What’s up Razzballers? Peter Kap here for your daily recap. I’ll be handling the Wednesday night recaps this season. I’ll try to be as funny and interesting as JB, but he’s got big shoes to fill. Seriously, dude wears a size 17 or something. JB’s shoes look like Shaq’s cell phone at the 2005 All-Star Game.
It’s still in the early goings of the season, but what a difference an offseason makes. The Knicks are, um, I hate to say it, watchable. I’m not declaring them a playoff team yet, but they are at least playing better together. They’re are a few more Knicks deserving to be on your fantasy roster this year. Carmelo Anthony is finally healthy, Robin Lopez has played well, and Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant have had nice starts to their rookie seasons.
Now the Knicks are still going to Knick (For example: Melo dribbling out a shot clock violation at the end of the first half last night; Derrick Williams missing wide open dunks, etc.), but they already have road wins against the Bucks and Wizards, and were up on the Cavs at the half, before losing by 10. Hey it’s a step in the right direction.
Carmelo Anthony – He had a double-double last night, leading the Knicks with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 threes. The field goal percentage will continue to get better. He won’t be shooting 30 something percent all season.
Kristaps Porzingis – I’m not going to lie, Porzingis has been better than I what I was expecting so far this season. He shot the ball well (6-11 from the field) and scored the second most points for the Knicks (13). He’ll just continue to get better and better. Buy low if you can.
Mo Williams – What do Pharrell Williams and Mo Williams have in common? They haven’t aged. They look like the same person from years ago. That’s good news for fantasy owners because Williams lit the scoreboard up with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was only 2-7 from the 3-point line, but there will be more and more nights like this while J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are out.
Lebron James – It seems redundant to even mention James, but he contributed across the board (23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block) even in an ugly game.
Evan Fournier – The magical season (see what I did there?) continues for the Frenchman. Fournier filled up the stat sheet yet again (29 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 threes) and should be picked up in all leagues. He played 46 minutes in the overtime loss, but is still available in 48% of Yahoo! leagues as of Wednesday night.
Victor Oladipo –Night in, night out, Oladipo delivers across the board: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Aaron Gordon – Gordon exploded off the bench for 19 points and 8 rebounds. Nice rebound after only playing 4 minutes in the Magic’s previous game.
Marcus Thornton – What Fournier has done for the Magic, Thornton has been doing for the Rockets. I don’t think he’s quite as good, but it’s clear that he’s going to play for the Rockets and be a solid contributor in points, steals, and threes. He finished with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 threes.
Dwight Howard – Nice shooting and double-double (23/14, 10-10 from the field) for Howard, but where were the blocks? He had 0, but that should be a rare occurrence.
Trevor Ariza – Or should I say Trevor A-Three-za? Sorry I’m reminiscing of his Wizards’ days where I would yell that at the Verizon Center. 4-7 from downtown to go along with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Not too shabby.
James Harden – 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Those numbers make it look like a great game, but he shot 6-22 from the field, including 2-11 from downtown, to go along with 7 turnovers. Thankfully he gets to the line so much (14-17), that he’ll still contribute on poor shooting nights.
Isaiah Thomas – What a pickup by Danny Ainge! He’s off to a blistering start and continued the strong play with 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 3PTFGM.
Avery Bradley – Bradley’s been dealing with a finger/hand injury, leading to a questionable status on Wednesday. He not only played, but played well: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 threes. He won’t get the traditional assists like most point guards, but should be a good source of points, threes, and steals throughout the season.
Paul George – What broken leg? Paul George is back like he never got hurt. 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 threes. Just another day at the office for PG.
Lavoy Allen – With Ian Mahinmi out, Frank Vogel went with Lavoy Allen in the starting lineup. I don’t think he’ll get enough minutes to contribute regularly, but he cleaned up the glass with 11 rebounds.
Bradley Beal – If you haven’t watched Beal’s game winner, watch it now! It even comes with Steve Buckhantz’ patented, “Dagger” call! The scoring has been there so far this season, but Beal contributed in other areas, finishing with a 25/5/4/3 line with 3 3PTFGM, while shooting 11-22 from the field.
John Wall – There was a point early in the game where Wall had more assists (6) than the Spurs had points (4). He finished with 17 points, 13 dimes, and 4 steals. The shooting and turnovers will continue to be a problem, but the Wizards’ increased pace should have Wall competing for the league lead in assists.
Brook Lopez – I like calling him Broke Lopez, but there’s been nothing broke about his game so far this season. The Hawks couldn’t handle Lopez, as he led the Nets with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Thaddeus Young – Never the sexiest name, but a solid contributor nonetheless. 14 points and 10 rebounds for the winless Nets, but we don’t care about wins in fantasy.
Dennis Schroder – The Hawks will go with the hot hand on their team-oriented lineup. One night it might be Kent Bazemore, Shelvin Mack, or Dennis Schroder who goes off. Last night it happened to be Schroder (20 points, 4 assists, and 3 threes). I’m not investing too much, but he bounced back after two poorer games.
Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor – Boy do these big men play well together. They really only contributed in points and rebounds, but Noel (17/12) and Okafor (21/6) are making the 76ers front office look like they actually know a thing or two about drafting.
Greg Monroe – He’s looking like a great pickup for the Bucks, contributing another across the board line: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – The Greek Freak. I wish I had as cool of a nickname. Granted I’m not 6’11,” 20 years old, or playing in the NBA. Oh well. 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 three for the slender forward.
Jonas Valacinuas – My name is Jonas and I get double-doubles every night. 17 and 11 for the big man in the Raptors’ win over the Thunder. Don’t look now, but the Raptors are undefeated.
DeMar DeRozan – I’m not the biggest DeRozan fan since he doesn’t make a lot of threes, but you can’t complain about a 28/5/3/2 line.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant – It’s rare to see two teammates routinely put up top 10 numbers. 22 points and 16 assists for Westbrook and 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks for Durant. Let’s just hope they can stay healthy this season.
Enes Kanter – He hasn’t been getting a lot of minutes to start the season, but has been a near double-double every night. 15 points and 6 rebounds for the big man off the bench. He even hit a three!
Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli – The Kings’ game was a blowout, but Koufos (16/7) and Belinelli (15/2/3) have consistently seen about 20 minutes a game off the bench. For deeper leagues, they’re definitely guys to watch.
Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe – It’s always nice to see your starting point guards get 15 combined assists. Both guys played great together (19 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds for Bledsoe and 17 points and 7 assists for Knight) and should continue to do so.
Damian Lillard – Depending on the Trail Blazers’ final record, Lillard could be a darkhorse for MVP honor. His numbers continue to be superb: 35 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 threes, while shooting 14-26 from the field.
C.J. McCollum – The Suns and Wizards aren’t the only teams with a great backcourt. McCollum is off to a great start alongside Lillard, totaling 27 points, 4 assists, and 3 threes.
Mason Plumlee – Plumlee exploded for 12 points and 16 rebounds in 35 minutes on Wednesday. It’s his first double-digit rebound game of the season, but there should be more of those games coming soon.
