A new week is upon us and I hope you all won your first week matchup in your head-to-head leagues. If not, fear not, as hope springs eternal and all box scores began Monday at 0-0. Of course, they didn't end that way as there were huge lines all over the place in the NBA, including our first triple-double of the young season.
ADD ME! ADD ME!
I was going to go ahead and assume that Tony Wroten has been scooped up in your league (hopefully by you), but then I gazed at his his ownership percentages on both ESPN and Yahoo and was floored. Totally floored. While he has jumped precipitously, Wroten is currently sitting at just 61 percent ownership on ESPN and 52 percent on Yahoo. While Michael Carter-Williams remains out, which should be another two weeks with how thing stand at the moment, Wroten is too good not to own. Against the Rockets, Wroten scored 20 points (7-16 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 4-6 FT) with five rebounds, four assists and a whopping five steals in 31 minutes. The crazy thing is that this line has not been uncommon over the beginning of this season. I understand that when MCW returns, Wroten will not be anywhere near the same fantasy player, but you've got a nice two week window left, you best make use of it while you can.
DROP HIM LIKE HE'S HOT
His potential is tantalising, but if you are in a 10 or 12 team league, having Danilo Gallinari on your roster is likely hurting you where it hurts most - in the standings. He has yet to top 20 minutes in the first three contests, obviously playing to a minutes restriction, and even in the minutes he is playing, he isn't being productive. In the loss to the Kings, Gallinari played just 14 minutes after being moved to the bench and failed to score, missing all six of his shots and adding just two rebounds. The Italian's averages of 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists this season most definitely don't cut the mustard for standard leagues and with no defined timetable as to when the restriction will be lifted, you can do better off the waiver wire.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE WATCH
If you've been reading the Box Score Breakdown when J.J. Calle takes the reins (and absolutely destroys it), you'll have noted his Near Triple-Double section where he is constantly on the lookout for someone approaching the somewhat rare statistical achievement. So, I'm sure J.J. is quietly seething that the first trip-dub of the season happened on my watch, with Chris Paul notching up the 2014-15 season's inaugural one. Paul had 13 points (5-12 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with 10 rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and one block in 36 minutes, and that makes three straight games with double figure assists as well.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Monday's action, for one reason or another.
- Rockets
- Patrick Beverley (hamstring)
- Sixers
- Michael Carter-Williams (shoulder)
- Thunder
- Kevin Durant (foot)
- Russell Westbrook (hand)
- Jeremy Lamb (back)
- Anthony Morrow (knee)
- Pelicans
- John Salmons (birth)
- Grizzlies
- Courtney Lee (concussion)
- Mavericks
- Raymond Felton (ankle)
- Nuggets
- J.J. Hickson (suspended)
CASUALTY WARD
Andre Roberson lasted just 11 minutes in the Thunder's humbling by the Nets, spraining his left foot and has already been ruled out for the game Tuesday.
Adding to the Thunder's woes was Perry Jones III and his freshly banged knee. Jones knocked knees with Jarrett Jack diving for a loose ball and came up limping. At this stage, his status for Tuesday is unknown, but if he is forced to miss, the Thunder are going to be stretched to the extreme on the wings with Lance Thomas in line to make a start.
Al-Farouq Aminu was unable to play in the second half of the Mavericks' victory over the Celtics due to left knee pain, but said that he doesn't expect to miss anytime due to the issue, which is something he's been dealing with all season.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
In a night abounding with stat sheets that were stuffed, one stat sheet stood a whisker above the rest. James Harden took full advantage of the fact that his Rockets were facing off against the Sixers and tore them apart for 35 points (7-18 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 17-18 FT) with nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes. Harden has been exception this season, averaging 27.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, and shooting an incredible 94 percent from the line on 13.5 attempts per game. His contribution to your free throw percentage is astounding and it was about time that he took out the line of the night.
ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT
Sticking with the Rockets and Sixers, Nerlens Noel stuffed the stat sheet in a different way. He had 10 points, but just one rebound and one block, but racked up five assists and six steals in a contender for weirdest line of the year. He was always going to a game-changing shot blocker, but the fact he is currently averaging 2.0 steals is a huge bonus. Not that steals weren't always part of his repertoire, but it's good to see them in practice instead of just theory.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
The NBA is back and it's time to delve a little deeper into the stats that our favorite, (and not so favorite) players put up.
It wasn't just Harden, Noel, and Wroten putting up numbers in the Rockets and Sixers contest. Trevor Ariza caught fire from deep, hitting five three-pointers in the first half and ending the game with six, along with 24 total points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. With the way he's started off this season, you'd think he was looking to sign another contract in July.
Dwight Howard also combined for seven total blocks and steals to go with his double double of 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Isaiah Canaan was serviceable filling in for Patrick Beverley, who sat with a hamstring issue. Canaan scored 13 points (5-11 FG, 3-6 3Pt) with six assists and two steals and will continue to have value for as long as Beverley is sidelined.
Brandon Davies replaced Henry Sims in the starting lineup for Philadelphia and performed admirably, scoring 13 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-3 FT) with four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. If he continues to start, he'll be a guy to look at in all leagues.
Reggie Jackson returned to the court for the Thunder and immediately became a must-own player, so if he was dropped in your league, you must add him right this instant. He scored 23 points (8-20 FG, 2-8 3Pt, 5-5 FT) with four rebounds and five assists and becomes the most accomplished scorer on this MASH unit of a roster now that he is back.
Also making his first appearance of the season was Brook Lopez, who played 24 minutes for the Nets. He showed what a dominant offensive force he can be, scoring 18 points in those limited minutes, grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots. Fingers crossed his feet can last the distance this season.
Anthony Davis returned to normal, human levels of production, scoring 14 points (6-12 FG, 2-2 FT) with eight rebounds, also adding a steal and a block. There was obviously no way he could sustain the form from the first two contests.
Ryan Anderson couldn't get his shot to fall, going 3-of-14 for seven points and grabbing nine rebounds, but failed to fit a three pointer for the first time this season. His production is likely to fluctuate this season and he's yet to play 30 minutes in a game. If he strings together a few strong games, I'd be looking to move him if I owned him anywhere.
Tony Allen registered a surprise double-double of 12 points (4-8 FG, 4-8 FT) and 11 rebounds, but surprisingly for him, didn't manage to nab a steal. He's a waiver-wire guy to stream in when you need steals, and despite his status as a starter, it's hard to rely on him for consistent production in other categories.
Both Jeff Green and Avery Bradley challenged for the fantasy line of the night, scoring over 30 points each. Green went for 35 points (14-28 FG, 5-12 3Pt, 2-3 FT) with seven rebounds, one steal and two blocks, while Bradley had 32 points (13-22 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 2-3 FT) with eight rebounds and three steals. It was Bradley's best game by far this season and consequently he is available in a lot of waiver-wires and is definitely worth a look if you need some scoring to be added to your lineup.
Devin Harris continues to be the most effective Dallas point guard, scoring 12 points and adding six assists in 30 minutes, compared with Jameer Nelson's six point, two assist night in 23 minutes. At this stage, I'd rather Harris over Nelson, but with Raymond Felton due back soon, the rotation could become even messier.
Darren Collison continued his surprising start to the season, leading the Kings with 21 points (5-9 FG, 11-13 FT), adding four rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes. Ramon Sessions played his best game, getting 21 minutes of court time and scoring 13 points, but Collison's job and role is as safe as houses at the moment.
JaVale McGee is beginning to have an impact off the bench, blocking another four shots in just 14 minutes to go with his four in 20 minutes from Saturday. He also added 16 points Monday and I'd have no problem with a speculative add on McGee because those block numbers are elite.
Another guy to go completely off Monday was Utah's Gordon Hayward. Hayward scored a season high 27 points (10-19 FG, 5-12 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with seven rebounds and five assists and is a legitimate top 15 player at this stage of the season. He has yet to miss a free throw and is shooting 48 percent from the field, up from 41 percent last season. I wouldn't be selling high on Hayward, as I believe that this sort of production can become the rule, rather than the exception.
J.J. Redick only managed 15 minutes, scoring just seven points (2-6 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 1-2 FT) in another poor showing. Reggie Bullock was preferred over Redick and hit four triples to score 12 points. Whether this is the beginning of a trend or not, it's time to be a little worried about Redick in standard leagues.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- James Harden, G, HOU, 35 points
- Jeff Green, F, BOS, 35 points
- Avery Bradley, G, BOS, 32 points
Rebounds
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 14 rebounds
- Reggie Evans, F, SAC, 14 rebounds
- Tyson Chandler, C, DAL, 12 rebounds
Assists
- Rajon Rondo, G, BOS, 15 assists
- Chris Paul, G, LAC, 12 assists
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 12 assists
Steals
- Nerlens Noel, C, PHI, 6 steals
- Tony Wroten, G, PHI, 5 steals
- Jarrett Jack, G, BKN, 4 steals
Blocks
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 4 blocks
- JaVale McGee, C, DEN, 4 blocks
- Tyson Chandler, C, DAL, 4 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Trevor Ariza, F, HOU, 6-9 3Pt
- Jeff Green, F, BOS, 5-12 3Pt
- Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 5-12 3Pt
Minutes
- Reggie Jackson, G, OKC, 42 minutes
- Marc Gasol, C, MEM, 40 minutes
- Jeff Green, F, BOS, 39 minutes
- Tyreke Evans, G, NOP, 39 minutes