I'm guessing you were probably like me and disappointed that we a) had only two games on and b) they were both snoozers, but, hey, at least there's 11 games tomorrow to look forward to, right? But, fantasy basketball never stops and there are always things that need to be looked at, so let's get right into the Box Score Breakdown.
ADD ME! ADD ME!
There wasn't anyone playing Thursday who's performance screamed out "add me!", but veteran Jason Terry of the Rockets had his best game for his new team. In 21 minutes, Terry scored 16 points (4-5 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 4-4 FT) with two assists and two steals and as you can see by the fact that all five of his shot attempts were from deep, he's main value is going to come in three-pointers. In fact, he's hit a triple in all six games this season, including at least two in five of those games. He's also shooting a ridiculous 54 percent from three-point land. The other important stat to note from Terry's performances is the fact he's averaging 21 minutes a game. That, along with the triples, make Terry someone who should be owned in 14 team leagues, or 12 team leagues where three-point shooting is what your team really needs.
DROP HIM LIKE HE'S HOT
As with everything in fantasy basketball, what I'm about to say is very depending on your individual circumstance, but if you own Jameer Nelson in a 10 team league, I'm thinking there is better value on your waiver-wire. Nelson struggled again against the Blazers, scoring six points (2-9 FG, 2-5 3Pt) with four rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes and continues to get outplayed y Devin Harris. The former All-Star has yet to top double digits in scoring this season, but is averaging 2.0 three-pointers. Considering Nelson is owned in 24 percent of ESPN leagues and Terry is owned in 0.4 percent, Nelson is on a few too many rosters than his form dictates.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Thursday's action, for one reason or another.
- Spurs
- Manu Ginobili (rest)
- Tim Duncan (rest)
- Marco Belinelli (groin)
- Tiago Splitter (calf)
- Rockets
- Patrick Beverley (hamstring)
- Terrence Jones (leg)
- Mavericks
- Raymond Felton (ankle)
CASUALTY WARD
Thankfully, we had no injuries stemming from Thursday's games, which is always a plus. We did have some injury news, especially regarding the Thunder's bevy of laid up players.
Perry Jones III and Andre Roberson did not participate in practice Thursday, but Jeremy Lamb and Anthony Morrow did, and both guys could make their season debut Friday. If Morrow is indeed back, he'll likely have a decent role in the coming weeks and is worth a look in 12 team leagues, particularly if you need three-pointers.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
I sent out a tweet earlier Thursday asking if you'd rather James Harden or the field for the fantasy line of the night. If you took the field, you'd be happy right now as Harden just got pipped by his teammate, Dwight Howard. Howard decimated the Spurs' makeshift frontcourt, putting in 32 points (12-18 FG, 8-13 FT), grabbing 16 rebounds, swiping a steal and blocking two shots in 33 minutes. As usual, his free throw percentage is an anchor, but overall, he was the most valuable contributor. His free throw shooting has regressed this season from last down from 59 percent to 49 percent, but it is very early to call it a trend. Regardless, in a head-to-head league, Dwight can be a first round talent if you build your team the right way.
ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT
Making his NBA debut, Kyle Anderson also grabs his first rookie of the night award in the process. With all the Spurs' outs, I had a feeling Anderson would see his first action, but what I didn't envisage is him playing a team high 31 minutes. The rookie from UCLA scored just four points (1-8 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 2-3 FT), but added eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Anderson is a guy who projects to put up Nicolas Batum type lines at some point in his career, it just won't be this year. He's a deep, deep league only option.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE WATCH
Nicolas Batum got oh so close to a triple-double, but in the end, couldn't even muster a single-double, scoring eight points (2-8 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with nine rebounds, nine assists, and one block. Batum's numbers always look a little disappointing on the surface, but his value is great in roto leagues and is a superb option in the first three rounds for a team punting points. With how bad his scoring and shooting has been, you may be able to target Batum as a buy-low candidate from an owner whose vision is clouded by the single digits in the points column.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
Much like Batum, Kawhi Leonard's line looks insipid on the surface, scoring just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting, but the fact that he added four rebounds, five assists, and four steals rescues his night. He's another guy people may be panicking on, and while his value maxes out in nie-category rotisserie leagues, you could pry um away for cheap in most leagues at the moment.
Aron Baynes double-doubled in his first stat of the season, with 12 points and 12 rebounds and is only worth streaming in when Duncan sits out. Tonight was the perfect storm though, with Splitter also out, allowing Baynes way more run than he is used to.
Matt Bonner also started, but he played just 15 minutes for five points (2-4 FG, 1-3 3Pt), one rebound and one assist and his fantasy value is almost zero.
Cory Joseph led the Spurs in scoring with 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but offered nothing else. With Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli both out for the next few weeks, he should get extra run, but will only be relevant in deep leagues.
James Harden had another solid night, but inexplicably missed three free throws, going at 50 percent for the night. The 20 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three blocks are nice, but the eight turnovers take some of the shine off his night.
Donatas Motiejunas started in place of Terrence Jones again, and again, was disappointing. He failed to score, missing his only field goal attempt and has underwhelmed this season.
Dirk Nowitzki suffered through a horrid shooting night, scoring 17 points (6-17 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 3-3 FT) with three rebounds, but that is unlikely to be the beginning of a trend. It was just a bad night for the Mavs all around.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers in scoring, but otherwise his line was empty. He scored 20 points, but added seven rebounds and nothing else. He's only topped 10 rebounds in one game this season and hasn't been performing like a second-round draft choice so far.
Chris Kaman and C.J. McCollum led the Blazers' bench unit, scoring 12 and 13 points respectively. Kaman has been a solid source of stats in limited minutes behind Robin Lopez, but he's only of value on nights like this, when you are looking to stream in a player when there aren't many games on.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 32 points
- James Harden, G, HOU, 20 points
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, HOU, 20 points
Rebounds
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 16 rebounds
- Aron Baynes, C, SAS, 12 rebounds
- Nicolas Batum, F, POR, 9 rebounds
Assists
- Nicolas Batum, F, POR, 9 assists
- James Harden, G, HOU, 6 assists
- Damian Lillard, G, POR, 6 assists
Steals
- Kawhi Leonard, F, SAS, 4 steals
- Austin Daye, F, SAS, 3 steals
- Six players tied with 2 steals
Blocks
- James Harden, G, HOU, 3 blocks
- Robin Lopez, C, POR, 3 blocks
- Tyson Chandler, C, DAL, 3 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Jason Terry, G, HOU, 4-5 3Pt
- C.J. McCollum, G, POR, 3-4 3Pt
- Seven players tied with 2 3Pt
Minutes
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 33 minutes
- James Harden, G, HOU, 33 minutes
- Damian Lillard, G, POR, 32 minutes
- Trevor Ariza, F, HOU, 32 minutes