to be productive, but he does need to actually step on the court, which he wasn’t doing with Knicks. Go scoop him up if he was dropped.
Ben Simmons– 29-7-10-0-0-4 on 11-of-17 shooting and 7-of-8 FTs. Why do I even check if he made any 3-pointers?
JJ Redick– 1-7-2-2-1-0-0 on 1-of-10 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. This was a night to forget in The Chronicles of Redick.
Tyler Johnson– 4-29-5-4-2-1-0 on 10-of-16 shooting and 5-for-6 from the line. For all the minutes he’s been getting with the Suns, this has been his first good game out of five. Maybe this is the start of something, so I could see making the add.
Kelly Oubre Jr.- 3-14-3-1-2-0-3 on 5-of-19 shooting and 1-for-2 from the line. He’s actually been a decent value pick on the year and I could see it happening again next year.
John Collins– 1-19-14-2-0-0-2 on 4-of-10 shooting and a sparkling 10-for-10 from the line. Have yourself a John Collins! Seriously though, where are the blocks?
Taurean Prince– 2-21-8-4-3-0-2 on 6-of-15 shooting and 7-of-9 FTs. This has got to be up there as one of his best games of the year. He’s another guy who disappears a little too often for my liking, but he’s not a terrible last guy on your bench.
Kent Bazemore– 5-23-5-1-2-1-1 on 9-of-19 shooting. The minutes have been up over the last three and I would definitely add him if you have someone to cut.
Jonas Valanciunas– 1-25-11-1-0-2-2 on 11-of-19 shooting and 2-for-3 FTs. I would say JV is liking his new role, but he’s now on one of the worst teams in the league coming from one of the best. Fantasy owners are liking it though, especially if he’s getting close to 30 minutes like last night.
Delon Wright– 1-15-7-3-0-1 on 6-of-14 shooting and made both FTs. Played 32 minutes off the bench. Ditto for this guy. He’s still too inconsistent to own for me though unless it’s a 14-team league.
Kevin Love– 6-32-12-0-1-1-3 on 9-of-15 shooting and 8-for-8 from the line. This was in just 26 minutes. The Cavs are probably going to limit his minutes the rest of the season as they have no need to risk an injury and they have nothing to play for.
Ante Zizic– 18-7-1-0-0-3 on 6-of-7 shooting and 6-of-7 FTs. I wouldn’t be running to add him, but I could see it. Ante up!
Thaddeus Young– 1-22-4-3-1-0-3 on 9-of-11 shooting and 3-for-3 FTs. Thad the Impaler is enjoying his best overall season as a Pacer, and he was a solid value pick if you snagged him.
Domantas Sabonis– 13-12-3-4-0-3 on 5-of-9 shooting and 3-for-7 from the line. He’s not a great free throw shooter, but he’s a walking double-double. The thought of drafting him next year is giving me a Saboner! Too graphic? Nah, I agree just right.
Bradley Beal– 3-35-3-6-2-0-2 on 12-of-22 shooting and 8-for-8 from the line. The Beal Deal has been ballin’ without the Wall blocking his way.
Tomas Satoransky– 2-12-0-3-6-0-3 on 5-of-7 shooting. The Sticky Fingers award of the night goes to Satoransky! Who would have guessed it?
Thomas Bryant– 3-23-12-4-2-3-4 on 9-of-11 shooting and 2-for-4 from the line. Came off the bench and played 31 minutes. The rainbow line out of nowhere! He hasn’t gotten over 20 minutes since February 6.
LeBron James– 3-27-7-12-4-1-4 on 11-of-17 shooting and 2-of-6 FTs. Playoff Mode LeBron has been activated. Lakers still took the L to the Anthony Davis-less Pelicans… What in the world?
Brandon Ingram– 3-29-5-3-0-0-5 on 10-of-18 shooting and 6-of-9 from the line. The FTs are a real bear and I’m just not a huge fan, but he’s a better real life player than fantasy.
Jrue Holiday– 5-27-3-7-3-0-1 on 5-of-10 shooting and 2-for-3 FTs. Jrue Grit. He’s been top 20 on the year. The FTs are his only caveat.
Kenrich Williams– 3-11-7-5-3-0-1 on 4-of-10 shooting. The Kenrich maneuver has been playing well since all the AD drama and should continue to benefit with Davis getting benched again last night.
Cheick Diallo– 18-10-0-1-2-3 on 8-for-8 shooting and 2-for-2 from the line. The perfect game! Well, it would have been if he connected on all his passes. Again, AD was out so that’s a big grain of salt.
Andre Drummond– 12-14-0-1-4-2 on 4-of-6 shooting and 5-for-5 FTs. He’s known for the big man stats, but he’s actually 11th in the league in steals. Dude gets after it on defense. The FTs will not be this good every night though.
Ish Smith– 1-22-2-9-1-0-3 on 8-of-9 shooting and 5-of-6 FTs. Haven’t heard from him in a while, but Ish be like that sometimes.
Luke Kennard– 3-17-5-1-3-0-0 on 6-of-11 shooting and 2-of-3 FTs. The Kennard Dog is really more of a streamer, but if you need 3’s I could see it in a deeper league.
Hassan Whiteside– 13-15-0-2-3-0 on 6-of-10 shooting and 1-for-2 from the line. The minutes have been up and down, but at least it’s keeping his FT volume down. Hey, you got to look at the positives.
Dion Waiters– 2-17-0-5-0-0-4 on 7-of-14 shooting and 1-of-2 from the line. His numbers are kind of like Dwyane Wade’s… 36 year old Wade. Add if you’re desperate for points.
Josh Richardson– 2-22-3-2-0-0-1 on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-for-5 from the line. Ya know, a guy gets good at scoring and he forgets about defense. I’m also talking to you John Collins!
Dwyane Wade– 15-3-4-1-1-2 on 6-of-14 shooting and 3-of-5 from the line. He’s still putting up decent enough lines if you can handle the wonky peripherals.
Kyrie Irving– 3-37-5-10-1-1-2 on 14-of-24 shooting and 6-for-6 FTs. He’s missed his fair share of games this year, but he seems healthy now and is a top 15 player when he plays.
Lauri Markkanen– 3-35-15-2-1-0-1 on 12-of-20 shooting and 8-of-9 FTs. Lauri was balling out last night and it’s a big reason the Bulls upset the Celtics. He’s been a beast on the season and has 30+ points in four of his last eight.
Robin Lopez– 17-6-4-0-0-1 on 6-of-8 shooting and 5-for-5 FTs. He’s playing the best basketball of his season (career?) in February and is definitely worth a look if he hasn’t been added yet.
Zach LaVine– 5-42-6-4-0-0-5 on 17-of-29 shooting and 3-for-3 FTs. Do it for LaVine! I wish he brought more D stats, but I’m not complaining.
Otto Porter Jr.- Left after playing only 14 minutes with a lower leg strain. Ugh. Just when things were looking up for him… At least it sounds relatively minor.
Buddy Hield– 3-34-5-4-1-1-3 on 12-of-22 shooting and 7-of-9 from the line. He’s in the midst of a breakout year. Kudos if you drafted him, he won’t come this cheap anytime soon.
Harrison Barnes– 7-3-1-0-0-0 on 3-of-12 shooting and 1-of-2 from the line. It’s hard to not consider dropping this guy, but I’m holding on by a thread.
Marvin Bagley III– 19-10-3-2-3-1 on 8-of-18 shooting and 3-of-6 FTs. He’s another punt-FTs kind of guy, but otherwise, he’s a monster off the bench. I could see him being a mid-rounder next year.
Paul George– 2-14-13-5-0-0-3 on 4-of-19 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. He’s been a scoring machine, so one off night is not gonna derail his season.
Russell Westbrook– 5-41-10-4-1-1-7 on 15-of-30 shooting and 6-of-8 from the line. The triple-double streak ended two nights ago, and I think this confirms Westbrook just does whatever he wants out there.
Taj Gibson– 20-6-1-0-0-1 on 7-of-17 shooting and 6-of-7 FTs. Taj can’t remember the last time he got 17 shots off. Karl-Anthony Towns was out again so I wouldn’t expect this once he returns.
Derrick Rose– 23-2-4-0-0-2 on 10-of-15 shooting and 3-for-3 FTs. If he can stay on the court, he’s a threat for 20 points with some assists. His minutes look to be capped at around 25 though.
Jeff Teague– 2-0-4-1-0-2 on 1-of-7 shooting. He’s had a really down year. Partly due to injuries and partly due to nights like these. Also, the reemergence of D-Rose has limited his scoring. He is averaging a career-high 8.1 assists however.
Giannis Antetokounmpo– 3-27-10-7-1-2-3 on 9-of-16 shooting and 6-for-6 from the line.
Brook Lopez– 3-19-7-1-1-4-1 on 7-of-13 shooting and 2-for-2 FTs. He also absolutely posterized Dario Saric. Brook brings you those money stats without all the fluff. He’s only averaging 12.2 points and 4.3 boards, yet he’s a top-40 player.
Khris Middleton– 4-28-7-3-0-0-1 on 10-of-18 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. His numbers are a bit down from last season which is probably due to the Bucks getting more help around him.
Nikola Mirotic– 3-17-6-1-1-2-0 on 7-of-11 shooting. Played 18 minutes off the bench. We all knew his numbers would decline in Milwaukee, but he’s obviously still a hold. Man, the Bucks could make a run in the playoffs.
Kenneth Faried– 2-20-10-2-0-0-0 on 7-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from the line. He played a lot alongside Capela, so this is a good sign if you held on to him. It’s kind of surprising that more teams didn’t give him a look.
PJ Tucker– 4-18-10-0-4-2-0 on 5-of-11 shooting and 4-for-4 FTs. It’s funny, I was listening to sports talk radio in my car before the game started and the guys were like ‘Who’s gonna beat the Warriors, PJ Tucker?’ Well who’s laughing now? He has the 7th most steals in the league.
Chris Paul– 4-23-5-17-2-0-5 on 7-of-18 shooting and 5-for-5 FTs. This was OG CP3! Finally! He could be coming around at precisely the right time.
Eric Gordon– 4-25-1-4-1-1-1 on 8-of-20 shooting and 5-for-5 FTs. EG was exemplary last night, but James Harden was out, so like a million more shot attempts were available.
DeMarcus Cousins– 1-13-14-2-3-4-6 on 4-of-12 shooting and 4-for-4 FTs. This is kind of why I wasn’t a fan of Boogie when he was going in the first round. He’s a turnover machine and shoots at kind of a low percentage for a big man, and he’s not a great FT shooter.
Dirk Nowitzki– 3-15-2-1-1-0-0 on 6-of-14 shooting. Ahh, the good ol’ days. I wish he would/could play more.
Trey Burke– 1-20-7-3-0-0-0 on 8-of-15 shooting and 3-of-4 FTs. Revenge game? He hasn’t done much since joining the Mavs, and I would expect that to continue once Doncic returns.
Ricky Rubio– 1-25-4-5-1-0-0 on 8-of-14 shooting and 8-for-10 from the line. I never know what to make of him and he’s never been on any of my teams. It’s probably because his upside is capped. This is actually his best scoring season in the NBA.
Donovan Mitchell– 2-25-8-6-0-1-2 on 8-of-14 shooting and 7-for-7 from the line. He’s been pretty disappointing on the year, but he can certainly score.
Jae Crowder– 4-22-4-1-0-1-0 on 8-of-14 shooting and 2-for-2 FTs. 20 points in back-to-back games, so he could be heating up. Scoop him up if you need 3’s.
