In a jam-packed weekend with all sorts of big news and Anthony Davis putting up a career-high, I figured why not start as off-the-fantasy-radar as possible! Well, that’s a lie, my Steve Nash open about him being a malnourished librarian turned out to already be a commercial…
The injury gods were working overtime this weekend, as big ol’ Roy Hibbert landed funky on his ankle and left very early in the Pacers’ game Saturday. The bad news continues to floweth down the bad news river in Indianapolis. Drown your sorrows in onion rings, Pacers fans! Not gonna have any other rings any time soon. “That was mean, JB!” I’m rooting for Paul George to come back healthy next year and shock the Cavs in the playoffs, don’t you worry. But back to the issue at hand, when Howard Cosell made the call “Down goes Hibbert!” I immediately had something bubbling up inside [Mahin]me. Certainly not one of the premiere backup Cs in the NBA, but Ian Mahinmi is passable, and a solid short-term add for some early-week big man upside. Mahinmi carried the torch with the starters for an all-leagues usable 12/10/1/3/1 line in only 26 minutes, without even finishing down the stretch as the Suns went full supernova to the Pacers white/brown dwarves (I don’t wanna say one or the other, might get into trouble…). The backup Frenchy could easily go 10/10 with 2 swats in a few starts early this week. Tonight is against a gimpy Tyson Chandler who tweaked his kankle, then Wednesday against a Spurs team who have struggled to handle bigs since Tiago Splitter has been in a siesta. So while I Mahin-Me, I hope while reading this there is time to Mahin-You! Here’s what else went down over the weekend in fantasy basketball:
Jose Calderon – The savior of New York! Well, let’s hope that’s not completely true, but they’re 1-0 with him back! Who cares if that win was against the Sixers… Pretty frio 3/3/3/2/0 hitting a trey. Only the one turnover (which I believe the Spanish call empanadas) in 21 minutes. Be sure he’s not available in your leagues – it may not be flashy, but treys/some dimes/steals and low TO? Viva la Calderon!
Goran Dragic –Yikes. Looked like the corner hath been turned, but alas he was the bad Suns PG on both Friday and Saturday. Jeff Hornacek really needs to put on his own one-on-one clinic for Goran and call it How to Train Your Dragic II.
Alex Len – Don’t confused with this version of LenSanity! Because I certainly did in a comment… Coach Horny said he’s gonna run his bigs into the ground in 5 to 6 minute intervals and split the C minutes between Len and Miles Plumlee. Pretty much means you can’t own either in 12ers, and probably both in 14ers. I love tooting my own horn like Will Ferrell in a yoga class, so how about some Len-love! Only a crazy person or a glitchy computer would be crazy enough to rank Len heading into the year!
Gerald Green – Bringin’ against his old buddies! 23 Pts on on 8-15 shooting hitting 5 treys vs. the Pacers, as he continues to be one of the most volatile scorers in the NBA. Double-digits in 3 straight, with one of those the 5-5 FG game barely getting to 11 points, but it was the blowout against Philly and Horny went the the dregs of the bench. Give me consistency or give me death, Hornacek!
Tony Wroten – All those ridiculous things JB has wroten… Starting at the 2 for now, and while he’s obviously not juicing up the stats like The Early November (obscure emo reference!), still playing like a must-own guy in 12ers. That is, if you can handle the horrific FT% and TO in 9-cat. If that’s making it harder to stomach than an Alien embryo, then you can purge.
Tobias Harris – Noooooooo! Calf strain as confirmed by an MRI, but the results weren’t conclusive since they were tough to read through the never-nude’s cutoffs.
Kyle O’Quinn – Targeting a return this Wednesday, I’m guessing sometime around happy hour. The Irishman is thirsty! Even in a bench role O’Quinn would be valuable, but if there’s no T-Hair on the field then play ball!
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Gave me, the struggling, recovering addict, a brief glimpse of temptations Friday night! Had 3 steals in the first minute-and-a-half, including a steal then foul on a layup coast-to-coast attempt, hitting both the free throws. Rest of the game? 2/0/0/0/0 on 1-7 shooting. I’m firmly entrenched on the wagon!
Brandon Jennings – Tried to hitchhike his way off the bench when Stan Van played D.J. Augustin 25 minutes Friday night. Hyperextended his thumb – it’s not broken – but he’s questionable for Tuesday against his former Bucks right now… If he’s out, Augustin would be a solid stream against the deer.
Al Horford – This low rebounding is getting out of control! Only 2 boards Friday in that game against the Pistons in an otherwise decent enough outing. Better not be turning into Brook Lopez!
Lou Williams – The Lou is oh so Sweet! Redonkulous weekend going for 22 Pts & 5 treys in only 19 minutes Friday, then 36 & 2 treys Saturday in routes against the Bucks and Cavs. 15-15 FT in that Saturday game too! He’s clearly a hot waiver-wire grab, but I wouldn’t drop a big asset for him. Somehow in that Cavs game, Terrence Ross was -17 to Williams’ +37. Easy question and answer alert! Would I drop Ross for him? Yes!
Khris Middleton – Buzz’s girlfriend, woof! Yeah, Sweet Lou is an obvious grab (duh) over the Dutchess K-Middleton who had an atrocious 40 minutes worth of two starts over the weekend. To quote the timeless classic Dodgeball, “I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.”
Gorgui Dieng – Choo choo! I hope you all hopped aboard the Dieng Train! Absolutely unreal weekend with lines of 9/10/1/1/3 and 12/10/1/2/2 shooting 8-18 FG and 5-6 FT. Three straight rainbow line flirts, and if you’re reading Mr. Nikola Pekovic, be sure to take your time to get healthy!
Mo Williams – Wasn’t great against the Spurs for 15/2/4 on Friday night, but gets a little bit of a pass against the always difficult Spurs D. Turned it around for another dimebag Saturday for 11/2/12. Shot a pretty atrocious 5-16, but the dimes are there if you need em!
Andrew Wiggins – Unleash the rook! Also wasn’t great against the Spurs (14/3/1/2/0), but broke out in a huge way Saturday for 29/5/2/4/1 on 9-22 FG (2-4 3PTM 9-10 FT). All that with only one empenada. Efficient rookie!
Wahhhhhhhhh I’m Jarrett Jack! – A very solid weekend from Jack as he assumes the Shaun Livingston role in Brooklyn, putting up a 23/2/5 line Friday, and even though his streak of 5-straight double-digits games was broken Saturday, 6/6/5/1/1 against the Spurs. When asked why he was only 22% owned on Yahoo he whined, “Wahhhhhhh, but I’m Jarrett Jack!”
Andre Roberson – I wonder what kind of wing Pete Nice would name him?! Defensive wing? I got it! Pepper spray wing. “Not like, ugggghhhhh spicy!” 4/4/2/2/4 in a near-palindromic rainbow line Friday then 3 more swats last night. He’s a guy who can get those steals and blocks, and is similar to a light-scoring K.J. McDaniels or MKG. If you need some blocks upside out of position, there isn’t too many better options widely available.
Bradley Beal – Still coming off the bench, but why mess with success?! 12/5/5 and 3 steals Friday then 17/2/6 Saturday. Through three games he’s at 4.7 dimes, which would be by far a career-best. 31:30 then 34 minutes in those games, so the run is there!
Nene – His foot is a nono. Another plantar fasciitis issue, but in a different foot than the same ailment that cost him a lot of 12-13. Right now it doesn’t sound as serious, but it’s making the already-in-the-conversation-in-12ers Kris Humphries look like a strong add speculating Nene might miss a game or two. Off a 12/9/1/0/1 game Saturday, as long as Humphries can avoid Blake Griffin dunks and reality stars, should deliver.
Kevin Love – Love isn’t in Cleveland’s air! “Yeah, that’s called smog…” There’s some panic in Cleveland’s disco right now, and while his Saturday line of 23/7/1/1/0 is fine and all, only 3 treys in the last 4 games, didn’t make a single one in 2 of the last 3, and the assists – a big part of his game last year in ‘Sota – are anemic. Too many ball handlers, not enough time to gel! “Is that… Is that hairgel?!”
Jon Leuer – Luring me back in, that’s for sure! Big Friday night against the Celtics for 19/7/4/2/1 then a solid 9/5/1 with a trey last night. 18:42+ minutes his past three games, you can’t rely on him too much, but definitely taking notice in the deepers.
Anthony Davis – I won’t just gloss over it in the open! Had a “down” game Friday for 18/9/2/1/2 and shot under 50% for the first time after a streak of 8 (7-17 FG). Decided that it was an unacceptable performance and went bonkers for 43/14/0/2/1 shooting 16-23 FG and 11-12 FT. It’s just scary…
Jrue Holiday – Another 6 dimes on Friday with no TO, and finally after two games without a TO had two giveaways to 9 dimes against the Jazz Saturday. Way to be careless!
Eric Gordon – In the biggest shock of the weekend, Gordon got hurt. Having a little bit of some marital problems with his shoulder, so they got separated. Who knows when things will get amicable again…
Austin Rivers – Should get a few games starting at the two, at the very least. Or they could shift Tyreke Evans to the 2 and start some scrub like Luke Babbitt at the 3, but either way Rivers should get some big minutes. Not usable yet for 12ers, but any deeper and I’d take a look while EG is out.
Trey Burke – Well, Trey Burke finally turned back into Trey Burke over the weekend… After a 5-game stretch with a 41:6 AST:TO ratio, went 9:7 on Friday and Saturday. Womp womp. The shot fell Saturday hitting 8-12 with a couple treys for 20 Pts, but meh. I mean, you’re not dropping him or anything, but unfortunately he doesn’t look to stay hot enough to be a sell-high.
Marresse Speights – The Ace of Speights! Stayed hot for 6-9 14 Pts on Friday, but then went scalding for 28 last night on 11-18. Andrew Bogut suffered an “orbital contusion” (aka, black eye) during last night’s game, so it helped Speights get those 25 minutes of run. Festus Ezeli got 14 minutes, but this will be the Speights show should Bogut’s shiner cost him a game.
Nikola Mirotic – Gets the “are you effing kidding me?!” award from the weekend. Always great to see a guy have a career week against me in our 20-team REL… Given it’s his rookie year, but still! This past week came outta nowhere. Taj Gibson rolled his ankle and it does not sound good at all, netting Mirotic 35 minutes for a 24/11/2 line hitting four treys (it helped it was a blowout as well – run the younguns/newuns). He’ll stay a big part of the rotation even though Pau Gasol should be back, since Gibson sounds like it’ll be a while. But I don’t see Mirotic as anything different than say, a Mirza Teletovic, who had a somewhat similar line for his season’s-best game on Saturday (22/8/1 four treys).
Nicolas Batum – Returned Friday night in that blowout of the Bulls for 4-6 FG for 9/3/1/1/0 and back up to 32 minutes last night for 12/5/3/1/0. Low-end in most the stats there, but I think it’ll ramp back up. If anyone wants to hand ya a buy-low Batum, I’d eat it outta the palm of their hand!
Rodney Stuckey – This was a rough one, as he was finally getting healthy then tripped over a cameraman and tried to brace his fall and his wrist fell funky on a spectator’s foot. The sprained wrist looked bad live, and he’s technically questionable tonight, but I’d be surprised if he played – it does help it’s the non-shooting wrist. Those cameramen are like asses to ankles against the court, I evoke a Dennis Rodman kick in spirit.
Mario Chalmers – Might’ve been his best career week this past week as well… Against me… 24/5/8 Saturday night and 20/4/10/1/1 last night taking over big usage numbers left behind by Norris Cole and Dwyane Wade getting hurt. Both those guys should be back soon, but Wade with the hammy still doesn’t have a definitive timetable, so sun the Super Mario out there while he’s shrooming!
Nikola Vucevic – 33/17 that game, but still no Goromotaros this year! Actually there’s only been two 20+ board games, 23 from Vuc, and… Can you name the other without looking it up? Answer at the end of the show!
Elfird Payton – Hmmm, maybe still a useful part of this team… A surprising 16/2/5 Friday night then 9/3/4/5/0 line Saturday, and Luke Ridnour might have gotten an even more surprising DNP after playing fewer minutes than Payton the previous two. Ridnour is obviously a schlub, but right now seems out of the rotation as Vaughn grooms his Swingers. However, Payton still needs a run of 20+ minute games to be in the fantasy conversation again for 12ers.
Robert Covington – Everyone’s D-League darling got hot against the Knicks Saturday night, for 4-6 FG (4-4 3PTM 2-2 FT) 14/4/0/0/0. Meh, it was the Knicks and he still hasn’t played over 17 minutes and under 15 the past 3.
Nerlens Noel – Captain N! Helm to 108! 17/12/2/1/1. Butttttt 5-10 FT and after 1-5 Friday, I can whip out my abacus (almost got in trouble saying that to a chick once) and let you know he’s 6 for his last 15 for 40%. No bueno.
Kostas Papanikolaou – Dr. Pap! Had a bit of a bagel shooting the ball for 2-11, but had a nice Dr. Pap’s-schmear across the statline for a 8/7/2/2/0 line with no TO. Dwight Howard is still having knee issues and didn’t practice yesterday, so I doubt he plays tonight giving Dr. Pap a little more opportunity for some counting stats.
Patrick Beverley – Played well Saturday for 20/5/1/2/0 hitting a monster 6 treys, but the hammy is still buggin’ him and he’s questionable tonight. If he doesn’t go, Isaiah Canaan in D will be a D to D+ fantasy stream.
Ben McLemore – As soon as it seems like the Kings start slightly giving up on him, 41 minutes for 22/9/3/1/0 hitting four treys. 41 minutes?! Actually led the Kings in PT Saturday. I’m fine picking him back up, but he’ll be maddeningly frustrating in a Gerald Green-sorta way.
Derrick Williams – Might be taking over the primary PF minutes even if he’s off the bench. 22 minutes Thursday then 30 Saturday night. Not doing too much, but deep leaguers should be thinking about scooping him up. And deep leaguers as in 16 or more that have no remorse for one-night stands.
Anthony Bennett – Looks better than the early Cavs games, that’s for sure! 20/3/1/3/0 against the Spurs Friday then 10/6/2/1/2 in a near-rainbow in that loss against the Kings Saturday. Thaddeus Young will be rejoining the team today, and they’re off until Wednesday so there’s no reason to grab Bennett at this point. But it is good to see him producing should an injury or trade get Young back out of the line-up.
Tim Duncan – Almost had a double-rainbow line AT HALFTIME Saturday night! Shizz was crazy from grampa T. 7/10/7/3/4 and just couldn’t get that last steal. Man, he’s been really solid for owners taking a risk. Still early though! DNPs to come.
Luol Deng – Had the big 30-point game exactly two weeks ago then 26/8/3/0/1 last night shooting a red hot 10-14 (2-3 3PTM 4-5 FT) after two straight weeks of being back in that coma… He sorta reminds me of Jeff Green from last year… Which is to say, I’m not excited.
Serge Ibaka – Finally some blocks! 16/8/0/0/5, but at the cost of 4 TO and 5-17 shooting. Get healthy OKC studs!
Reggie Jackson – Nearly tripdubbed for 22/11/8 and the Thunder still can’t win games. I blame it on Kendrick Perkins! I think Anna Kendrick could play better PF…
Anthony Morrow – “He’ll get another dubdub, tomorrow, tomorrow, as in never again, tomorrrrrrrow!” I used to write musicals before moving the Razzball… 16/12/0/2/1 as I guess he decided to spread the stats for the first time in his career just to have a song written about him… First block on the season and he had 17 boards through his first 7 games. “Moving the Bluth Company up from a Sell to Don’t Buy!”
Kenneth Faried – I don’t like to throw out the R-word willy-nilly, so let’s just use “ridiculous”. After finally getting run Wednesday and Friday, 19 minutes last night… It could’ve been so great against the Lakers! Shaw is a buffoon, figure out your personality issues off the court, camon.
Ty Lawson – Almost a Pts/Ast Goromotaro! I don’t think that would count, but going 18/16 is a fatter dimebag than Willie Nelson’s carry-on!
Wilson Chandler – Shaw is playing the volleyball mad minutes right now, as Danilo Gallinari also got over 30 with the Nugs playing small without the Manimal. 19/8/2/1/1 capping off a huge week for Willllllllllson, and multi-tryes in 5 straight notching five 3PTM last night. I wonder if I went against him in REL too… Somebody bring me the tissues, I’m about to pound some ice cream and binge-repeat-watch Bridget Jones’ Diary.
Wesley Johnson – Rainbow alert! 7/13/2/2/3 out of friggin’ nowhere. Not much you can do about this rainbow, as I can promise you there’s no bucket of gold at the end of it unless you count Johnson’s bedpan.
Ed Davis – Well… That did not go well… Fantasy owners had been clamoring for it, begging for it, and now…? Probably wish it didn’t happen… Started for Carlos Boozer (out with a shoulder sprain), and went 4/5/1/1/1 in 22 minutes. Why the low run? Fouled out. Another terrible 2-4 FT as well… I’m still holding on, but this was your shot Mr. Ed!
Streamers/Cheap DraftKings picks:
Chris Kaman (22% owned) – Off a 16/8 game last night, the Sixers are unbelievably terrible but particularly on defensive presence with the second-unit front-line. With the Blazers off a back-to-back, look for Portland to run the reserves some big minutes.
Kostas Papanikolaou (4% owned) – As mentioned above, likely no Dwight so a ton of run coming for Dr. Pap. Against a lowly Knicks team right now (even though they’re dead in the middle in points allowed), I think a solid schmear across the stat line could be in store if your run out the good doctor.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! We’ll be here with the wrap-ups through Wednesday, but I’ll be taking Thanksgiving and Black Friday off to buy the soon-to-be-misses a blender. See you tomorrow!
Zach Randolph – Answer to the trivia in Vuc’s blurb above, had a 22 board game against the Pistons.
