Portland Trailblazers vs. Houston Rockets
Blazers Notes:
- All the injuries for Portland has them dusting off the cobwebs from players further down the bench. Anfernee Simons (nine percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) is in line for a nice minutes bump, especially if Derrick Jones Jr. now misses time as well. Simons played 28 minutes on Thursday and put up 14 points (including four treys) and eight rebounds. Would be nice to see him add some assists going forward.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5-13 | 0-0 |
- Rodney Hood (seven percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) could also be worth a speculative pickup if Jones Jr. is absent. He saw 20 minutes of action against the Rockets, scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting with an assist and a steal.
- Rough shooting night for Carmelo Anthony, as he mustered just six points on 3-for-15 from the floor with no threes or free throws. He did play 38 minutes though and will be a steady contributor while the Blazers are shorthanded.
Rockets Notes:
- DeMarcus Cousins can be dropped now that Christian Wood has returned. After three straight games playing 30-plus minutes, Boogie got on the court for just 11, scoring six points, grabbing four boards, and dishing three assists.
- Danuel House Jr. is back and looks like he’ll be a fixture in the Houston rotation. He played 19 minutes on Thursday and scored an efficient 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. At just eight percent owned in Yahoo! leagues, he’s worth a look to round out the end of your bench if you have a weak spot and need some threes.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4-7 | 1-1 |
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons
Lakers Notes:
- Kyle Kuzma shined in a spot start for Anthony Davis, with 22 and 10 on 9-of-17 shooting. In five starts this season, Kuzma is posting 14.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.2 3PTM, 1.2 BPG, and shooting 49.2 percent from the field. Stream him if he’s starting and available in your league (39 percent owned in Yahoo!).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9-17 | 1-1 |
- Talen Horton-Tucker was a bright spot for LA, hitting all three of his attempts from beyond the arc to pile up 13 points in just 14 minutes of action. He’s basically been out of the rotation the past two weeks so I’m not reading much into last night.
Pistons Notes:
- Sitting out the first half of Detroit’s back-to-back set did Blake Griffin good, as he responded with perhaps the best game of a really disappointing season so far for him. Griffin dropped 23 points and hit half of his 10 triple tries while racking up six assists against zero turnovers. See if you can get anyone in your league to bite.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 23 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8-16 | 2-2 |
- Delon Wright is finally making the most of his opportunity with the Pistons, flashing a very fantasy-friendly all-around game that has him ranked as a top-40 player over the past 14 days. He didn’t have a huge line on Thursday, but once again contributed across the board with eight points, eight boards, six dimes, two swipes, and nary a turnover.
- Wayne Ellington has been absolutely unconscious from downtown recently, hitting 37 threes in his past seven games and shooting 60 (!!) percent from deep over that stretch. He canned six of his nine (nice) attempts against the Lakers for 20 points. If he still hasn’t been picked up in your league (44 percent owned in Yahoo!), scoop him up now!
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Miami Heat
Clippers Notes:
- There’s some gold to mine in the short term on the Covid Clippers. Let’s start with Reggie Jackson, who got his second consecutive start and delivered with 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. He’s 29 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 16 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6-15 | 1-2 |
- Terance Mann has also gotten two straight starts, posting 12 points on 50 percent shooting, while knocking down all five of his freebies. He’s just five percent owned in Yahoo! leagues, so pick him up now with the Clips playing twice more this week.
- Luke Kennard and Marcus Morris Sr. (22 and 21 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues, respectively) are also getting slight boosts in opportunity with three perimeter starters missing. Neither shot particularly well on Thursday, but got plenty of looks, launching six and eight times from deep, respectively. They’re worth streaming for LA’s weekend set.
Heat Notes:
- Tyler Herro returned from a two-week absence and put together a decent—but inefficient—line, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 boards, but shooting just 8-for-21 from the field and hitting a solitary three-pointer. I’m still looking to deal him.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 19 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8-21 | 2-2 |
- Kelly Olynyk posted single digits in the scoring column for the seventh time in his past eight games. Against the Clippers, he went for nine points on 3-of-6 from deep with just four rebounds, one assist, and no defensive stats. He’s being dropped in a ton of leagues (down to 29 percent owned in Yahoo!), but I’m holding on as long as he’s starting and playing minutes in the mid-20s.
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
Warriors Notes:
- Kelly Oubre Jr. just can’t put it together this season. After stuffing the stat sheet in his last couple of games, Oubre had one to forget, amassing just four points on 1-of-11 shooting, bricking all five of his triple tries, and not doing much else to help out fantasy owners. He’s been frustrating to hold, but he’s probably not fetching anything on the trade market and his upside is too good to cut him, so hang in there if you’ve got him.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-11 | 2-2 |
- It was a down night across the board for the Warriors, but it was especially disappointing to see James Wiseman produce a dud on the heels of his best night as a pro. The youngster shot just 2-of-9 from the floor, didn’t even attempt a three, and didn’t block any shots in 19 minutes of action, snapping a streak of five consecutive games scoring in double figures.
Suns Notes:
- Frank Kaminsky had himself a night coming off the bench. He nearly notched a trip-dub, with 13 points, 12 boards, and eight assists. DeAndre Ayton was in foul trouble in this one, so it’s just a one-off for Frank the Tank.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 13 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4-9 | 3-4 |
- With Devin Booker out, the Suns have a lot more minutes available on the wing. It’s been Abdel Nader who’s been claiming them lately, and he had a strong performance on Thursday, scoring 16 points, hitting a pair of treys, grabbing five rebounds, and dishing three assists. He led Phoenix in shot attempts off the bench. Nader is zero percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues, so he may be worth a speculative pickup in the near term.
- Interesting to see that with backup point guard Cam Payne sidelined, it was E’Twaun Moore getting the call over Jevon Carter. Payne had really low end streaming value, so if you’re in a pinch and need some points and threes, Moore (zero percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) could be of some use.
