Back in my day [classic way to captivate an audience from the get-go], we just called it the night before Thanksgiving. But kids these days [mmk, Gramps] have to slang up everything [even my Zyn] to make ‘em feel special. So now they call it Blackout Wednesday, or Drinksgiving.
Well those days are a bit past for me, anyways. I’m not gunna be the weird older dude at the bar scoping out younger chicks. That’s for Josh Giddey to do. Oh wait, those girls aren’t old enough to be in the bar. Aaaaaaanyways …
Instead of staying out late drinking and dodging former classmates because I can’t remember their names [Sure, you could go with the old, “Oh Hey! Great to See You.” But they know. They know] I got to take in an absolutely ridiculous 14 game slate. Here’s a slapshot across the bow at the NBA for a wild Wednesday night. We had Pop yelling at his own fans. A new chapter to the weird Chris Paul/Scott Foster rivalry. Lots of resting players resulting in all sorts to crazy new lineups. The NBA seemed that it had one too many, got over emotional, and allegedly at the end of the night went home with a teenager [eeeeek].
(With a long Turkey Day morning drive on the agenda, this week’s recap will be a bit of a quick hits. But feel free to post those questions down below over the holiday weekend.)
LA Clippers 109, San Antonio Spurs
Daniel Theis (8-11-4) is acclimating himself quickly, and lowering Ivica Zubac’s (11-8-1) value in the process.
Jeremy Sochan dropped 7 dimes to go with 5 boards and 19 points (6-15 FG, 2-5 FT, 5-6 FG). Something tells me that as soon as Sochan proves he can be a viable starting point guard in the NBA, Pop is going to move him to the starting center position. The doubling of assists per game by Keldon Johnson (15-3-6) has been a nice little growth journey so far this year.
Orlando Magic 124, Denver Nuggets 119
Third straight efficient game for Paolo Banchero (23-3-4-1-3; 8-14 FG, 4-5 3PT, 3-5 FT), speaking of growth journeys. Tour de Franz Wagner sparked in this one with a 27-3-4-1-2 line, but I need to see more of that to shake off the weariness.
Win or lose, never much of fantasy interest from the Nugs. Back-to-back solid efforts from Christian Braun (13-7-1 with 2 threes) for deeper league play.
Charlotte Hornets 117, Washington Wizards 114
Miles Bridges is a monster. Oops, sorry [not sorry], I meant to say Miles Bridges was a monster, on the court, Wednesday night. Yep, 33 points with 10 boards and 2 steals is good. LaMelo Ball (34-8-13) has been ripping back to his mid-to-late first round projections.
Starters minutes for the Wizards starters. What a wild idea! Of course, they still lost, but we got some actual fantasy lines, starting with a huge 28-9-10-1-2 stat line from Kyle Kuzma. No blocks for Daniel Gafford, but 15-16-1 and a steal will do in 34 minutes. Better from Jordan Poole (24-5-2 with 2 steals and 4 threes) in 33 minutes. Had I drafted him anywhere, I’d probably be trying to trade him for more cranberry sauce over the weekend.
Oklahoma City 116, Chicago Bulls 102
Isaiah Joe went 5-of-7 from deep and has 19 threes in his last 4 games. He did this in a few stretches last season. Doesn’t last too long, but ride the hot tamale while it’s burning. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is silly good (40-5-12-1-3; 17-18 FT); Chet Holmgren (18-13-2-1-4) ain’t showing signs of slowing any time soon.
As for the Giddey stuff. The rumors and allegations are picking up steam on the ol’ TwitterX as I’m writing this, and it’s unclear what if anything comes from it other than a lot of social media scorn. But Cason Wallace and Kenrich Williams would get bumps with any time missed by Giddey.
Zach Lavine sat out with a case of getmeawayfromhere-itis, so we’re flowing with Coby White (25-1-5 with 7 threes) and Alex Caruso (12-6-1, just one steal in this one). I’m here to remind you that as tempting as it may be when Patrick Williams (10-7-2) is getting starter minutes, don’t get sucked into thinking “maybe this is the time he breaks out.”
Boston Celtics 119, Milwaukee Bucks 116
A week after I said Al Horford no longer could post a solid line from the bench, he showed me, posting 10-8-6 with a block and 2 threes. Slight caveat in that Porzingis was in foul trouble, leading to 31 minutes for Al. But still, good for him, and another reminder to stream him any time Zingis sits out.
Khris Middleton is maybe getting jacked up for the holidays, as he nearly reached 30 minutes (29) and posted a respectable 12-5-7 line with 2 threes and a steal. And Brook Lopez just refuses to fade away into fantasy mediocrity. He posted 28-7-1-1-1 with 2 threes and great efficiency, and is ranked 18 in 9-cat per game over the last two weeks.
Atlanta Hawks 147, Brooklyn Nets 145
Back-to-back offensive free-for-all games by Atlanta. Pretty much everyone posted lines in this one – even De’Andre Hunter (25-11-0-1-2) and Spencer Dinwiddie (26-6-12). (Noteworthy: Cam Johnson with 25-5-5 and 2 steals, and I think is a little underrated across the board).
Miami Heat 129, Cleveland Cavaliers 96
Bam and Love sat, so Thomas Bryant actually got to play (24 starter minutes), posting 10-7-1-1-1. We also got to see Orlando Robinson put up 14-9-2-1-2 in 28 minutes. If the tides ever shift into giving O-Rob steady minutes, he’ll produce fantasy stats accordingly. Can’t imagine the long term plan is for Love to play backup center. But [shoulder shrug]…
Blowout game here so not much to take away. But a tip o’ the hat to Kyle Lowry hitting 7-of-10 from deep.
Oh, and almost forgot (because no one knows who he is) Craig Porter Jr. still ballin’ while Donovan Mitchell is sidelined, providing a 16-2-5-1-2 stat line in 35 starter minutes for anyone who’s streaming him. Nearly a Top 50 player over the last week.
Toronto Raptors 132, Indiana Pacers
Strange to be wondering if Dennis Schroder (26-6-5, a steal and 2 threes) or Pascal Siakam (36-10-4, a three, and just his third block of the season) is the more reliable fantasy asset this season, but that’s where we’re at the moment.
Buddy Hield hit 7-of-12 from behind the arch en route to 31 points, 2 boards, 5 dimes and 3 stocks in 35 starter minutes, while Bennedict Mathurin can be dropped in most leagues.
Houston Rockets 111, Memphis Grizzlies 91
Jalen Green with a scoring burst of 34 points (13-26 FG, 3-11 3PT, 5-5 FT), but no signs pointing toward him being able to do that with regularity. Nice to see Dillon Brooks back to his expected ways (4-14 FG, 0-5 3PT, 5-5 FT).
Memphis is just broken at this point. Obviously things will get better when Ja Morant returns. But I’m not even going to guess what happens between now and then [crosses fingers, hopes for more Kenneth Lofton Jr minutes].
Minnesota Timberwolves 112, Philadelphia 76ers 99
Jaden McDaniels is out a couple weeks, which means it’s time for Slo Mo to shine like a diamond! … aaaand he posted a mediocre 7-5-3 line; while Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the start and posted a very similar 7-6-4 line in even more similar minutes. If NAW sticks to that role, neither will provide much while Jaden is out. But I’d be willing to give Slo Mo another chance in the next game.
Embiid sat, which means it’s time for Paul Reed to shine like a diamond! … eeeeexcept Nick Nurse continued to punk us all, electing to start Marcus freaking Morris Sr. at center? Morris did post a pretty nice 16-4-2-1-2 line with 3 threes in just 16 minutes. But, still, the audacity! As for Paul Reed, a tease of what it would be like if he got 25 minutes a game: 10 points (5-9 FG), 9 boards, an assist, 2 steals and 4 blocks.
New Orleans Pelicans 117, Sacramento Kings 112
Jose Alvarado (10-1-2 with 3 steals) is kinda messing with my sweet Dyson Daniels (8 points, 7 boards and a steal) stream I got going. Will give it another game, but those two and Hawkins may just poach one another’s value going forward. Also, Larry Nance suddenly reappeared from injury, playing 12 minutes.
Side Note: Start to stash Trey Murphy where you can.
Trey Lyles had 12 points (3-7 3PT) and 8 boards in his season debut, playing 28 minutes – a few more than to expect as Keegan Murray sat out.
Phoenix Suns 123, Golden State Warriors 115
This was a blow-out made close by the Warrior’s bench unit in the 4th. Moving on.
Portland Trail Blazers 121, Utah Jazz 105
The Skylar Mays Fun Time Stream Ride can be put to rest. Sigh. Scoot Henderson returned similar to how he left, poor shooting (1-7 FG) but improving playmaking (7 assists in just 17 minutes). Still a few weeks out, but eventually people will be asking if they should drop Keyonte George (16-3-7 and a steal; 3-9 FG, 3-6 3PT, 7-7 FT) for Scoot.
Ayton sat and Jabari Walker went to work, posting 19-10-2-2-0 with 2 threes. If I squint I can see him being a 12-team guy by New Years.
Kelly Olynyk got the starting nod and posted 13-9-5-1-1 in 32 minutes.
Dallas Mavericks 104, LA Lakers 101
Main news here is that Dereck Lively II went down with a back contusion, and there was a Richaun Holmes sighting, resulting in 4 points, 10 boards, an assist and a block in 23 minutes.
That’s it for me. So thankful for all the wonderful readers out there in Razzball Nation enjoy [at the least digest] my weekly ramblings and fantasy ball food for thought. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
