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One week after writing a piece about the fantasy fallout of Joshua Primo’s dismissal from the Spurs, I am back on the bad behavior beat. This week’s contestants, as you may have guessed, are the Brooklyn Nets. In an attempt to get ahead, I’ve consulted my Tarot cards to get a jump on next week’s piece and see the Charlotte Hornets coming down the pipe. NBA action, it’s not full of hypocrisy, double standards, and compromising morality in pursuit of competitive and monetary success – it’s actually fantastic! 

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My man had 41 in the first half en route to a career-best 60. Kyrie is a wizard with the rock and when he gets going it’s hard to take your eyes off him. The extra rest he’s enjoyed this season practically jumps off the screen (not that he or Brooklyn necessarily needed it to get by a pretty bad and pretty checked-out Magic team), especially here in the doldrums of the season.  He’s a first-round talent when he’s out there, but of course we know that he’s not always out there.

This begs the question: Wouldn’t you rather only have 50 games played by the best players in the world who aren’t visibly fatigued instead of the 82-game marathon that routinely eats some of its young by the time the season’s over? I may not agree with everything Kyrie says or does, but the point he’s making by showcasing the value of fresh legs could be a silver lining if the league ever moves away from an oversaturated product and finally pares back their slaughterhouse of a season. Irving looks unbelievable out there. Imagine if everyone was this fresh.

Here’s what else I saw on a quiet Tuesday night in the NBA…

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The Denver Nuggets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 124-104, behind a well-balanced scoring attack and more Nikola Jokic brilliance. Seven Nuggets’ players scored in double figures, led by the Joker, who finished the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and one block. It was Jokic’s 14th triple-double of the season and the 71st of his career. Will Barton added 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block. Aaron Gordon tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. Monte Morris chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, and eight assists and Jeff Green finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Bryn Forbes (11) and Zeke Nnaji (10) also scored in double figures. Forbes (25), Nnaji (20), Bones Hyland (17), and DeMarcus Cousins (16) played the most minutes off the bench.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Goga Bitadze has established himself as the starting center in Indiana and should be rostered until the Pacers get their big men back while Kessler Edwards has been getting many minutes and has performed adequately. Finally, De’Anthony Melton had a great week but keep in mind that Memphis’ players in the protocol are expected back this week, so temper your expectations and be ready to move on if his playing time takes a significant hit. Finally, Coby White was a part of the “Sell” but with Lonzo Ball out for longer than expected and Alex Caruso going down as well, he is a hold for now.

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The Miami Heat took home the nervy, 113-107 victory, but the Lakers nearly caught them slipping. In a game the Heat led almost the entire way and by as many as 26 points, the Lakers put together a fierce fourth quarter and nearly stole the victory. For three quarters, however, the Heat played the basketball version of “the beautiful game.” Offensive production was spread across the lineup and they were flowing into good looks. Jimmy Butler led the charge in Kyle Lowry’s absence (personal reasons) and he finished the game with a triple-double: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, two steals, and one block. Butler’s 10th triple-double moved him into the first place on the Heat’s all-time list, surpassing LeBron James. Duncan Robinson was hot early and even scored some important points in the fourth quarter; he finished the game with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Bam Adebayo had a decent, but uneven game. He was stifled a fair amount by LeBron’s defense, as he was LeBron’s primary cover when the Lakers went small. Adebayo finished the game with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. Gabe Vincent filled in admirably, once again, for Lowry and finished the game with 11 points, one rebound, six assists, and two steals. Caleb Martin also notched eleven points and further cemented his “best two-way player in the league status”—a dubious honor, he’d no doubt like to be rid of as soon as possible.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 14!  There are still a few players in protocols, but we’re firmly on the back end of the recent spike in illness.  While this is generally good news for all, it means I can no longer blame COVID for my faulty predictions and recommendations.  On the other hand, I am enjoying the return to a time when my recommendations survived for more than two hours before being extinguished by the latest round of mass testing.  I’m not ready to declare “ops normal” just yet, as the situation is still fluid, but things are headed in the right direction.  Regardless of what’s going on in the background, my goal is to provide you with the best widely available streaming options in hopes of giving you an edge in your head-to-head category matchups.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Julius Randle had maybe his best game of the season so hopefully you capitalized on my buy-low suggestion last week. The same can be said for Amir Coffey who continues his solid play and has scored over 16 points in four of his last five games. On the other hand, Gary Harris seems like a potential drop with Orlando getting healthier and subsequently his usage significantly reduced.

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Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week Nine!  Many of us are approaching the halfway mark of our seasons, with each matchup taking on increasing importance as we jockey for playoff positioning.  Meanwhile, cold and flu season is in full swing, with the added ingredient of COVID-19 sewing more chaos as teams scramble to field full rosters for game action.  Those of us with players on the Bulls, Pistons, and Raptors are already feeling the burn of game postponements this week.  Nonetheless, with every injury or health and safety setback, there are opportunities.  Look no further than the value that Cody Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. returned while four of their teammates were out with COVID-19.

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Welcome back to Thursday Night DFS Dunks! Tonight we pay homage to the late Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G., with the Brooklyn Go Hard theme. The Nets play host to the Sixers at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and will likely only dress eight players for the second game in a row.  Blake Griffin played 31 minutes and David Duke Jr dropped 40 Draftkings points vs. Toronto on Monday.  Now, the price has come up a bit for all the Nets, Patty Mills is up to $6,600 (yikes), but they are still the best value on slate and Biggie is still the best rap artist of all time.

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Regarding last week’s suggestions, Anfernee Simons is still getting minutes due to C.J. McCollum’s injury so he is worth holding, Doug McDermott provided the value you would expect from him but Killian Hayes was pretty underwhelming and is not looking like a standard league fantasy contributor. On the “Sell” front, Kelly Oubre continued his amazing performances but LaMelo Ball’s return is just around the corner so the sell-high window is shrinking, while Andre Drummond is so bad, he is getting outplayed by rookie Charles Bassey for the backup minutes and remains a drop.

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