Totally off the wagon! My sobriety is over. On my bender this weekend, I ate a roasted chicken off the bone for dinner, lost my voice yelling trying to talk to Germans, tried to order steak at a carnival stand, and woke up the next day hating life. Well, that was actually my time at Oktoberfest, but more or less the same thing!
We all know how much I love Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He’s probably my most talked about fantasy player since last season that hasn’t fully broken into 100%-owned fantasy relevance. And of course, after a slow start and swearing him off – with me finally admitting to my KCP obsession – he turns it back around culminating in another fantastic line against OKC for 19/3/5/1/0 shooting 6-12 FG (1-5 3PTM 6-7 FT). Did have 3 TO, but one was a very questionable charge on a nasty layup in transition. I think Kevin Durant took it – MVP call! In the finale last year, KCP went 30/6/0/2/1 on 11-19 shooting with 5 treys against OKC. Slim – how many times have I brought up that game now?! I worked Yahoo highlights on that one when my company did them last year, so harkening to the memories of that 30-burger is like reliving your ultimate drug trip. “The trees were melting into the sky!” So of course seeing him rip apart OKC once again has my teeth grinding more than a cokehead stranded in Antarctica.
KCP’s got steals in 9 of 10 games now, his TO rate is fantastic (3 was a season high yesterday – averaging 1.0 TO a game before last night), but I’m recently liking how much more he’s getting involved inside the perimeter. Through the first 15 games, 47.4% of KCP’s shots were 3s, but through the last six, 35 of his 80 shots were treys taking it down to 43.8%. And in that time his USG% (estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor) – something I don’t look at too, too often – jumped from 18% those first 15 games, to 20.3% not including yesterday. I watched a lot of last night’s game, and he was more involved in the O than any other Pistons game I’ve seen all year – and due to my addiction, it’s been a lot. While it was yet another loss, they still gave OKC a run for their money – given the Thunder studs are still shaking off some rust. So I’m back to being a KCP addict! Let’s hope this doesn’t start impacting my work and ruining my relationships… I won’t go rehab again! Here’s what else went down over the weekend in fantasy basketball:
Kevin Durant – Had a little bit of a dud against the Sixers (figures, right?!) last Friday, but was unstoppable against the Pistons for 28/4/4 on 10-19 shooting. Drafters who looked at the big picture got MVP production on the cheap! Cheap MVP! I also nominate my cousin Larry for MVP of being cheap… “Congrats on the graduation, nephew, here’s a room temperature can of PBR…” Russell Westbrook neared a tripdub and Serge Ibaka back to 13/13 with 4 blocks… Everything’s coming together!
Ed Davis – Finally saw the Byron Scott line-up changes last night, with Big Ed starting. Sure made him feel special! Special Ed! His FT stroke looks pretty special ed… 12/7/0/0/2 hitting 5-6 FG but 2-4 FT. Is this that much different than his bench role…?
Ronnie Price – The other line-up change, Price started over Jeremy Lin for 3/1/3/2/1 in a… near rainbow at the least! Lin played 20 minutes and wasn’t any better… This is quickly turning into a Mavericks-esque PG shituation. In that you want none of these guys.
Nicolas Batum – After a six game spell of 2-29 from deep (le poopoo!), finally had a multi-trey game again! 2-5 from deep last night against the Knicks. 11/5/7/1/0, no TO, and 9-21 FG the past two games. Nothing too dramatic, but it’s enough of a slow warming up to feel good with sending Batum owners buy low offers, but I’m not paying draft day price.
Jose Calderon – Ay dios mio! No lo tengo… dimos? Going for dimes in Spanglish, yeah he has none. 8 in the past three games. Droppable in even 12ers. While things might have been different had he not gotten hurt, my dismissal of the triangle offense mysteriously making his assists disappear like in the Bermuda Triangle was foolish. JB the fool!
Tyler Zeller – 8/8/1/0/1 yesterday against the Wizards, while Kelly Olynyk disappeared. “Who made him disappear?” “A bunch of Wizards!” The monster Zeller game last Friday night (24/14/2/0/1) might be a major outlier, but even his floor is very usable. Especially since Olynyk sometimes shows up to games looking like Hollow Man.
Rajon Rondo – Tripdub! 13/13/11/3/0 in the upset of the Wiz. Shot 5-17 though, and his FT% is still in the low 30%s! 14 for his last 53 from the field, good for a 5-game FG% stretch of bluuuuuckckkkckckejilifefmef3oe.
Rasual Butler – Well, I think you have to buy! The clear-cut 6th man for Washington, and after starting cold yesterday ended up heating up late for 8-17 FG (6-10 3PTM) 22/4/0/1/0 in another huge chunk of run at 30 minutes. 22:41 minutes or more in the past 6, and can come in as the backup 2 or 3. Which is especially useful when…
Bradley Beal – …absolutely kills ya! 4-18 shooting, 4 TO, and other than the 10 points and 2 treys, only logged a single block on the stat sheet. I imagine some matchups had a big FG% swing due to this one!
Nene – I sorta thought he was still out… 5/6/0/0/1 in only 16 minutes last night, after only 18 on Friday. Taking this “ease him in” seriously!
Kris Humphries – Making it easier for the Nene-easing…er. 20/4/0/1/1 Friday then 8/14/1/1/1 yesterday. This role might stick. Kinda like Ray J’s *@@***$$W^$&^((^^***** (edited for content).
Wilson Chandler – Wiiiiiiilsssssooonnn!! While he may have floated away from any of my fantasy teams this year, don’t let your only friend get away! 12-22 FG (4-12 3PTM) for 29/10/2 yesterday afternoon against the Hawks. Durant might be “Slim Reaper” but Chandler is “Gallo Reaper”! Danilo Galinari for 0/1/2/0/0 on 0-6 shooting in 14 minutes. Chandler has run away with that job, so I’m not a huge Gallo-stasher.
Luol Deng – Returned from a bruised hand. He had been clapping too hard when watching better Heat players perform while he sat on the bench. 13/5/1/1/0, but his few upside games I guess is still worth holding onto. Just not too tight, don’t bruise yourself…
Mario Chalmers – After a 6 dime and 6 steal game Friday as the starter, moved back to the bench for favor of Norris Cole, but still outplayed him yesterday for 31 to 25 minutes. A pretty typical 12/3/2/4/0 line when everyone is healthy. Chalmers owners – don’t wish for injuries, it’s bad fantasy juju!
Jon Leuer – Actually led the Grizz in scoring, playing a lot of minutes down the stretch in a semi-blowout of the Heat last night. 20/12/1/2/1 with two treys, and for deeper leagues, does enough on a game-to-game basis to warrant some consideration. And by “game-to-game” I mean when he doesn’t get DNPs like Friday night, which was really weird…
Brandan Wright – Whoa, rainbow alert! Now this was the real blowout, with the Mavs crushing the Bucks. 8/7/2/4/3 in 21 minutes, and really only gets the shout because I love rainbows! And nothing else in that game was too interesting except this awesome dunk by Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s like MJ’s Space Jam dunk!
Robert Covington – I seem to always think “Mr. Covington!” in the voice of Austin Powers saying “Mrs. Kensington!” Big weekend scoring 20+ in back-to-back games and 3+ treys in 4 straight. The biggest number to impress is the 28 minutes in three straight Sixers games, and their record in those is 2-1! I still think he’s a little fringy; I would probably own Rasual Butler over him, but he’s in the 12-team mix while hot. Good call by Slim on this one!
Kenneth Faried – Oh man… Only 18 minutes Friday night and now out with a back strain. Said he “got hit and fell” in practice, which sounds sorta like code for, “Coach Brian Shaw hates me and hit me with a bamboo stick.” How crazy is it that Covington is looking mighty tempting as a Faried replacement…
Michael Carter-Williams – He’s starting to go bonkers. How about a “way to keep me strong, JB?!” 16/7/14/3/1 Friday followed by an even better rainbow on Saturday of 20/8/15/3/2. The TO will always be there, but so will the loooooove. If ya know what I mean!
DeMarre Carroll – Nothing spectacular, but 18/6/1/0/1 Friday with four treys then yesterday posting a 11/9/1/2/0 slash… His name is so festive this time of year! A virtual must-own in 12ers.
Zach LaVine – While Mo Williams is out, LaVine is as well! 17/6/4 Friday then the monster Saturday night for 22/3/10/2/0 and a couple of treys. Ol’ Mo is, well, old, and has a back issue. Go about as well together as old people and early bird specials! Wouldn’t be surprised if they baby the grandpa back from the injury – how oxymoronic was that!
Corey Brewer – Stole the show Friday with his rainbow! Well, didn’t “really” steal it, but 15/7/6/2/3 in a near Wolves W, then when they got blown out by the Spurs Saturday, back down to 7/2/3/1/0, from 40 minutes to 24. Ebbs and flows of being a vet on a total-rebuild team!
Shabazz Muhammad – Back-to-back 20 Pt games, and now 18+ points in 4 of the last 5. Nothing much to trust given his minutes are predicated on how he plays, but he’s a youngun that will get consistently developed through the year. In 14ers or deeper, if you need scoring I could see a dice roll. But literally does nothing else but score. As in, he stops existing right after the ball is in the hoop. Like the teleporting devil dude in the X-Mens.
Tim Duncan – The tripdub fairy sprinkled some angel dust on Duncan! “Ummm, I don’t think JB knows what angel dust is…” 14/10/10 on Friday, then 13/10/5 Saturday, and has 2+ blocks in 9 straight. Imagine drafting him in a dynasty in 97… You’d still be rolling with him as a key frontcourt guy! He’s playing like a person of complete performance! A PCP!
Cory Joseph – Got the start for Tony Parker, and yes – while it was against a raw LaVine and terrible Wolves team – uber-efficient 18/4/5/1/0 shooting 7-10 FG, 4-4 FT, and nary a single TO. I like the idea of new ones every time, neogonzo mourning! CoJo no TO! CoJo is so hot, they need to call the PoPo! He’s playing a lot better than SloMo! Poor Kyle Anderson getting that nickname…
Jason Terry – Wow, so even with Patrick Beverley returning, Jason Terry goes for 39 minutes of 13/2/2/2/0 with three more treys Saturday night. But this was against the Suns that like to run and play small, so I think you can still move on with a clear conscience. PBev is back to must-ownership. Straight ballin’ for 19/6/3/1/1 and 5 treys.
Goran Dragic – So Dragic needs to get ahold of some of that TCDD and inject it into Isaiah Thomas‘ bum ankle! IT2 will recover fully! Oh no, dammit, I bad juju-ed myself! Kinda sounds like a sex thing… Anyway, Goran for 28/2/13 Friday and 13/4/6 Saturday, keeping up with good %s and low-TO… Hopefully you held onto your dragon while I held onto mine! That definitely sounded like a sex thing…
#OccupyDraymondGreen – Wooooo, what a weekend for the occupiers! 31/7/3/4/3 for a monster rainbow, on top of 7 treys and only 1 TO Saturday night. Easily one of fantasy’s top 10 games this year. With like, 8 being from Anthony Davis…
Klay Thompson – Fineeeeeeeeeeee. If I can admit I have a KCP addiction, then I can admit I was wrong to be low on Klay, but at the same time still have fun with it. He’s a useless ThrAGNOF! Drop everyone! Yeah, he’s good. Nice rainbow, buddy! 24/5/2/2/2 in that win v. the Bulls.
Pau Gasol – The forces of the Goromotaro reign supreme! 22/20/3/1/1. He’s having a pretty ridiculous year. His numbers give me vertigo.
Taj Gibson – Welcome back, Taj! That’s what everyone except Nikola Mirotic owners are thinking! 12/7/0/0/1 for Taj, did have 5 TO, but you’d imagine a little rustiness – a la Brain Scalabrine’s pube color. No minutes-Mirotic! His new nickname for now… All the way down to a brutal sub-8 on Saturday night. Yikes!
Kyle O’Quinn – After getting ejected Wednesday, got two more starts for the ailing Nikola Vucevic and was passable but not great in both. The weird thing is, only 18 minutes in both… Somebody make a joke about cranberry juice, we need the Irishman fired up! It may be too late though, Vuc should be back soon.
Derrick Favors – Talk about fired up! 21/13/1/0/5 as the blocks come in bunches! Hopefully a few more steals follow as well… There have been a few repeat questions of Favors or Al Horford, and yeah, gimme Favors. Another wrong one there with my preseason Horford love…
Rodney Hood – The ultimate ThrAGNOF! Two starts now for Alec Burks, for a combined 25/3/1/1/0 on 5 treys. It’s low-end, but it’s deep league ThrAGNOFfing! Burks is still aiming to be back soon, but this news he will need offseason shoulder surgery is mighty concerning. It’ll be sad, when Burks is back I can’t suggest to deep leaguers to get their Hood on!
DeMarcus Cousins – Yikes, could be another 7-10 days he’s out from this viral infection… I am Disturbed! But not Down with the Sickness!
Brook Lopez – Wellllllll, like the OKC blurb right at the open, everything is back to normal! BroLo is hurt. With a bad back, so he and Mo Will can play some canasta. Mason Plumlee time, baby! But before you prematurely shoot your wad on a dry run, the two games he started this year did not go well and he’s one of the worst FT shooters in the league. But there’s upside, no doubt! Just don’t want something of a mess on your hands!
Ian Mahinmi – Eeek, he’s tall and he tore his planter fascia. Probably a really big plantar fascia too… Yikes. Well, while not a big fantasy-impacting injury (out 6-8 weeks), it should get Lavoy Allen back into the mix for reserve minutes, and he had played well in stretches earlier this year. Worth a look again in the deep-deepers.
Streamers/Cheap DraftKings Picks:
Zach LaVine (11% owned) – I would be pretty surprised if Mo Will is back tonight, and in what should be a pretty open, flowing game, I think LaVine continues off the success of his past two.
Jason Thompson (3% owned) – Two straight good games filling in frontline minutes with Boogie out, and will assumedly get some matchups against the horrible defense of Enes Kanter. If you need some big man stats to start off strong this week, JT is bringin’ sexy back.
I hope everyone had a great weekend, and good luck in week 7! As always, shoot your awesome feedback/comments below and thanks for stoppin’ by!
