Last year, Jahlil Okafor had a plan to “burn fat and significantly improve his athleticism and stamina.” He hit the weight room and implemented yoga into his regimen. The biggest change was in diet, though. He had tried being a vegan, as he heard that certain foods were inflammatory. One of the side effects, though, was that it caused the iron level to be low, which affected his cardio. He needed more protein. Now, there are no processed foods, sugars, and red meat, but instead plenty of fish and chicken. As everyone that has tried to diet can attest to, there’s what’s called “cheat days.” Well, last night, Okafor had one of those, as he feasted on Denver Nuggets to the tune of:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8/13 | 10/13 |
He looked spry and nimble, cutting to the basket and pirouetting in the lane for bucket after bucket. Granted, Nikola Jokic looked completely disinterested in playing last night, but was that due to the age old question of: Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Okafor received the start and played a whopping 34 minutes because Derrick Favors sat due to a knee injury. It sounds like Favors will return shortly, so Okafor will be relegated to the bench, but when Favors does sit, Jahlil could have another cheat day and feast.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
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Bam Adebayo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1/1 | 4/5 | 3/7 |
B. A. Debayo is officially a member of the A-Team. He’s not the ring leader, as the usage is below 20, but he fills the stat sheet and those dimes! Those beautiful, beautiful dimes! He could end up as a top 25 player for fantasy.
Jimmy Butler
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0/2 | 2/10 | 1/2 |
Such a strange line from Jimmy. I’m going to call it the Sesame Street line. There’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11. Now kids, what numbers are missing? In the spirit of Halloween, Jimmy’s line was akin to coming back home from an exhausting romp around the neighborhood to tally up the haul. We got Snickers, Skittles, Baby Ruth, M&Ms, Twizzlers, Candy Corn, a pencil, 100 Grand, 3 Musketeers, an apple…..A pencil and an apple? WTF?!
Duncan Robinson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/6 | 5/10 | 0 |
Got the start because Justise Winslow did not play due to back issues. Robinson is a 3-and-nothing-else player. Move along.
Meyers Leonard
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3/4 | 6/10 | 1/2 |
Got the start and played 25 minutes. Leonard has now played 25 minutes in back-to-back games. The points have been erratic but he’s delivered at least 8 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 blocks in both games.
Kendrick Nunn
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 28 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4/6 | 10/15 | 4/4 |
Kendrick has been straight ballin’ out, as he’s averaging 22.4 points with a 26.1 usage rate. We thought the return of Jimmy Butler would slow him down, but naw. Beep. Boop. Bop. The Stocktonator believed in Nunn, as it had him as the #11 player last night. He’s also chipping in a trifecta of tres and close to 2 steals per game. Unfortunately, there’s Nunn in the other cats. And therein lies the problem. He’s not going to shoot 51% from the field and 44% from downtown. When that efficiency comes down, there’s Nunn ya.
Tyler Herro
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/9 | 7/16 | 0 |
Played 30 minutes off the bench. Herro shot 16 free throw attempts the prior game, then went zero last night, but more than made up for it with 16 field goal attempts. It’s like fantasy three-card monty. Herro is contributing a little something something in steals and boards, but he’s primarily a tres and points player.
Goran Dragic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0/3 | 1/5 | 2/2 |
Only played 19 minutes off the bench. He had played 30, 27, 36, and 25 the prior four games. Hmmmph. I especially thought with Winslow not playing that Dragic would lead the second unit. I’m a stupid, stupid man. This is something to monitor going forward.
John Collins
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2/5 | 4/11 | 2/2 |
I guess that Trae guy is pretty good, huh? Collins did sprain his ankle, but was able to return, so nothing to jump in front of a bus over. Regardless, the improvement in stocks this season has been a pleasant development and Collins could end up as a top 25 player for fantasy.
Alex Len
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/3 | 2/5 | 0 |
This season, Len has played 24, 20, 18, 18, and 14 minutes. Not a good trend and the sunshine has been stolen for Len groupies.
Kevin Huerter
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1/5 | 3/9 | 0 |
Got the start and played 26 minutes. Only a matter of time before Huerter starts receiving 30+ minutes per game. Primarily a tres specialist, Huerter can provide some dimes as well.
Cam Reddish
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/4 | 2/11 | 4/4 |
Got the start and played 29 minutes. He’s athletic and contributes the D, but the shooting efficiency is about as good as Cam Newton’s accuracy on the football field. Reddish is currently shooting 21% from the field.
Jabari Parker
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 23 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/6 | 8/13 | 5/8 |
Played 25 minutes off the bench and is the primary offensive option on the second unit. Point and boards are what you’ll get with little else.
Deandre’ Bembry
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0/1 | 8/12 | 2/6 |
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllmost messed around. Played 28 minutes off the bench and should be a viable option for as long as Trae is out.
Nikola Jokic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0/1 | 5/6 | 3/3 |
Jokic looked like…..rhymes with pass. Just one of those games, I guess, as he just looked so uninterested. Jokic is so skilled and can mess around on any given night. At the same time, he looks like the before picture, which I both love and despise.
Michael Porter Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 5/8 | 4/6 |
Played 20 minutes off the bench in his NBA debut. With his length, MPJ is able to get his own shot off and is going to be a problem when’s completely healthy. Now, Will Barton did not play in this one, so that’s probably why he received the elevated minutes, but it looks like he’s overtaken Juancho on the depth chart.
Jrue Holiday
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5/9 | 7/17 | 0 |
Returned from injury and played 32 minutes. Should get back to his across-the-board ways soon, but will he be the first or second-round player that many expected entering the season? Inquiring minds want to know. What’s a more important question to answer? The Jrue one or the chicken or egg one?
Frank Jackson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4/6 | 8/10 | 1/2 |
Played 19 minutes off the bench. There’s en fuego, then there’s what Lt. Frank Jackson did last night.
JJ Redick
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 2/2 | 2/2 |
This is Redick! Played 17 minutes and I think it’s safe to assume that he isn’t going to be the guy we expected him to be.
LaMarcus Aldridge
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0/1 | 2/8 | 1/2 |
LMAO!!!
DeMar DeRozan
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 29 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13/21 | 3/4 |
A DeLectable performance from DeMar, but the seven turnovers were DeFlating.
Derrick White
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3/4 | 6/11 | 5/6 |
Played 25 minutes off the bench.
Dejounte Murray is still on a minutes limit and won’t play in back-to-backs, so Mr. White will get run. The question is: Will he get more and will Pop play him alongside Murray? So many questions tonight.
Kawhi Leonard
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 38 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2/4 | 15/32 | 6/6 |
Montrezl Harrell
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9/11 | 6/9 |
Montrezl was En Fuezl and Unstoppezl. He’s barely a top 100 player, though, due to the poor free throw percentage, lack of tres, and small contributions in stocks.
Lou Williams
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/4 | 5/19 | 1/2 |
Played 32 minutes off the bench and was second on the team in shot attempts. He’s the guy that leads the second unit. The shooting efficiency isn’t great, as Lou is a streaky shooter, but the usage rate hovers around 30, so he’s going to get his on most nights.
