Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks
Bucks Notes:
- Pat Connaughton benefited from the absence of Donte DiVincenzo, playing 26 minutes off the bench. He hit four of his 11 threes to score 14 points, while also hauling in eight rebounds. It was Connaughton’s third straight double-digit scoring game, and he’s dropped in 11 threes in that stretch. However, he’s as streaky as they come as he finished with single-digit point totals and only three triples over his previous seven outings. If you’re desperate for threes you can stream him and hope he gets hot from deep, and he provides solid rebounding for his position as well (five percent owned in Yahoo!).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5-12 | 0-0 |
- Bryn Forbes got the spot start against the Hawks, scoring nine points on 1-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and not really doing much else, ending his run of three straight double-digit scoring performances. Forbes is a desperation play if you need treys (two percent owned in Yahoo!) and will probably head back to the bench soon.
Hawks Notes:
- Better late than never for Bogdan Bogdanovic, who’s been on a tear recently, ranking as the No. 17 overall player on Yahoo! over the past 14 days. He scored an efficient 28 points on Thursday—the eighth time in his past 10 he’s gone for 20-plus—and also dished out seven assists even with Trae Young back in the lineup. Over his past 10 games, he’s averaging 22.4 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 4.5 3PTM. Fantasy owners who stayed patient with him have suddenly added a top-20 player to their playoff roster.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 28 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10-20 | 2-2 |
- Solomon Hill remains Atlanta’s starting power forward for now, and had his best game in quite some time, nailing six of his eight triple tries to score 18 points in 34 minutes, with five boards and a block to boot. Hill is guaranteed to see a lot of action, so he’ll have the opportunity to put up some numbers, but he rarely does anything with it so there should be better options on the wire (one percent owned in Yahoo!).
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Warriors Notes:
- Stephen Curry finally cooled off from deep, making just four of his 13 attempts from downtown. Still, he finished with 33 points, five assists, and two blocks, while extending his streak of consecutive 30-point outings to nine. He’s hit 57 (!) treys during that span, which is more than half the league, so yeah, he’s pretty good.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 33 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12-25 | 5-5 |
- Juan Toscano-Anderson erupted for a rare 20-point outburst off the bench, making eight of his nine field goals and three of his four triples. He also chipped in seven boards, three dimes, a steal, and a swat. JTA’s minutes have been inconsistent of late, so I wouldn’t read too much into Thursday’s gem (one percent owned in Yahoo!).
Cavs Notes:
- Taurean Prince saw his minutes dip below 20 for the first time all month as Cleveland was back at full strength, but he still managed to contribute his seventh straight double-digit scoring performance with 12 points on 5-for-10 from the floor, with a pair of threes and steals. Over the past 14 days, Prince has been a top-90 player. I’d still pick him up to see if he stays hot (22 percent owned), but now that the Cavs are healthy, his best stretch of play may be behind him.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5-10 | 0-0 |
- The big loser from Cleveland’s roster coming together is Dean Wade. The other D-Wade had been on a nice little roll, ranking as a top-100 player over the past 14 days while playing at least 25 minutes in each of his past 10 contests. That came to an end against the Warriors, as Wade played just 17 minutes and took just three shots, scoring three points with nary a rebound. Time to cut bait (17 percent owned in Yahoo!) if you were streaming him.
Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Celtics Notes:
- Jaylen Brown couldn’t miss against LA, connecting on 17 of his 20 field goal attempts to score 40 points. He also pulled down nine boards and hit three threes, icing the game down the stretch when Boston embarrassingly (I’m not biased, I swear!) had to re-insert their starters after blowing a massive lead. It was a special night for Brown, who has scored 20 or more in each of Boston’s five consecutive victories.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 40 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 17-20 | 3-3 |
- Tristan Thompson picked up the start in the absence of Robert Williams. Thompson scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting while collecting six rebounds and five assists. It was Thompson’s first foray into double-digit points since returning to the lineup. If Williams misses more time he’s worth a pickup, but he doesn’t have much upside as a backup (21 percent owned in Yahoo!).
Lakers Notes:
- Marc Gasol re-entered the starting lineup in place of Andre Drummond and had his best offensive game of the season with 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field, with four treys, four boards, and three dimes. Gasol had only played five minutes total over the last four games, so when Drummond is back he loses all his value (14 percent owned in Yahoo!).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 18 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7-10 | 0-0 |
- Talen Horton-Tucker has become a reliable sixth man for the injury-riddled Lakers. He’s notched at least 10 points in seven of his past eight outings, and over his past five, he’s also dishing six assists per. Thursday night saw him finish with 19 points and seven assists, while also grabbing six rebounds and coming away with three steals. He should be owned in more than 22 percent of Yahoo! leagues right now.
Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns
Kings Notes:
- I had forgotten that Hassan Whiteside was even on the Kings, but he’s resurfaced as a fantasy asset now that (the criminally underrated) Richaun Holmes is out. Whiteside double-doubled in 24 minutes against the Suns with 11 points and 10 boards. It’s probably too late to pick him up (he’s up to 62 percent owned), but check your waiver wire just in case.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 11 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5-8 | 1-2 |
- My man Delon Wright had his best game in a Kings uniform with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists on efficient shooting. The 28 minutes was his most with Sacramento and even outpaced rookie darling, Tyrese Haliburton. Unfortunately, Wright has lost all trust in the fantasy community with his wildly consistent performances since joining his new squad, so while it’s tough for me to quit him, I’m not rushing out to pick him up after last night (38 percent owned in Yahoo!).
Suns Notes:
- The Suns have rotated through several players trying to find someone to lock down their fourth guard spot in the rotation. The latest flavor of the week has been Jevon Carter, who’s responded favorably to the increased playing time he’s seen over the past four games. Carter has buried at least three triples in each of those games and is averaging over 11 PPG over that span. If you’re desperate for threes, he’s on the radar as a streaming option (zero percent owned in Yahoo!).
