Rookies Rising

Miami Heat vs. Houston Rockets

Heat Notes:

• Who else did a double take when they thought they saw D. Robinson show up twice in Miami’s box score? But no, that second one was actually an O—as in Orlando Robinson. The rookie big man nearly doubled his career minutes total with 36 for a shorthanded Heat squad. He made them count with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. He attempted a pair of threes, though he didn’t connect, and shot 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Now, this was obviously a complete one-off as it was just Robinson’s third appearance of the season, but Miami is always short on warm bodies, so he might be fantasy relevant at some point. He produced an intriguing mix of stats, so keep the name in the back of your mind (zero percent rostered in Yahoo! standard leagues).

Rockets Notes:

• Jabari Smith Jr. has been rising up the ranks of late as he has shot a little less but FAR more accurately. The third overall pick in last June’s draft notched a double-double last night, with 15 points and 11 boards, hitting a three and picking up a steal to boot. Over the past 14 days, Smith has been a top-100 player and by far the highest-rated Rocket, approaching 50 percent shooting from the field, amping up the board work, and canning more than two triples per game. The opportunity to buy low has probably passed, but if you think the upward trajectory is a permanent fixture, he may be worth shelling out for.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Bucks Notes:

• Milwaukee no-showed Thursday’s tilt with the Grizzlies, meaning ample garbage time minutes for deep bench guys to get their shine on. The most intriguing of the motley crew was rookie MarJon Beauchamp, who supplied 12 points, three rebounds, two helpers, two swipes, and a trey in 22 minutes off the pine. Since starting six of seven games in early November, Beauchamp had played just 15 minutes total over the past three weeks, so this was a great chance for him to stretch his legs a bit. Beauchamp won’t be sniffing the rotation for a healthy Bucks team, but Milwaukee is a candidate to rest their stars in strategic games down the stretch, meaning there could be random explosions from Beauchamp. Be ready to stream him in a timely fashion should those occasions arise (zero percent rostered).

Grizz Notes:

• Memphis was able to spread the wealth after putting this game on ice early, playing 13 different guys at least 12 minutes. One of them was rookie David Roddy, who compiled a career-high 15 points and seven boards and two dimes in 24 minutes. Roddy has actually been entrenched in the Grizzlies rotation, seeing at least 22 minutes in eight of Memphis’ last 12 contests. He’s rewarded the coaches’ faith, scoring in double figures in back-to-back outings. He doesn’t bring enough to the table in other categories to be even a high-priority streamer, and should fade into the background once Ziaire Williams is back up to speed (one percent rostered).

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Utah Jazz

Pels Notes:

• It looks like as long as Brandon Ingram remains out of the lineup, Naji Marshall (13 percent rostered) will have a significant role in New Orleans’ rotation. The unheralded wing soaked up 33 minutes last night—the fourth time in his past five outings he’s topped 30 in the minutes column. Marshall contributed 13 points, a couple of assists, and four steals, while shooting 5-for-6 from the line. Marshall can score a little bit, and is a surprising source of assists for a bench wing, and can pile up the stocks as well. Over his past seven games he’s averaging 12.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 3PTM, and 0.6 BPG. He’s a solid short-term pickup.

Jazz Notes:

• Rudy who? Walker Kessler has been doing a mad decent Stifle Tower impression in the month of December, where he’s played over 20 minutes in all but one contest. The rookie center is shooting over 73 percent from the field, and that only went up after going a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor last night to score 11 points, while hauling in eight rebounds and rejecting three shots. Kessler has been a borderline top-25 (not a typo) player over the past 14 days in 9-cat formats, averaging 10.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 2.7 BPG this month while hardly missing a shot from the field. Fantasy managers have noticed, as he’s been snapped up in 57 percent of leagues. Hopefully you didn’t miss out.

Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers

Suns Notes:

• As long as Deandre Ayton is sidelined, there is a a chance to stream some fantasy gold in Phoenix. The question is whether to pick up Bismack Biyombo or Jock Landale. Biyombo drew the start on Thursday, but played just 18 lackluster minutes. Landale, meanwhile, came off the bench for a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, with a pair of swats and a triple mixed in over his is 27 reserve minutes. Biyombo (15 percent rostered) is the safer play for traditional big man stats, but Landale has the higher upside (two percent rostered).

Clips Notes:

• Once more, the Clippers sat half of their top rotation players—including both their stars—something that has become a regular occurrence in LA. On nights like this, Terance Mann (13 percent rostered) becomes a must-add player off the wire. Mann produced 22 points on 8-of-14 from the field, to go along with 11 boards, four assists, and four treys in 33 minutes. Over the last four times he’s seen at least 30 minutes of action, Mann has averaged 17.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.0 3PTM. If you catch wind of the Clips sitting out a chunk of their guys, Mann is a golden streamer.