Utah Jazz vs. Atlanta Hawks
Jazz Notes:
- Utah’s top eight is just so consistent. Bojan Bogdanovic looks like he’s gotten back on track with his fourth straight productive outing. He scored 21 points on 9-of-14 from the floor, and over his last four, he’s averaging 25.0 PPG and 4.3 3PTM on 58 percent shooting from the field, 55 percent from downtown, and 90 percent from the line.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9-14 | 2-2 |
Hawks Notes:
- Cam Reddish has not made the most of his opportunity with some Hawks rotation pieces out. After three consecutive duds, he was a little better last night, at least getting to double figures in scoring and dishing three assists, but he failed to make a three, grabbed a paltry two rebounds, and shot just 5-of-14 from the field. Over his past four games, he’s shooting under 30 percent from the floor and has made just one three-pointer. I still believe in the talent he flashed down the stretch last season, so if someone bails on him in your league (43 percent owned in Yahoo!) I think he’s worth a flier.
- Kevin Huerter has been steady as a low-end fantasy play all season and was solid again with 16 points, a couple of threes, three steals, and a block while making half his field-goal attempts. He doesn’t have huge upside, but he’s a useful piece to round out your roster.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 16 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7-14 | 0-0 |
Portland Trailblazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Blazers Notes:
- Carmelo Anthony has broken out of a shooting slump, dropping 20-plus in consecutive outings, including 22 against the Sixers on an efficient 8-for-14 from the field, with five assists, three triples, and pair of rejections. With Portland going through a rash of injuries to their perimeter players, the OG Melo will have value. Pick him up if he’s available in your league (34 percent owned in Yahoo!).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 22 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8-14 | 3-4 |
- Rodney Hood is another player to squeeze short term gains out of while he’s playing major minutes. Hood (4 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) scored 16 points on 50 percent shooting with a couple of threes in 34 minutes last night.
- One player who isn’t getting an opportunity to shine is Anfernee Simons, who played just 19 minutes in this one, scoring 14 points (UPDATE: Trail Blazers announced that he would be on a minutes limit due to tweaking his hamstring earlier in the week). I would have expected the Blazers to give him all the run he can handle in this situation so I’m concerned that it was CJ Elleby (15 points, seven rebounds) who got 31 minutes off the bench instead. I’m leaving both on the wire till the rotation shakes out a little more clearly.
Sixers Notes:
- With no Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid carried the team on his back, scoring 31 of his 37 points in the first half before leaving the game with an apparent injury. Hope all is well with Embiid, who’s having a monster year and is a legit MVP candidate.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 37 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 14-21 | 9-9 |
- Furkan Korkmaz got the start in place of Simmons and led the team with 38 minutes played. He had an alright game, scoring 13 points and notching a couple of steals, but his shooting will keep him relevant as a streaming option for those in need of treys (1 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues).
- Both Shake Milton (23 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) and Tyrese Maxey (six percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) saw 20-plus minutes off the bench. Maxey had the slightly better line with 15 points, four assists, two triples, and a steal, but I’d still rather have Milton going forward.
Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks
Warriors Notes:
- The Warriors went off for 147 in this one, led by Kelly Oubre Jr., who put up a career-best 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting, with eight rebounds and seven treys. Oubre has been incredibly inconsistent this season but has what it takes to be a top-75 player. I’m not a huge fan so I’m looking to sell high after his career night.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 40 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 14-21 | 5-6 |
- With Kevon Looney and James Wiseman out, the Warriors have turned to Juan Toscano-Anderson to fill the void. He’s stepped up admirably, with a 16-point, eight-rebound, five-assist game on Thursday, adding a pair of threes and blocks as well. Pick him up while the going is good (six percent owned in Yahoo! leagues).
- Everyone had a good game for the Warriors, but it was a particularly bright spot for Draymond Green, who’s really been bad offensively. His passing was on point (15 assists), but he also showed some more aggression attacking the basket, getting to the line five times, and converting all five for 11 points. He should be doing that more and if he does he’ll be a top-100 player.
Mavs Notes:
- Obviously, Luka Doncic is an absolute stud, but an important development is his free-throw shooting. After going 8-for-9 from the stripe last night, he’s up to 79 percent on the season (up from 76 percent last season and 71 percent as a rookie) and is shooting 87.5 percent over his past seven games (on eight attempts per). Adding another elite category to his arsenal brings him that much closer to number one overall status.
- Even off the bench, Jalen Brunson looks like he’s worth having on the end of your bench. Brunson had an efficient 18 points, with four assists, three triples, and just one turnover. At just four percent owned in Yahoo! leagues, he should be on more rosters.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6-9 | 3-4 |
Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Rockets Notes:
- Jae’Sean Tate has been an unheralded gem for the Rockets, and had another strong performance on Thursday, racking up 19 points, seven boards, and a couple of blocks while hitting seven of his nine shots. He’s notched at least 11 points and seven rebounds in three of his last four. He’s also averaging a three, a steal, and a block over that stretch while shooting a blistering 68 percent from the field. While he’s starting in Houston he should be rostered, yet is owned in just five percent of Yahoo! leagues.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7-9 | 3-3 |
- Danuel House Jr. (11 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) has been getting consistent playing time since re-entering the fold and showed up last night with 13 points, five dimes, three treys, and three swipes. He has low-end value and is a good source of triples.
- Sterling Brown (two percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) continues to be a solid streaming option, especially when the Rockets are missing one of their backcourt pieces (which is pretty often). He compiled nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists on Thursday.
Grizzlies Notes:
- There is a ton of value to be mined from Memphis’ bench. As long as Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas remain sidelined, Gorgui Dieng is worth an add (13 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues). He’s been a top-100 player on the season and since the Grizz have come back from their health and safety hiatus he’s averaging 11.7 PPG. 7.3 RPG, 1.8 3PTM, and 1.8 BPG.
- Desmond Bane (four percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) is getting some extended run with Grayson Allen sitting out, and the rookie is shooting lights out from deep. Since Memphis re-joined NBA play, he’s scored in double figures every time out while canning 2.5 3PTM. He’s shooting better than 50 percent (!) from beyond the arc on the season and has supplemented the treys with some assists, dishing eight in his past two games.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5-8 | 4-5 |
- Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton have both been good, but I’d rather take Melton’s upside if I’m streaming one (unless you’re looking purely for assists). Melton cooled off a bit on Thursday, but since the restart, he’s averaging 14.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.3 3PTM, and 1.5 BPG. He’s up to 35 percent owned (plus 31% in the last day) in Yahoo! leagues, so the window is about to close on picking him up.
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Nuggets Notes:
- Interesting to see JaMychal Green in the starting lineup for Denver next to Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap. I think it was just a matchup call so I’m not reading too much into it, but Green has been a low-end fantasy play all season. He scored 14 points, grabbed eight boards, and hit a couple of threes against LA.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 14 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5-10 | 2-2 |
- Rare off-night for Nikola Jokic, who managed a 13-10-6 line, but shot just 6-for-16, posted no defensive stats and didn’t even attempt a three.
Lakers Notes:
- Ho-hum trip-dub for LeBron James, as he goes for 27-10-10. He continues to sizzle from deep. Thursday marked the eleventh time in his past 12 contests that he connected on multiple threes, and he’s shooting a crisp 45 percent from deep over that span.
- Montrezl Harrell has gotten back to business as usual, providing points and FG% with a smattering of boards and defense. He’s shooting 81 percent from the floor over his past three while scoring 16.0 PPG after a 6-for-8 showing against Denver. I still think he’s a little overvalued and would flip him for a top-100 player if I could.
- Talen Horton-Tucker sparkled off the bench for the Lakers. He put up 17 points on 8-of-12 from the field with three steals and a block. He overtook Alex Caruso in terms of minutes, but I think it was just a ride-the-hot-hand sort of thing and would leave THT (four percent owned in Yahoo! leagues) on the wire.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 17 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8-12 | 0-0 |
