Let’s give some love to Scottie Barnes. With Jakob Poeltl continuing to be out, Barnes started at center and responded with a statline that few players in history have ever produced: 23 points, 25 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and a block. On the one hand, this amazing outing came out of nowhere in that he had only 27 rebounds in his previous four games combined. And yet, this outing personifies why Barnes is one of the most unique, elite players in fantasy basketball, because he really can do everything and seemingly at any time.
When you look at Barnes’ game log, the first thing that’s noticeable is how all over the place his production is. Barnes has scored 14 or fewer points in three of his last five games and five of his last 10. That’s unusually erratic scoring from a top-20 fantasy player and the rest of his numbers are similarly up-and-down. Sometimes he has nights where he has double-digit rebounds, and sometimes he has nights when he has barely any; he had 4 threes in a game against the Knicks a month ago and no threes in his last four games; his 3 steals on Sunday are as many steals as he had had in his previous five games. Hell, just three games earlier, Barnes had only gotten 6 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist in a game.
It’s in totality, however, that you can appreciate how great Barnes is, even if he can be frustrating to have at times. Think of Scottie Barnes like a fantasy slot machine who keeps regularly paying out money even when you’re not hitting the jackpot with him. Sure, you’re going to occasionally get lines from him that are fair to middling and make you question if he’s actually overrated, but you’re also going to get outstanding defensive stats and unique statlines that are a boon to your team, even if they’re impossible to rely on. Add with that the fact that Barnes has not missed a game this season and there are very few players in all of fantasy basketball who’ve provided more value than he has this season.
Barnes could very well go for 14 rebounds and 5 rebounds in his next game and it wouldn’t be the least bit unusual, and that’s a very strange thing to say about one of the best players in fantasy. But Barnes’ value lies not only in his ability to produce in every single category, but his ability to follow up meh outings with great outings. He’ll never consistently reach the peaks that other, higher-ranked players will reach, but Barnes is also one of the only players in the league capable of putting up a 23-25-10 line, and there’s something to be admired for that.
Other notes:
A game after scoring 21 points, Keon Ellis came back to earth and produced 2 points and no steals, assists or rebounds against Lakers. This was his second straight start and while the prospect of him getting regular playing time for once is interesting, he’s too unreliable to be anything more than a streamer at the moment.
Not to be outdone, Marcus Smart also had a dud on Sunday, scoring 0 points in 21 minutes. He’s still poised to be a solid play for the next month while Austin Reaves recovers from a calf injury, though.
Brook Lopez put up 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block on Sunday. He scored 31 in his game before too and looks a like a very good player to own until Ivica Zubac comes back from his ankle sprain.
Jaren Jackson Jr. has found new life with Zach Edey out and totaled 31 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks on Sunday. He’s been playing awesome lately, which is a welcome change given how anemic his production had been prior to Edey getting hurt.
Bilal Coulibaly played well on Sunday, collecting 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. This is a quintessential Coulibaly statline and while he gets hurt constantly and is hard to depend on, his ability to do a little bit of everything will always be appealing.
Bub Carrington had 12 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 8 turnovers (yikes) in his last game. He’s quietly been playing well lately, although it’s hard to have much enthusiasm for him so long as CJ McCollum is playing ahead of him.
Bumped to the bench, Sandro Mamukelashvili was still useful with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals against the Warriors. He’s just a streamer in his current situation.
Daniel Gafford had 11 points, 7 rebounds and a block in a spot start against the Kings. If he can wriggle back into a regular starting job, he would be a terrific player to add.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points in his start on Saturday and has scored at least 19 points in his last four games. You’re not going to get much more than points and threes from him, but with Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun all out with injuries, Hardaway Jr. should be locked into heavy playing time for the foreseeable future.
Anthony Black continued his ascent over the weekend, accumulating 38 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks against Denver. Obviously, his production has been helped by Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs being out, but Black has looked simply incredible of late and needs to be kept even when the Magic return to full strength.
Jordan Poole scored only 1 point on Saturday. It was an aberration but his role on the Pelicans leaves little to be desired, especially so long as Zion Williamson is coming off the bench at the same time as him. He’s not someone who must be owned in fantasy leagues.
Jay Huff had 11 points, 1 rebound and 3 blocks in 22 minutes on Saturday. The good news is that Huff is still blocking shocks at a solid pace. The bad news is that he’s not doing much of anything else at all and his minutes have taken a slide in the past week, which makes him just a streamer in most leagues – albeit a valuable one.
Ryan Rollins returned to the starting five for Milwaukee and had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 threes. It was weird when he was taking out of the starting lineup but his production should be good no matter what his role is.
Jarett Allen had only 6 points, 4 rebounds and a block over the weekend. He makes for a good buy-low given how average a season he’s been having.
Dylan Harper did good things against the Jazz, putting up 7 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds against the Jazz. That makes two of three games in which Harper has collected double-digit assists. His production this year is going to be stymied by how deep San Antonio is, but he looks like he could be a fantasy beast one day.
