Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Raptors Notes:
- Pascal Siakam continued his bounce back over the past few weeks, filling up the stat sheet again. He scored 27 points while making half of his shot attempts, chipped in six rebounds, five assists, two triples, two blocks, and a steal. He’s been a borderline top-10 player over the past 14 days.
- Norman Powell is another Raptor who’s been hot lately. He lit up Milwaukee for 29 points on only 12 shots, hitting four threes and nailing seven of his eight foul shots. Over the past month, Powell has averaged a shade over 20 PPG, on close to 50/40/90 shooting while canning 2.5 3PTM—good enough for a place in the top-60 over that span. This is a continuation of his breakout last season and I, for one, am seriously regretting cutting bait after his slow start this season.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 29 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9-12 | 7-8 |
- Interesting to see DeAndre’ Bembry get the start in place of Kyle Lowry as Toronto went with a small-ball look. He didn’t do much (five points on 2-of-3 shooting with four assists), but he did play 37 minutes. If Lowry is out for a few games and Bembry gets 30-plus minutes of action, I’d pick him up (one percent owned in Yahoo!) as a volume play. He can contribute a little bit across the board.
Bucks Notes:
- With Jrue Holiday still sidelined by Health and Safety Protocols, it’s opened a door for a couple of the Bucks’ bench mob to be viable fantasy plays. Bryn Forbes has been getting the starts lately and can be picked up as a 3-point specialist. Forbes hit three of them on Thursday for 11 points, and even kicked in five boards and a steal. He’s just nine percent owned in Yahoo!.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4-8 | 0-0 |
- If you’re after a little more statistical versatility, can I interest you in a little Pat Connaughton (six percent owned in Yahoo!) action? He didn’t do a ton against the Raptors (seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and a three), but he played a healthy 29 minutes, which is enough for him to put up some interesting numbers. He can provide boosts in rebounds and blocks, a rare stat pack for a guard.
Miami Heat vs. Sacramento Kings
Heat Notes:
- Big night for Tyler Herro on the heels of a dud. Good to see him bounce back with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting. I’m still fading him though and would gauge interest around my league now.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 27 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12-17 | 1-2 |
- Kelly Olynyk also busted out of a slump in Sacramento. After four straight games scoring seven or fewer points, he went for 22 on 10-of-16 shooting, hitting all nine of his two-pointers. His minutes are down a bit over his last three games, but as long as he’s starting and playing in the mid-20s I’d hold him on the end of my bench. He’s 36 percent owned and falling, so there’s a chance he’s on your wire.
- Kendrick Nunn is another player to ride while he’s still starting and getting big minutes, scoring 16 points with four treys against the Kings. Nunn is a top-100 player over the past 14 days, scoring about 19 PPG on really good percentages with 3.4 3PTM and 1.6 SPG. His value is shaky long-term though, so if you can flip for something, do it.
Kings Notes:
- Where have you been, Nemanja Bjelica?! The Kings have dusted the cobwebs off of him and thrown him out there in their past few games. Belly has always produced when given the minutes and he got plenty of them on Thursday, leading the team with 35. He used that time to score 25 points on 11-of-21 from the floor, grab eight boards, dish three assists, hit a couple of threes, and nab two steals. He’s worth an add (four percent owned in Yahoo!) in the short term to see if he keeps playing, and is a great target with a weekend back-to-back on the schedule.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 25 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11-21 | 1-3 |
- Marvin Bagley III has not gotten consistent minutes, and they haven’t gone up even in the absence of Richaun Holmes. He has scored at least 17 points in his last three games even without a ton of burn—including 19 in this one with 10 boards and a pair of triples—so I’d try to move him now if I could.
- Shouts to DaQuan Jeffries for a perfect 6-for-6 night from the field, including five long balls! That said, he can be safely left on the wire for now.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Nets Notes:
- With Kevin Durant out of the lineup, it’s a different role player on the wing who capitalizes night to night. On this occasion, it was Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who scored 15 points on 5-of-8 from deep, with three assists and two steals in 27 minutes off the bench. He’s a consideration for anyone in need of treys (one percent owned in Yahoo!)
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 15 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5-9 | 0-0 |
- Another option is Landry Shamet (four percent owned in Yahoo!), who’s connected on multiple threes in seven of his last eight games, including two against the Lakers for 10 points.
- It was nice to see Andre Roberson get back into some NBA action, but he’s still off the radar for fantasy purposes.
Lakers Notes:
- Tough night for everyone not named LeBron James, as the Lakers were hammered by the Nets. One bright spot was Kyle Kuzma, who started for the injured Anthony Davis, posting 16 points and 10 rebounds, with a pair of triples, a steal, and a swat. With news coming out of a prolonged absence for Davis, Kuzma has been snapped up in most leagues (62 percent owned in Yahoo!), but if you’re in a shallower league you might want to check the wire just in case.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 16 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7-13 | 0-0 |
- After a torrid start to the season shooting the rock, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is really scuffling. He was 3-for-8 from the field with nine points, and it was one of his better games recently. Over the past 14 days, he’s outside the top-300 and is shooting an abysmal 34 percent from the field with less than one 3PTM per contest. He can be safely dropped for a different hot shooter.
