It's time to get drinking from those jugs, because JaVale McGee is back! The enigmatic Denver big man returned to action and the NBA is better for it, but that's not all that went down in Tuesday's preseason action. Let's break down those box scores.
STOCK RISING
Trey Burke -- I feel like I'm talking about the Utah point guard every day, but he's been that impressive, it's hard not to. Burke looked in control against the Thunder, scoring 23 points (9-16 FG, 3-4 3Pt, 2-3 FT) with three rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 28 minutes. That makes it back-to-back 20 point games and if you look at his preseason averages, it's baffling that his average draft position is sitting outside the top 100. In five preseason tilts, Burke has averaged 17.6 points, 2.8 three-pointers, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.0 steals in 30 minutes, shooting 49 percent from the field, a far cry from the 38 percent he shot last season. If you are in need of a point guard in back end of the draft, Burke is someone worth grabbing a couple of rounds ahead of his ADP.
STOCK FALLING
Patrick Beverley - Although he's only averaged 19 minutes in his first five games, Beverley hasn't been able to put up numbers which justify taking him in the top 100. Against the Heat, Beverley scored just four points (2-8 FG, 0-1 3Pt) with one rebound and three assists in 24 minutes. He also racked up four fouls in that short time frame. He has averaged 7.2 points, 1.0 three-pointers, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.4 steals this preseason so far. He's also only gotten to the line once in five games, so his high free throw percentage doesn't help with such a low usage. Granted there's no Jeremy Lin in Houston to share the time at the point, but Beverley's initial showing hasn't been positive. Still, there's hardly a more tenacious on-ball perimeter defender in the NBA.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Tuesday's action.
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Blake Griffin
- Chris Paul
- Jordan Farmar (back)
- Golden State
- Andrew Bogut (illness)
- Shaun Livingston (toe)
- Brandon Rush (back)
- Indiana
- David West (ankle)
- Rodney Stuckey (foot)
- C.J. Watson
- Minnesota
- Andrew Wiggins
- J.J. Barea
- Ronny Turiaf
- Oklahoma City
- Kevin Durant (foot)
- Kendrick Perkins (quad)
- Reggie Jackson
- Jeremy Lamb
- Miami
- Josh McRoberts (toe)
- Udonis Haslem
- Portland
- Steve Blake
- Denver
- Ty Lawson
- Phoenix
- Alex Len
- Tyler Ennis
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Ryan Kelly (hamstring)
- Xavier Henry (knee)
- Nick Young (thumb)
- Robert Sacre
- Jordan Clarkson (calf)
- Steve Nash (back)
CASUALTY WARD
George Hill has been having a super preseason, but left Tuesday's game with a knee contusion. Thankfully, it's nothing more than a contusion and he shouldn't miss any regular season games and remains a great late round point guard option.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
It's the preseason, so there are a ton of lines that don't always add up, but here, I'll touch on a few that stood out Tuesday.
With Chris Paul sitting, Jared Cunningham went off in 39 minutes, dropping 23 points (6-15 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 9-12 FT) with three rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes. If there has been more of a mirage line in the preseason, I've yet to see it. Cunningham is still fighting for a roster spot with Joe Ingles as the only two non-guaranteed rosters on the squad, so his fantasy value is negligible.
Ognjen Kuzmic started in place Andrew Bogut and pulled down 10 rebounds to go with eight points (4-5 FG), one steal, and one block in 27 minutes, but with Bogut only out temporarily (for now) and Festus Ezeli making his long awaited return, minutes will be hard to come by for Kuzmic. When Bogut does get injured for real, he may be a sneaky source of rebounds.
Chris Copeland has now hit 15 three-pointers in his last four games, starting the last two in place of Rodney Stuckey. He scored 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 0-2 FT) and grabbed five rebounds in 26 minutes and is gaining steam as a late round pick in drafts, particularly with C.J. Miles struggling.
Did we write Anthony Bennett too early last season? Tuesday against the Pacers, Bennett scored 17 points (7-9 FG, 3-3 FT) with five rebounds and one steal in just 17 minutes off the bench and has scored in double digits in three out of four contests. He will find it hard to get minutes with Thaddeus Young ahead of him, but for dynasty formats, Bennett is showing that he could be a viable fantasy player as early as next season.
Gordon Hayward has now pilfered 17 steals in the last four games, including four against the Thunder on Tuesday. He chipped in 14 points (4-12 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 5-5 FT) with four rebounds and six assists and looks like he could be one of the big improvers this season. If Hayward isn't going in the top 50 of your draft, something is a little off.
Damian Lillard showed what we can expect after two lackluster showings early on. He poured in 18 points (6-13 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 4-5 FT) with eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals against the Nuggets and will be a top 20 player this season.
Isaiah Thomas led the Suns in scoring, dropping 26 points (6-12 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 12-13 FT) with four rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 31 minutes. He's been productive this preseason, even in limited minutes, and it's possible you can get hm after pick 100, which if an injury besets Goran Dragic or Eric Bledsoe, will return monster value.
Wesley Johnson did Wesley Johnson things, completely stuffing the box score. Johnson had his best game of the preseason, registering 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-3 3Pt, 0-2 FT) with eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks in 40 minutes. With Nick Young and Xavier Henry slated to miss the beginning of the season, Johnson will be all alone on the small forward depth chart and can do this sort of thing regularly.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
Steph Curry -- Curry went off again, scoring 27 points (9-13 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 5-8 FT) with two rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block in 31 minutes, showing that top three value we all know him to have. This preseason, Curry has looked incredible, averaging 18.0 points, 3.0 three-pointers, 3.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals in just 26 minutes, shooting an incredible 56 percent from the field. He's also, amazingly, shooting 55 percent from three on 22 attempts. If you pick in the top three and pass of Curry, it feels like it'll be a mistake.
ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT
With every rookie in action posting sub par lines, no-one gets he rookie of the night designation for Tuesday. Let's hope for better play from the freshmen tonight.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Enes Kanter, C, UTA, 27 points
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 27 points
- Kobe Bryant, G, LAL, 27 points
Rebounds
- Derrick Favors, C, UTA, 15 rebounds
- Robin Lopez, C, POR, 12 rebounds
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, POR, 11 rebounds
Assists
- Russell Westbrook, G, OKC, 11 assists
- Ronnie Price, G, LAL, 10 assists
- Mo Williams, G, MIN, 9 assists
Steals
- Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 4 steals
- Mario Chalmers, G, MIA, 4 steals
- Alonzo Gee, F, DEN, 4 steals
- Chris Douglas-Roberts, F, LAC, 4 steals
Blocks
- Eric Bledsoe, G, PHX, 3 blocks
- Roy Hibbert, C, IND, 3 blocks
- Wesley Johnson, F, LAL, 3 blocks
- Ed Davis, F, LAL, 3 blocks
- Serge Ibaka, F, OKC, 3 blocks
- Rudy Gobert, C, UTA, 3 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 4-5 3Pt
- James Harden, G, HOU, 4-7 3Pt
- Wes Matthews, G, POR, 4-7 3Pt
- Gerald Green, G, PHX, 4-9 3Pt
Minutes
- Wesley Johnson, F, LAL, 40 minutes
- Jared Cunningham, G, LAC, 39 minutes
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, POR, 37 minutes