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Kevin Durant is back!

For what feels like the millionth time. How many times does this guy have to be “back” before it’s not even a story anymore? I guess he gets infinite re-entries on this – ESPN even used the exact headline “KD is back!” It literally never ends, but I guess we gotta talk about his fantasy impact anyway.

Elsewhere on OKC Thunder throwback night, Russell Westbrook went HAM against the high-flying Memphis Grizzlies. Let’s dive in and take a look at these throwback performances under the fantasy basketball microscope.

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If you’re still reading these, and I’m glad you are, as it means one of three things.

 You’re still in the playoff race
You love my writing, in which case you’re my mom or you need to read a lot more good articles.
You’re out of it and trying to get a leg up for next year.

As we know, this is the silly season for basketball.  Resting, tanking, and weird rotations are the norm in March.  It’s March Madness, baby.  I’m going to try to focus on the weird rotations thing from each game to see if we can decipher any meaning from said weird rotations.

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With Milwaukee resting a couple key rotation players on the perimeter, Jevon Carter was re-inserted into the starting lineup. And boy, did he make the most of his opportunity, pouring in 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, with six rebounds, six assists, four treys, and a steal  over 32 minutes. Even on his good nights, Carter (four percent rostered in Yahoo! standard leagues) doesn’t produce lines this robust, giving this the whiff of an anomaly. He’s normally only a source of threes, as he’s made 10 over his past three games, but his role and his playing time are too inconsistent to depend on. With the Bucks likely returning to full strength after the break, Carter can be left on the wire.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 18!  In this post, I identify widely available players who can help you win your head-to-head matchup.  We’re about two thirds of the way through the weirdest portion of the fantasy season, when fantasy and actual teams are disrupted by trades leading and teams pack on extra rest days for their players leading up to the All-Star Break (ASB).  To make it even more strange, Week 18 spans 13-26 February in most formats, which gives us a total of eight game days to consider.  Enjoy the next few days of maybe not thinking as much about fantasy hoops (who am I kidding), because for most of you, the chance at postseason glory is right around the corner!

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You read that right. Valentine’s Day is an objectively stupid holiday, and after 18 years of marriage the wife and I were good with a nice cup of coffee and takeout for the day. Then I watched the Bucks vs. Celtics game on TNT, and took a huge gamble at that! It paid off though, but please honor my sacrifice for your benefit and click on this article multiple times. I took the huge risk for all of you.

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Denver made a couple of moves on the margins. One was to shore up their backup center spot with the acquisition of Thomas Bryant. While that may help the Nuggets a smidge, it has no bearing in the fantasy realm. Bryant was a hot pickup when he took over the starting center role for a few weeks in LA, but he won’t get enough clock to matter behind Denver’s two-time MVP. Meanwhile, Denver shipped off a disgruntled Bones Hyland, opening up a backup point guard slot. Ish Smith filled in last night (technically as the backup to the backup with Jamal Murray sidelined) and scored 0 points with five assists. The main beneficiary will probably be Bruce Brown, who has been quite useful in spurts this season. Brown (56 percent rostered in Yahoo! standard leagues) has done a little bit of everything, but may get a couple more shots and assist chances if he gets the ball in his hands a bit more. Sliding into the starting lineup last night, he finished with a quiet seven points, three assists, two steals, and a block. He’s still a solid pickup in the almost half of leagues he’s out there in.

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Big bounce-back game for Rui Hachimura who went from scoring 0 against the New York Knicks a few days ago to matching his career-high with 30 points in the win.
All five starters finished in double figures, but Kyle Kuzma led the way with 25 points, ten rebounds, and six assists; Notably, the Wizards’ injury issues continue to plague them. While this was only Bradley Beal’s second game back from his hamstring injury, Kristaps Porzingis was the next to fall as he went down in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain. This team cannot catch a break.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week Ten!  In this post, I identify widely-available players who can help you win your head-to-head matchup.  The NBA is not exempt from cold and flu season, as demonstrated by the numerous “out for illness” designations across the L.  This is a double edged sword for streaming aficionados like us.  On the one hand, there are plenty of opportunities opening up as long as you keep your ear to the injury report scanner (e.g. Moses Moody).  On the other hand, this post may be obsolete in two hours.

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The Lakers lost eight of their first 10 games. Anthony Davis did not play in one of those contests and he put up fewer than 50 DraftKings points in seven. Since then, Davis went over 50 DK points in every game with three over 70 and a high of 84.8. The Lakers won seven games during that span. On Sunday, Davis said “Hold my beer” to no one in particular. Maybe to the world that is filled with despicable keyboard warrior haters that populate mom’s basements across the world. And he did this:

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The Suns’ off-season produced enough fireworks to sustain Kenny Powers on the Fourth of July.  Unfortunately, if you’re a Suns fan, the drama was less of the blockbuster trade or free agent acquisition variety, and more front-page-of-the-tabloid variety.  For starters, majority owner Robert Sarver is putting the team up for sale after being suspended for the entire season.   The news unleashed a circus of speculation surrounding the identity of the next owner, with Bob Iger, Shaq, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. being mentioned as candidates with varying levels of seriousness.  The Suns are also trying to deal a frustrated Jae Crowder, who capped off his summer of discontent by sitting out training camp and pre-season while the franchise works out a trade.  Speaking of pre-season, the Suns got off to an inauspicious start when the Adelaide 36ers came from Down Under and handed Phoenix a loss on their home court.  We all know not to read into pre-season too much, but between distractions at the top, the cloud hanging over Crowder’s exit, and simmering tensions between coach Monty Williams and Deandre Ayton, one gets the feeling that the turmoil from their disastrous second round ouster may extend into this season.

Whatever happens, there is still fantasy goodness to be mined from this fast-paced squad.  Here are my assessments as we near the start of the action:

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I have a Scottish co-worker who started following the NBA in 2003.  Heading into the 2003-04 season, the Lakers and Spurs had monopolized the Larry O’Brien trophy for five consecutive seasons, but the upstart Timberwolves looked poised to challenge their dominance.  Led by MVP Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, and Latrell “I have a family to feed” Sprewell, the Minnesota Timberwolves posted 58 wins and made a deep playoff run.  My co-worker became one of the team’s newest followers, and although the Lakers ousted the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals, his loyalty was sealed (wait for the turn…).

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