The Lakers Win, The Lakers Win! Down Goes Frazier! Titanic Sinks! All usable newspaper headlines for rare events.
The Purp & Gold surprised the Left-Facing Pacmen last night, as the Lakers are now an undefeated team when Nick Young plays! Just oh so Swaggy… 28 minutes off the bench notching a really solid line, shooting 6-10 (2-4 3PTM 3-5 FT) for 17/5/0/1/0. Swaggy bein’ ThrAGNOFfy! It’s hard to imagine him getting to 18 points and 14 shots a game like last year with Mamba ultra-hot doggin’ it (nice one JashFath!), but looked pretty good out there. I’m a little biased since I’m not a big Young fan – not enough of a contributor in any stats except contested fadeaway shots – but worth some 3PTM streaming while the gettin’ is good! The Lakers will need his O to keep pressure off Bryant, and Wesley Johnson had an uber-schlubby 32 minutes of nothingball starting at SF. Young will probably continue to come off the bench, but that shouldn’t deter you from some 12-team streaming. Here’s what else went down last night in NBA action:
Jeremy Lin – Buy up some Doritos and cue up the Game of Thrones, Jeremy’s bringing a dimebag to the party! 15/3/10/2/0 shooting an extremely squeaky clean 6-7 (1-2 3PTM 2-3 FT). Looked nice and spry out there. He may have driven you a little Linsane, but other than two rough games against the Warriors, he’s been solid in the last 7 of 9. That pesky Curry!
Guess the Kobe Stat Line – Whoa, a record first! m1chael gets some well deserved props for hitting his Kobe slash line perfectly with his 28/4/3 prediction. Clean sweep! Well done m1chael, you are awarded the prestigious award of everyone’s jealousy and ire in Razzball Nation. Priceless prize! Kobe was remarkably efficient for once, shooting 10-18 (3-7 3PTM 5-5 FT). No more ultra-hot dogs for you! I lie, I think he goes right back to ultra-hot doggin’ tonight – talking extra chili and slaw – in a tough game at Houston who were just embarrassed by the Grizz. I see him going cold, give me 25/5/2 on 24 shots. Let’s see if anyone else can match m1chael’s predictive skills!
Ed Davis – Let’s just get this out of the way, Carlos Boozer is terrible. His jump shot would hit the jumbotron at Cowboy Stadium if they played outdoors, and it just happened to fall when not bringing rain, making 10-14. A lot of rumors have been swirling around that big Ed could be the big starting PF sooner than later, and even though Boozer’s points were nice, he looked just atrocious on defense. 22 minutes for only 6/7/0/1/0 for Eddie, and another big +/- win going +13 to Boozer’s -4. Holding Davis in all my leagues I scooped him up.
Paul Millsap – The benefactor of Boozer’s awful D. Twas a swift death for Boozer, and his will listed all his assets to Millsap’s control. Which isn’t that many assets… Humungo rainbow for Milly, going 29/4/3/4/2 shooting 11-16 (2-4 3PTM 5-8 FT). All with only 1 TO. Millsap out stole (4 to 3) and out blocked (2 to 1) the rest of the Hawks as a team last night. But the bast part is Slim picked Millsap to go for 30, and Slim is still at an 0-fer! Even though Millsap’s 29 were a league high for last night… Way to miss those 3 freebies, Milly!
Shelvin Mack – Another 20 minutes to Dennis Schroder‘s 17. Mack for 5/1/5/2/0 no TO, Schroder for 5/3/4 and 3 TO. A little worried Schroder’s minutes, with DeMarre Carroll returning soon as well, are about to be run over by a Mack truck.
Al Horford – Efficiency counts for something! 15/8/2/0/0 but shot 7-8 including hitting his only three. Wanna know who ISN’T efficient?
Pero Antic – It’s the Mexican word for kitty. 4/8/0/0/0 shooting 2-9 including missing all his threes and the crucial one at the end that would’ve tied the game. Had a wide open look. Get a wide open look at my fist, because I’m gonna give ya a pounding for taking all of Horford’s boards, Pero! Pounding in the heterosexual, punching way. This blurb is me talking myself into a hole. Ah, not again!
Ersan Ilyasova – Ugh, not this six-foot turkey rearing his head! Relegated to the bench after being terrible, was terrible the first few coming off the pine, then had an explosion last night. 8-10 (3-4 3PTM 1-4 FT – wtf? Can’t hit those?) for 20/2/1/0/0 in 20 minutes. Had only scored in double digits once this year, and that was 11 points nearly two weeks ago. Anyone can get hot in the NBA! Nothing to see here…
Larry Sanders – … especially as some extra front court minutes opened up since Sanders was a last minute scratch with a bruised thigh. You kidding me, Colonel?! I have a shaken up bottle of champagne ready to get you all riled up next time I see you.
Zaza Pachulia – Got the start and got 35 minutes, second only to Brandon Knight‘s 36. 14/13/4/2/0 shooting 6-11 for Pizza the Hut, who will tragically eat himself to death once Sanders is back.
Khris Middleton – There we go! A start, 33 minutes, had a lot of rock in his hand… Very encouraged even if the 4-10 (3-5 3PTM 2-2 FT) 13/7/3/0/0 line isn’t the most impressive. Pretty close to a must-add in 12ers, as he clearly gives the Bucks, yes the 6-5 Bucks, the best chance to win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – You may be thinking, “Here we go again, bring me the Larry Drew voodoo doll!” seeing Giannis’ 18 minutes, but he got 2 fouls in the first minute-and-a-half, and the Bucks then went on a tear. Kidd sat him until the second half, which actually seemed to be the right move. 13/6/0/0/0, but only 1 TO (although a late inbounds pass was almost stolen that could’ve made this game end tragically) and hit 7-7 FT.
Iman Shumpert – Playing better than that flat top! His hair is amazing, I tend to focus almost solely on it rather than anything else in Knicks games… 21/8/8/3/0 shooting 9-14 and hitting a pair of treys. Might be the line of the night award! Be sure he’s owned in your leagues.
Tim Hardaway Jr. – Got hot off the bench for 24 points and three treys. ThrAGNOF!
Serge Ibaka – Sheesh, Thunder fans might be pulling a Plath and sticking their heads in an oven after this one. Leading for the whole first half, just collapsed and the ice cold Ibaka got sat. Not reading too much into it, as even with the vastly expanded perimeter game, Serge was shooting 48% before last night. Still, wish he was back in the mid-50s like his career, but the shots will drop again and this was a flukey game.
Jeremy Lamb – Had the very nice line (19/4/4/1/1 with no TO and three treys), but nothing seemed that impressive watching this game. Of course watching the Thunder as a team just give up in the third quarter was like having to watch Eyes Wide Shut with you mom, so there’s that…
Alec Burks – Ridiculous. I should’ve stuck by my initial big rank of him, but alas I did not and everyone tip your cap to Mr. Slim. Slimbo Slice is a big Burks guy, and got rewarded with a huge 20/13/3/1/2 line shooting 5-8 (2-3 3PTM 8-9 FT). I think Shumpert’s “best line of the night” might have lost to this line right hurr! Honestly looked like the best player on the court against the hapless Thunder. Boards might be a tad of an aberration with back-to-back dubdubs, and he had 3 steals and 0 blocks the past 8 before last night, but boy was straight ballin’ out there.
Trey Burke – Maybe the corner has been turned! I dunno… But right now he’s been unstoppable, shooting 7-17 (great for him!) knocking down three treys, for 17/1/9/1/1. And with yet another game very protective with the ball, only 1 TO, and now his A:TO the past 5 is 41:6. Jaw, dropped. I don’t really think he’ a sell-high either, since he’s doing all this with his shot still pretty terrible. Minor edit to Snoop Dogg(who apparently can edit his own name…)’s lyrics, “Ride it while it’s hotttt!”
Joe Ingles – REL bias alert! Snatched him with FAAB and got a ton of run playing 25 minutes. 5/4/1/3/0 hitting a trey, but for deepers needing steals, coach Quin Snyder has praised the elder Aussie rook, and Hablo Ingles(¿) has 7 steals the past 3 with 2, 2 then 3 last night and playing over 20 minutes in all of them. If you need some steals-only streams, time to bust out the Gabriel Iglesias and Hable Ingles!
Anthony Davis – Ridiculous as always. 28/9/0/2/3. Another game of no TO and shot 11-19 (6-8 FT). Fun stats – 3 straight games of no TO scoring 81 points. Hasn’t shot below 50% since November 1st, taking at least 12 shots in all of them. Final stat – I own him in zero leagues even though I wanted to ride him into the sunset.
DeMarcus Cousins – Almost ridiculous. He’s a little wild, but not quite all the way out there Davis-style. 24/17/3/0/2 shooting 10-18, but still is a TO-whore. They’re down from last year, but in 9-cat it’s keeping him from a full top-5 erection. Just outside; half-mast. But in 8-cat, Run-DMC might be a little undervalued for the beast he is.
Ben McLemore – I wasn’t able to watch this game due to NBA Game Time’s ridiculous blackouts of NBA TV (for the money they charge, I’ma be whiny!), but pretty sure he was benched down the stretch for Omri Caspi and Ray McCallum mixing minutes. Which is weird since Nik Stauskas played only 19 behind those guys, and the big kicker – Ramon Sessions with a DNP. Looks like it’s McCallum backing up! Unless there’s an unreported injury… Those 5 names there are all pretty scrubby, feel free to move on from McLemore and pay little attention to this backcourt other than Darren Collison.
Gorgui Dieng – Choo Choo! Hop on the Dieng train! Nikola Pekovic is out at least a week with a sprained wrist. Pek was dropped in one of my RCLs, and I didn’t even put in a claim… In 15 games as a starter last year, Gorgui was unreal for 12.2/12.0/1.6/0.9/1.7. Shot 50% FG and 70.6% FT. And I feel like I answered Dieng a ton of times as a keep/pickup through these first few weeks. Early rewards to be reaped!
Steve Blake – Just added him in both my RCLs, and still only 2% owned. Not huge upside, but C.J. McCollum fractured a finger and will miss about 4 weeks. Should continue to get solid mid-20s minutes, is at 5+ dimes the past 3, hit a trey in 5 straight, and I think will be a really underrated last roster spot guy for the foreseeable future.
Streamers:
Gerald Henderson (4% owned) – He’s not a good basketball player. “Then why recommend him, JB?!” Well “logical retort commenter”, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is already ruled out with his foot issue, P.J. Hairston has a kankle, and Gary Neal has a concussion. Minutes and shots by attrition! 18/5/3/0/0 Monday night in 37 minutes, and should get some solid burn tonight at the Pacers. Plus Chris Copeland can’t defend to save his life. This should be a biggie for Hendo.
D.J. Augustin (12% owner) – This is a major gut call, but Brandon Jennings – while hot – hasn’t had his play translate into wins, as DJ is under 20 minutes in 5 of the last 6 (the one time over, only 20:43) and the Pistons are 1-5. Only win in that stretch? Against those dejected Thunder… With Phoenix coming into town, I think this starts turning into a blowout pretty quick, and Stan Van turns to some D.J. at PG FTW, ASAP
Be sure and maximize your line-ups tonight in a big Wednesday slate, and we’ll see ya tomorrow!
