I don’t typically do this, but I’m going completely off-script for the open today, after we got the awful news Bill Paxton passed away in his early 60s due to complications from heart surgery. Isn’t it weird how attached we get to actors we obviously don’t know in person?! Especially more a character guy like Bill, but this one hit me hard for some reason! Who doesn’t love True Lies? Aliens? The GOOD James Cameron movies?!
And for this to happen on Oscar weekend too, just a real shame. Alas, it’s been a busy-as-hell weekend across the association plus I finally wrapped up my Pitcher Rankings over on baseball that’ll be out this afternoon or tomorrow. Weekend of writing! That’s what really pulls me through man, getting to write about sports for all you wondrous people in Razzball Nation. The game will never be over, there will always be basketball and baseball! Tackle football…? Eh, maybe not-sa-much… Here’s what went down over the busy weekend – the first after the break with a lot of fresh faces in new places – in fantasy basketball action:
Kyle Lowry – Ruh roh. After the career-year last year, now we’re hearkening back to 14-15 where a hand injury messed up his second half. Sat over the weekend with a wrist injury, but apparently the swelling has gone done and there’s no major issues. Erstwhile, Cory Joseph had 11/1/6 and 12/1/6 fill-in lines, committing only 1 TO in each game. Good to have some Cojo mojo depth!
Serge Ibaka – Raps gotta be feeling great right now! Well, except maybe Jonas Valanciunas… Ibaka got 36 then 34 minutes in his first two appearances, racking up 15/7/0/1/1 and 18/10/2/2/1 lines with 3 total treys. Doesn’t look like the change of scenery hurts at all! And helps that the Raps won both those games too… On the flip side, The Luminscent Lithuanian has the candlelight dwindling, with 18 then 22 minutes in those two games. Ouch. He at least was still 15/7/1/0/1 yesterday, but this is no bueno.
P.J. Tucker – Brings some super intangibles… 9/10/1/3/0 with no TO in his debut in 29 minutes, but only 2/1/1 yesterday in 21 minutes. Real-life impact will be felt more than a fantasy asset in most leagues.
Robert Covington – Lord Covington going mad regal! Monster lines of 25/11/3/4/0 then 20/10/2/3/2 rainbow over the weekend, hitting 7 combined treys. Benefiting from EMBIIIIIIID USG going somewhere else!
Dario Saric – With the Sixers dumping The Six Foot Turkey Ersan Ilyasova, it assures Saric a big role rest of season, also with Ben Simmons officially ruled out for the year. I was kinda harsh on Saric early in the year saying he kinda just “looked like a guy” out there, but he used it as bulletin board material, and isn’t no role player no mo’! 20/11/4/1/0 then 19/15/5 lines over the weekend, giving him at least 18/11 the past 4 games, with an average of 1.0 treys in that span. Pretty interesante. He’s like Ilyasova, but way better! Ghostface Ily is now legit a ghost, and has disappeared!
Richaun Holmes – Captain N driving his ship to Big D has opened it up for The Big H! Yeah, got nothing for a Holmes nickname… Sherlock? Nah, too easy… Unreal 12/10/1/2/5 with no TO against the Wizards on Friday, then semi-usable 8/2/0/1/2 line Friday in a game where Jahlil Okafor was actually good… But once EMBIIIIIID is back, The Big H gonna be a Flaccid H!
Marquese Chriss – Ahhhhh, the ups and downs of rebuilding! Had back-to-back 2/2 STL/BLK games going into Sunday, but only 8/1/1/1/0 in 16 minutes yesterday… It was a close game too! F You, Watson! From Sherlock to Watson these last two…
Alan Williams – …then to Big Sauce! That should be the new Sherlock Holmes movie… Sherlock Holmes 3: Big Sauce! Investigating the corrupt overlords of the Worcestershire Sauce industry! Suddenly the biggest-minute center in Phoenix, with Tyson Chandler completely cut out of the rotation. 16/3/1 in only 15 minutes Friday, then 17/15/3/3/1 last night, hitting a combined 15-22 from the field. Pour some Big Sauce on your 12er rosters!
Nikola Mirotic – Fantastic and much-needed big weekend for Miro, going 20/8/2 in 37 minutes then 14/10/1/2/0 with no TO in 29 minutes in his weekend games. Both were off the bench in favor of Bobby Portis, who hasn’t taken the Bull by the horns with the starting PF role… Definitely giving Miro an add in 12ers as well.
Cameron Payne – Got only 12 minutes in his Bulls debut, going 6/1/1. Especially frustrating since they won by 18 against a makeshift Cavs team… Hopefully he’s just working his way up with the new squad…
Jimmy Butler/Dwyane Wade – …also tough to do much when teammates almost have dueling tripdubs! Buckets actually got his for 18/10/10 Saturday, with Wade a mere board short going 20/9/10. Stupid Felicio! Thanks for pointing that out Shahed! A big comeback, OT-win Friday against the Suns and beating the Cavs (albeit without LeBron) maybe have the Bulls on the right hoof again!
Michael Beasley – So in Raleigh, there’s this baller restaurant called “Beasley’s Chicken and Waffles” and it’s the bomb. Makes me wanna nickname Michael B “Chicken n Waffles” but I’m not so sure that’ll catch on without sounding ignorant without knowing the reference… Hah, anywho, 22/6 on a red hot 10-17 Friday, then 17/3/0/2/1 on an even hotter 8-10 FG yesterday. It was even off the bench too! He’ll be starting tonight with The Duchess getting a DNP-rest, so if you can make daily moves, he should be a fun add against the Cavs.
Khris Middleton – Speaking of, The Duchess wasn’t very stately getting a little into it with Devin Booker yesterday! Unfortunately The Duchess’s return to the starting 5 wasn’t met with good fanfare either, going only 8/7/2 with 4 TO. He’s looked great in his earlier games working his way back, so no need to panic. I might even shoot some Duchess owners some buy lows.
Nerlens Noel – Solid – if not a little underwhelming – Dallas debut going 9/10/0/1/1. Got 30 minutes though, and got that kind of run off the bench. I think it’s gonna be mad fun in Big D.
Seth Curry – Big weekend for the worse/muttonchops-laden version of the Currys! 31/1/1 Friday then 13/7/8/3/0 Saturday against the Pels with 6 treys. Wiping off Deron Williams‘ USG from the perimeter seems to help (and D-Will has signed with the Cavs, but to be a backup of course, so meh), so I’m slightly warming up to the prospect of Curry being OK…
D’Angelo Russell – Finally looking better for D Barksdale, unlike how the REAL D Barksdale met his fate… 29/4/6/4/0 against OKC Friday then 18/5/3 yesterday against the Spurs in 29 minutes. Surprise! Lakers got trounced in that one…
Ivica Zubac – The Savior did some great big man-bangin’ with Steven Adams Friday, going 11/6/1/1/3, but only 2/2/0/1/1 yesterday. Annoying to see he only got 18 minutes yesterday too, in a blowout loss. Had 3 fouls, so maybe got extra pine due to the hacks.
Brandon Ingram – Ingram just has to have blowout losses to be able to play well! Dammit, it’s the Lakers though, that means he might finish HUGE! 22/2/0/0/1 with 3 TO yesterday, on 10-15 shooting. But if you read me a lot, you know I ain’t a big Ingram guy…
Taj Gibson – Made his OKC debuts over the weekend, and got 21 minutes in both appearances. 12/4/1/1/0 then 6/5/0/0/0. Ugh. Taj no maj.
Enes Kanter – It looked like it might be just too much of a glut of bigs for Enes to wave his big… well you know… in the paint again. Only 4/7/1 with 4 TO in his first game off breaking his hand, but 20/9/3/1/0 on 6-9 FG 8-10 FT yesterday against the Pelicans.
Doug McDermott – Yeah, I thought he’d play more than THIS! 19 then 23 minutes in his first games in blue/orange/white, going 8/4 then 2/5 with no treys. Ouch.
Mason Plumlee – Yeah this normalized to about how I expected it, finally! Crazy 12/12/8 game against Brooklyn Friday, but that was a 20-point win against the Mess… Finally cooled off yesterday, getting only 17 minutes of 2/3/1/1/0 and Nikola Jokic played like the crazy Jock Itch we’ve come to expect again.
Pau Gasol – Another big returning from a weird broken hand injury (did it in warmups, which is at least A LITTLE bit better than hitting a chair), going 17/11/2/0/1 then 15/7/0/1/1 over the weekend after a month off. Came off the bench both times for Dewayne Dedmon, who also had nice games (4/12/3/1/4 & 11/9/3/1/0) as wel. Maybe both can be usable for a bit, but I imagine we get more and more Pau, and Dedmon is game over, mon.
Chris Paul – CP3 back into the fold! 17/6/5/2/0 against the Spurs Friday, then typical beastly 15/9/17 against the Hornets last night with nary a TO. I’ve never liked having IL spots more than now!
Buddy Hield – A very Steph Curry weekend for his Kings debut! 16/6/1/1/0 then 15/1/2 with a total of 3 treys. Lolololol.
Skal Labissiere – With the Kings punting the season, starting to get incorporated in the rotation and is looking like a strong stash. 12/3/2/1/0 Thursday night, then 8/13/1/1/0 Saturday in only 23 minutes. It might be tough to stash him in 12ers… But any deeper, if you’re set for the playoffs, I might give him a look in that Marquese Chriss-esque mold.
Willie Cauley-Stein – After the explosion right outta the gate of the 2nd half, came crashing back to earth for 2/2/1/0/3 Saturday. That said, had no TO, got those blocks, and continues to make his FT (2-2). I think he should be somewhere in the average of his last 2.
Frank Kaminsky – Man, Frank the Tank is about to become Frank the Tank Engine! Keeps chugging along! 23/13/3/2/0 with no TO against SAC and fending off a hot WCS, then 16/5/4 last night in only 28 minutes due to fouling out. 6 combined treys on top of that too! Hornets shockingly might have made the right pick getting this College All-Star… Worked for Kemba! But failed for Adam Morrison, Sean May, Gerald Henderson, etc. etc. etc. etc…….
Dennis Schroder – Got suspended for showing up late. Mach schnell, Dennis, mach schnell! Returned Saturday and was fine for 11/5/8.
Terrence Ross – Ross can! After a very Ross-ish debut of 13/5/1/3/0, blew up Saturday for 24/4/2/2/1 with no TO and 4 treys. I guess we have to add him in 12ers, and start worrying a tad about Evan Fournier…
Aaron Gordon – Moved to PF and it be working! 9/9/2/0/2 then 18/3/3/2/0 over the weekend. I’d be sure he’s owned in your league, as his inconsistency has made him a waiver wire village bicycle. Everyone has gotten a ride.
Kyle O’Quinn – Rainbow KOQ! 9/5/5/5/2 against the Sixers Saturday in that tough win, with Willy Hernangomez still starting and playing fine. I actually think both are pretty ownable right now, while Kristaps Porzingis is on the roost with a kankle.
DeMarcus Cousins/Anthony Davis – Are absolute fantasy beasts together, too bad it hasn’t translated to real-life wins! Boogie is 27/14/5/5/4, 12/15/6/3/0 and 31/10/3 his first 3 games on the Pels, with Brow 29/9/1/2/2, 39/14/0/1/2 then 38/7/4/1/0 last night, scoring a franchise record 24 points in the first quarter yesterday. But all 3 were losses…
Jrue Holiday – Looks like the combo is only impacting Jrue, who is mad struggling to find his place around the USG-whore centers. 6/4/4 with 7 TO, 18/7/6 with 4 TO, then only 6/3/8/2/1 with 5 TO his first three games with the twin towers.
Karl-Anthony Towns – Speaking of towers, KAT is going beastmode! 37/22/3/1/1 with a trey on 16-24 shooting Saturday night, getting the full D’Antoni effect. Wolves lost this one too! 142-130! It’s like a video game! Just ask Kris Dunn feeding KAT on this sick one…
Jeremy Lin – Returned over the weekend, and didn’t play over 15 minutes each of his first two games. Sure, it was nice to see him play a back-to-back, but this is what I was worried about. 7/2/5/0/0 then 9/0/2/1/0 in those games.
Kevin Durant – Probable for tonight after missing some time with a hand bruise. Slim Reaper ain’t never really hurt!
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – I know it was more than a few days ago now, but holy hell! 33/9/3 with no TO Thursday night, with 7 treys. He pretty much LeBron-ed it, making every single shot to single-handedly bring the Pistons back into it, into OT, and win it in OT.
Followed it up with a strong 18/3/3/1/2 line with 3 treys yesterday. Full addiction!
Jusuf Nurkic – After two monster games, kinda cooled off yesterday for only 8/4/2/1/0 against the Raps. Only 21 minutes, due to 1 part foul trouble, 1 part Raps going small, and 2 of his teeth turning into multiple parts (thanks times 2, Shahed!). He’s gonna be super pissed off at PJ now! Gonna turn into The Bosnian Bear and Revenant his ass.
Maurice Harkless – I’ve been harsh on his game all year, but the minutes are back up, and it’s time to give him a medium-term look (at least until Evan Turner is back). 32+ minutes 3 of the last 4, including 38 then 36 minutes the past two games. 12/6/1/1/3 then 18/5/0/2/1 with 3 combined treys in those lines. Might be hearkening back (seond time I’ve used that today!) to his strong start!
Man, what an upset last night for Moonlight after some ridiculousness at the Oscars! Yeah, I fell asleep before it got to the end… When I see moonlight, I think bedtime! I hope everyone had a great weekend, and good luck to your squads as we hunker down for the second half!
