Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons
Cavs Notes:
- Brandon Goodwin popped off the bench with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists, two threes, and a steal in 24 minutes, making six of his 12 shots as well as his lone free-throw. Goodwin benefited from the absences of both Darius Garland and Caris LeVert, but LeVert will continue to miss time, making Goodwin a potential streamer. When Goodwin has gotten the requisite playing time, he’s put up numbers. Most recently, that came in a three-game stretch at the beginning of the month when Goodwin averaged 13.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.7 3PTM, and 2.0 SPG. However, with the Cavs fancying themselves as legit contenders, they may favor veteran Rajon Rondo over him, making Goodwin a watch-and-wait guy for the time being (zero percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 15 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6-12 | 1-1 |
Pistons Notes:
- Marvin Bagley III flashed in 27 minutes off the pine, making eight of 13 from the field to score 16 points, while collecting four boards and rejecting a shot. Bagley hasn’t looked especially good in Detroit thus far, but he perked up last night. You’ve got to think the Pistons want to see what they have in the former No. 2 overall pick who is headed for restricted free agency in the summer, meaning he should get enough playing time to get points and rebounds at an efficient clip. If you picked him up after the trade, I’d still hold on to him to see what he’s got (22 percent rostered in Yahoo! leagues).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8-13 | 0-0 |
Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets
Celtics Notes:
- The Celtics have been on a roll with their healthy 8-man rotation killing it in recent weeks. Their top six are all rostered in the vast majority of leagues, and all are top-100 players for the rest of the season, while no one else is worth a look at the moment.
Nets Notes:
- Bruce Brown wasn’t getting much run in the opening months of the campaign, but he’s been an important piece for the shorthanded Nets since the trade deadline. Brown did a bit of everything last night, scoring 15 points, hauling in seven rebounds, dishing out five assists, and picking up 3 steals in 35 minutes of action. Over his past five games he has stuffed the stat sheet just like that, averaging 12.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.6 BPG, and 0.6 3PTM. He’s a surefire pickup as long as he’s getting the playing time (16 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5-12 | 4-6 |
Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls
Hawks Notes:
- Danilo Gallinari provided a nice scoring punch with John Collins on the shelf. The veteran forward put up 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, with nine boards and a pair of treys. Over his past three outings (all starts), Gallo is averaging 20.7 PPG and 2.3 3PTM on good shooting, with just 1.0 TOV. As long as Collins sits, start Gallinari (18 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10-18 | 4-6 |
Bulls Notes:
- People are finally starting to get on the Ayo Dosunmu train, as he’s crept up to 58 percent rostered. Check to make sure he’s not still sitting on waivers because he’s a fantastic contributor. Against the Hawks, the rookie scored 12 points on 5-for-9 from the field, with six rebounds, three dimes, two triples, and three swats. Over his past five, he’s averaged 12.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG, and 1.4 3PTM. He should have a spot in every league.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5-9 | 0-0 |
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Grizz Notes:
- On a terrible shooting night for the Grizzlies as a team, Ziaire Williams stood out, converting seven of 11 attempts, including three from distance, to score 21 points to go along with four rebounds and a steal. Though Williams is starting, he’s playing a small role that doesn’t feature him much. That said, you can see the potential of the slender rook. This was the second time this month he’s crossed the 20-point threshold. I don’t expect it to happen too often the rest of the season, but he’s an intriguing prospect for dynasty formats (one percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 21 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7-11 | 4-4 |
Wolves Notes:
- Patrick Beverley continues to provide sneaky good fantasy value, even this late in his career. The pesky defender contributes a little bit across the board, as he did last night with 13 points, four dimes, four triples, and two thefts. In five appearances since the trade deadline, Pat Bev is averaging a well-rounded 12.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.4 3PTM, 1.6 SPG, and 1.2 BPG. He should be on more rosters (39 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4-12 | 1-2 |
Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Suns Notes:
- With Chris Paul sidelined for the foreseeable future, it was Cam Johnson who slid into the starting lineup in his stead. We’ve talked about Johnson a lot in this space, so it’s exciting to see him get the call to action. In 31 minutes, Johnson scored 21 points to go with four rebounds, five assists, four treys, and a block. He’s more than just a shooting specialist, and if he continues to play 30-plus minutes he should be owned in every league (47 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 21 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7-12 | 3-3 |
Thunder Notes:
- OKC has a constantly rotating cast of characters who randomly show out. The latest flavor of the week is Tre Mann, who’s balled out over his past three outings, playing over 30 minutes in each. On Thursday he produced 11 points, five boards, six dimes, and four swipes. Over his last three he’s averaged 21.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.7 3PTM, and 2.0 SPG. Get him while he’s hot (eight percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 11 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5-13 | 0-0 |
Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings
Nuggets Notes:
- As a team, Denver shot incredibly well in a road victory. Monte Morris was a large part of that, connecting on 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from distance to score 19 points. He added four assists, a steal, and a block to round out his night. Morris doesn’t blow you away, but he’s incredibly consistent. He’s a high-efficiency player who can provide modest totals in points, threes, and assists, and his secret weapon is he hardly ever turns the ball over, especially for a ball-handler. If you need an extra point guard and want someone who won’t take anything off the table, Morris is still available in nearly half of standard leagues (52 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7-9 | 2-2 |
Kings Notes:
- With the trade of Tyrese Haliburton, the Kings signaled that they were ready to give Davion Mitchell more responsibility on offense. Mitchell has cooled off since a white hot stretch a few weeks ago, but the important thing is he’s looking at 30 minutes and plenty of time on the ball the rest of the way. He struggled on Thursday, with just seven points on 3-for-10 shooting, three assists, and a steal, but the rookie will have considerable opportunity to put up numbers down the stretch (40 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3-10 | 1-1 |
Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Dubs Notes:
- Jonathan Kuminga has carved out an integral role in the Warriors’ rotation. The electric rook scored 17 off the bench by bullying his way to the line 12 times (10 makes), while also snatching eight boards and swatting two shots. It was his ninth consecutive game scoring in double figures, despite moving back to the bench. In that stretch he has averaged 15.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 3PTM, and 0.8 BPG. Till Draymond Green is back healthy, keep rolling with Kuminga (29 percent rostered).
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 17 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3-7 | 10-12 |
Blazers Notes:
- A deep sleeper to keep an eye on down the stretch is Keon Johnson. He made his Portland debut last night and got some burn in garbage time, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds in 17 minutes. Johnson has barely played this season, but he was the prize of the Norm Powell/Bob Covington trade, and the Blazers are itching to give him an opportunity to season his raw skills, especially if it will help them tank their way into a better pick. He’s nowhere near pickup status, but don’t forget about the 19-year-old in the Pacific Northwest.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PTM | TOV | FG | FT |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1-4 | 2-2 |
