The first Friday of the NBA season featured 10 games. Every team played just their second game of the season, so nothing is set in stone just yet. Let’s dive into Friday’s games, which featured some massive fantasy performances.
New York Knicks at Orlando Magic
Friday night started in Orlando, where The Magic suffered a blowout loss to the Knicks in their home opener, losing 121 to 96. The Knicks were led by All-Star Julius Randle, who had a final stat line of 23 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Randle looks poised to lead the Knicks to another winning season while still posting elite fantasy numbers. Evan Fournier has been their second option through two games, which have come against each of his former teams, posting 18 points tonight in 27 minutes after scoring 31 points in their first game. Randle should continue to be the first option on the team, but it appears that Evan Fournier could match the scoring of Randle this year based on the first two games.
The Orlando Magic had every starter scored in double digits last night, led by rookie Franz Wagner, who scored 16 points. Mo Bamba added 15 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in the blowout loss. Although the Magic have been blown out twice in two games, they seem committed to playing their young starters heavy minutes during their rebuild. Bamba is the most intriguing fantasy option on the team as an all-around contributor in the frontcourt. Rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner should see roughly 30 mins a night moving forward, and both should continue to improve as fantasy options as the year goes on.
Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers
The Hornets welcomed back Terry Rozier last night in a 123-122 win over the Cavaliers. The return of Rozier to the starting lineup moved Kelly Oubre Jr. to the second unit, where he thrived tonight with 25 points in 27 minutes. Miles Bridges was the best player for the Hornets tonight, scoring 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a game-high 35 minutes. With so many talented players on the Hornets’ roster, it may be difficult to consistently put up scoring numbers like tonight.
The Cleveland Cavaliers opted to go with their oversized starting lineup for the second game of the season. Darius Garland was ruled out for Friday, so veteran Ricky Rubio entered the starting rotation. After a strong performance off the bench in game one, Rubio followed it up with another double-double. With 10 assists in back-to-back games, Rubio appears to have a significant role in the offense moving forward regardless of if he starts or not. Collin Sexton added 33 points in 35 minutes tonight. The Cavs only gave eight players significant minutes tonight with Garland out. This is something that is worth keeping an eye on in future games without one of the Cavs’ starters.
Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards
On a night without All-Star Bradley Beal, the Wizards beat the Pacers 135-134 in overtime. Kyle Kuzma stepped up again tonight with his second straight double-double to start the season. He was not alone tonight, as new acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie provided 34 points and nine assists in the overtime win. Kuzma has been the biggest surprise through two games with hopes to continue to provide fantasy managers with some surprising rebounding numbers.
The Indiana Pacers lost their second game of the year, but the loss can not overshadow a career night from Myles Turner, who posted a career-high 40 points to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Fantasy managers expected strong rebounding and block numbers, but the scoring tonight is a bit of an outlier so temper your expectations with Turner and his scoring moving forward.
Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers
Two high-powered offenses squared off last night in Philly, with each of these teams missing a key player. Kevin Durant stepped up posting a massive triple-double in a 114-109 win over the Sixers. Durant finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists, leading the Nets in all three categories. Durant looks primed for a huge season, but there will still be nights where he takes a backseat to fellow superstar teammate James Harden. The biggest surprise for the Nets tonight was the 23 points from LaMarcus Aldridge after he had a rough first game against the Bucks. It may be tough to predict the production outside of Durant and Harden moving forward.
The Sixers have split their first two games without Ben Simmons and tonight was a game they were winning until the final minute. Joel Embiid has led them through two games, but it is pretty clear that he is not 100%. He should continue to play but his injuries are something to keep an eye on. Embiid posted a modest stat line of 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, which is not bad but fantasy managers are used to more from the three-time All-Star. Tobias Harris and Seth Curry each added 23 points in tonight’s loss. Like the Nets, it may be tougher to predict who is going to provide offensively outside of Embiid and Harris.
Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics
The Toronto Raptors beat the Celtics 115-83 on Friday night after each team suffered a loss in their opening game. The Raptors were led by their 4th overall pick, Scottie Barnes, who posted 25 points and 13 rebounds. Barnes was also tasked with guarding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown tonight, a difficult job for any player. Barnes, along with the help of his teammates, stepped up and held the superstar combo of Tatum and Brown to just 27 points combined. The Raptors received very solid performances from Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. The Raptors should continue to give these young players heavy minutes, especially until Pascal Siakam returns from injury.
The Celtics did nothing but struggle tonight, failing to have a player eclipse 20 points. This game should not reflect the Celtics’ season, but it did show that the Celtics will need some guys to step up if Tatum and Brown ever struggle like this again. On the bright side, the Celtics added Al Horford into the lineup and he posted a double-double in his first game back from Covid-19. The addition of Horford does hurt Robert Williams III a bit, but they shouldn’t take minutes away from each other as they started together tonight.
New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls beat the Pelicans 128-112 in a game where they looked more comfortable than in their close win against the Pistons. Lonzo Ball made his first start against his former team and he did not disappoint, posting his 8th career triple-double. DeMar DeRozan, who was also added in the offseason with Ball, posted 26 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Zach LaVine also added a game-high 32 points in the win. This is a team stacked with talent, so most of the fantasy production will come from Ball, Lavine, DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. Although Lonzo Ball was the top producer tonight, it is likely to change most nights depending on the matchup.
The Pelicans are still trying to find their footing without Zion Williamson, who is out to start the season with a foot injury. They were also without Josh Hart tonight, which forced rookie Herbert Jones into the starting lineup. Brandon Ingram continues to be the main producer for the Pelicans while Zion is out, posting 26 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Ingram has been an excellent all-around producer through two games and appears to be ready to make another leap fantasy-wise. Devonte’ Graham added 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists in tonight’s game. Graham has now posted five and six assists to start the season and should continue to handle the ball alongside Ingram for the near future.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets faced the Thunder on Friday, winning 124-91 in blowout fashion. Christian Wood continues to get better year after year, posting a 29-point, 14-rebound double-double in 33 minutes tonight. Even with all the young talent, Wood looks set to lead the Rockets this year along with Kevin Porter Jr., who posted 20 points and nine assists after struggling in game one. The Rockets are definitely a team to keep an eye on as they have many intriguing young players who should see more playing time as the season goes on.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the youngest team in the league and they showed that tonight getting blown out by a subpar Rockets team. Shai Gilgoreous-Alexander posted 13 points tonight tied for the team-high with veteran Derrick Favors. Poor shooting combined with a blowout hurt the entire Thunder team fantasy-wise, so better days could be ahead. Like the Rockets, Oklahoma City has a lot of young talent that should see plenty of playing time as the year continues.
San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets
The league’s reigning MVP played on Friday and did not disappoint. Nikola Jokic posted 32 points to go along with 16 rebounds and seven assists in a 102-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Outside of Jokic, only three players on the Nuggets scored 10 or more points. Jokic will likely need to continue to put up massive stat-lines just to keep the Nuggets in contention. Michaell Porter Jr. only scored seven points tonight on 3-10 shooting but the Nuggets will need him to play better if they want to stay in contention in the western conference.
The Spurs were led by Keldon Johnson and his 27-point performance on Friday night. The Spurs’ offense looks really well-rounded through two games as they have had four scorers in double figures on Friday and seven in their opener. The Spurs should continue to be a well-rounded team offensively with Dejounte Murray as the main ball-handler with 8.5 assists per game through two contests.
Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings
The Utah Jazz walked away with their second win of the year, defeating the Kings 110-101. Rudy Gobert had a huge game on the boards, posting 20 rebounds to go along with his 17 points. Donovan Mitchell had 27 points tonight as the game’s leading scorer. Mitchell and Gobert will be the top fantasy guys on this team almost every night so expect more games like this for the All-Star duo.
The Kings stuck with the Jazz for the bulk of the game but couldn’t pull off the upset tonight. Harrison Barnes, for the second-straight game, had a great scoring night. Barnes finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds were a career-high for Barnes, who is having an excellent start to the season. De’Aaron Fox should continue to be the main guy for Sacramento, but Barnes has shown that he can be a great fantasy producer. The rebounds should come down next game, but Barnes should continue to produce regardless.
Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers
In the rematch of last year’s first-round playoff matchup, the Suns won yet another matchup against the Lakers. The Suns had three players score 20 or more points tonight, including Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Mikal Bridges. Chris Paul led the way with 23 points and 14 assists. Deandre Ayton was two points shy of a double-double, posting a stat-line of eight points and 15 rebounds. The Suns have shown no signs of slowing down as they look for another NBA finals run.
The Lakers fell to 0-2 on the season on Friday after another close game with a difficult Western Conference opponent. They were led by LeBron James and his 25 points, but James struggles at times tonight, with five turnovers and some foul trouble. Anthony Davis posted his second double-double of the season and will look to continue to dominate as one of the best big men in the league. Russell Westbrook broke out of his preseason struggles and was just one assist away from a triple-double on Friday. This is extremely encouraging for fantasy managers as Westbrook looked uncomfortable in the preseason, but it appears he could start posting the numbers we are used to.
