So I’m watching the Bulls and Clip last night, Blake Griffin starts hot, then sorta melds into his normal role. BORING! Virtually 20/10 every night, and after scoring 6 early, it looked like your typical BG evening – as plain and simple as a Kia. With his line at 18/11/2/0/2, Blake was like, “aight, time to either get a Razzball mention for 5-6 blocks, or swing tryin’!” He became a medieval dentist swinging at Taj Gibson, getting this flagrant 2 for a hit that would make Holly Holm proud. I’m not the biggest Taj fan, but he mouths “I’m OK” even though he easily could’ve lost 4 teeth. Can’t keep him down! Should’ve been cast in Creed… Even with the premature exit, Griffin’s line was solid and we’re seeing some microscopic improvements to his game that could make 2015-16 a career year. But when you’re right at career-norms and performing right at draft day value, it’s tough to get a lot of attention unless you pop someone right in the weasel. And with the comradery helping Taj up and you could make the argument it was a legit block attempt, he’s certainly not missing any games due to a suspension. So ride your boring, reliable ol’ Kia and enjoy consistency. Here’s what else went down last night in fantasy basketball:
Shane Larkin – We helped stir some buzz (I don’t think that phrase is right…) to nab Larkin off the wire, and after a dud against the Rockets to start the week, I was tempted to keep streaming the spot. But mmmmmmm, it’s always juicy when you see a game against the Sixers on a light schedule night! Glad I held, as he went 14/4/6/1/0 on 5-10 FG and 4-4 FT, and played the same 27 minutes that Jarrett Jack got. Jack was 5/6/8/0/0 on 2-7 shooting, but I don’t think this is a harbinger of a role change. With the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson wrist surgery, Larkin has a few extra minutes coming his way swingin’ with Jack, but of course as karma would have it, Larkin got a minor wrist injury of his own last night. Sounds like he’s fine, but worth keeping an eye on – if it costs any time you’re likely moving on in 12ers.
Bojan Bogdanvoic – A lot of add BoBo questions in the comments lately, and I’m just not a fan in the slightest. 33 minutes of YAAAAWWWWWNNNNNN! 2 treys and 10/3/3/0/0 against the Sixers. Bleh.
Brook Lopez – Got Jahlil’d! Yikes. A little foul trouble, but 7/7/1/0/1 against the Sixers with 5 TO is hot garbage. Especially when…
Il Diva – …we get an Il Diva sighting! Andrea Bargnani for 23/6/1 on 8-15 FG and 7-9 FT. 15 shots were a team-high. From Bargs. Ugh, what a terrible game, this Nets/Sixers!
Jahlil Okafor – What you’d expect – back into the starting lineup (especially to play against clownfoot Brolo), team-high 15 shots, 3 TO from a big man… What you wouldn’t expect – 8-8 FT?!?!?!??! What in the world?!?!?! Maybe he spent some extra time working on FT after his street fighting suspension. Maybe the hecklers were making fun of his FT stroke and he finally took it to heart…
Tony Wroten – Already starting, despite a strict minutes-limit. 9/4/2/1/0, and looked like vintage Wroten with 3-6 FT, 2 TO, and arbitrarily taking a trey even though he’s an atrocious 3pt shooter…
T.J. McConnell – When you think of TJ, you immediate think “instant scoring off the bench”, right?! 17/1/1/3/0 on 6-9 shooting with 3 treys. The 17 Pts in 24 bench minutes were a career-high, just when it was looking like he was getting cut out of the rotation. Gawd I hate the Sixers.
Robert Covington – Took his frustration of missing all 6 3PTA on the Nets, fouling out in 27 minutes. He’ll be fine.
Chris Paul – Just not getting it done some of the time, like 12/0/5/1/0 on 5-14 shooting last night… He’s showing that uber-scary mix of some of his lowest FG% we’ve seen since his first two years in the league and a career-low in steals. Settling for jumpers and not as assertive on D. Now, I think if anyone is selling for third-round value, you pounce on it immediately. But I’m a little scurred.
Nikola Mirotic – Yikes, team-low in minutes… 14 mins of 5/11/1/1/0 in a win against a high-profile team. Even Doug McDermott got more run, and he didn’t register a single stat! Pretty worrisome…
Joakim Noah – 2/13/2/1/2, and while they’re of course wildly different players, in a vacuum I might take Noah right now over Miro if you needed production now. It’s tough to drop Miro if Noah is out there, but it’s been a nice little run.
Jimmy Butler – The best rainbow one could imagine! One with no TO! 14/5/8/2/2, with the 4-14 shooting the only knock.
Kent Bazemore – Went nuts off the Hawks bench for 22/2/2/1/0, leading ATL in scoring. Hit 4 treys and shot 7-12 with 4-4 FT. Although he did hit his first 7 then faded, missing those final five. “Is this tea HOT HOT HOT?! …or cold? HOT HOT HOT?! …or cold?!” “Ummmm, is it iced tea?!” No one really knows! I’m still not going out of my way in 12ers to add him.
Thabo Sefolosha – Nice popcorn game against his former squad (11/3/1/4/0), but 1-4 FT and 2 TO. I’d likely own Bazemore between the two Hawks wings; sharper talons.
Paul Millsap – Damn, rough night at the stripe for Atlanta! 3-8 FT, but nearly got a rainbow for 7/8/4/1/2 with no TO. Low scoring can be attributed to Iblocka!
Kevin Durant – If he wasn’t elite already, he would’ve been the lead! The triple-double police were on high alert for Russell Westbrook (23/6/10), but it was a role reversal with the Slim Reaper going 25/12/10/1/0 on a crazy efficient 8-14 FG (2-2 3PTM 7-7 FT). Did have the 5 TO, but you ain’t complainin’!
Steven Adams – I liked him in this game since I figured the minutes would be there D-ing up Al Horford (31 – they were), but 11/7/1/1/0 was still a little disappointing to me. When I saw his line, I mocked his New Zealand pre-game dance ritual.
Serge Ibaka – A lot of commenters have asked what big men to target, and I’ve been saying a lot of Ibaka. Was in a mini/subtle lull lately, but 23/10/0/1/2 with a trey and 4-4 FT is back on track. Hopefully a few offers made it through.
The Poison Goose – More like The Rainbow Goose! Kristaps Porzingis for 13/7/2/2/3 on 4-11 FG (1-2 3PTM 4-5 FT). So much Poison that I think Bret Michaels is his #1 fan.
Carmelo Anthony – Re-asserted himself as the ball hog we all assumed, leading the team with 21 shots and only making 8. Although the line was just fine for 24/14/4/1/1. Did have 5 TO and an odd 6-11 FT, but Melo fans are happy to see it’s his first 20+ shot game in 10 games and a season-high in boards.
Rajon Rondo – It’s almost like Jose Calderon‘s defense isn’t any good! 16/9/12/2/0 in Rondo’s most efficient game on the year, shooting 7-10 FG, hitting a trey, making his only FT, and only committing 3 TO. Knicks went back to full Poppycock last night! Or is it PoppyKOQ?!
Darren Collison – It’s still not quite to what we hoped, but he remains a producer going 16/1/3 last night. Rondo has obviously been WAYYYY better than we thought, but there’s still run for Colly. STL and AST are down, but everything else is doing OKish.
DeMarcus Cousins – It’s almost like Rolo couldn’t contain him!
Omri Casspi – Probably the most shocking line from the Kings was Casspi’s team-high 40 minutes. 11/8/3 with no treys, but at least no TO either. 3-6 FT is poo though. The Kings have a long break and don’t play until next Tuesday, so there’s really no reason to hang onto Casspi in most 12 or 14ers if you can make streaming moves.
I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend, and cheer on my Panthers on Sunday looking for 13-0! I’ll be at the game, so look for a giant wearing a Rod Smart jersey on the Jumbotron. He Hate Me! See you on Monday, Razzball Nation!
