So it turns out he Nick Young might be the MVP, with the Lakers 2-0 since his return, Who knew? We also had triple overtime craziness, multiple teams playing with short rotations due to injuries and the Spurs getting the win over LeBron James again. Join me as we break down all 11 box scores from Wednesday.
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With Nikola Pekovic out for a least a week with wrist and ankle issues, plus an unspecified personal issue, the signal has gone out to go and grab Gorgui Dieng in all leagues. We know how dominant Dieng was in Pekovic's stead last season, and now he has the keys to the post in Minnesota. In 15 starts, Dieng averaged 12.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. In addition to Pekovic being out, the Wolves are without Ronny Turiaf and Thaddeus Young too, meaning there is no way Dieng doesn't get extended run for the short-term at least. In the first game sans Pekovic, Dieng scored eight points (4-7 FG) with seven rebounds, four assists, five steals, and one block in 32 minutes. This may not be a short-term add either, with Pekovic's troublesome ankle, a hold-over from last season. Owned in just 21 percent of ESPN leagues and 59 percent of Yahoo leagues, Dieng is someone who should jump p precipitously in the coming days.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Wednesday's action, for one reason or another.
- Spurs
- Marco Belinelli (groin)
- Tiago Splitter (calf)
- Cavaliers
- Matthew Dellavedova (knee)
- Mavericks
- Raymond Felton (suspended)
- Devin Harris (ankle)
- Wizards
- Martell Webster (back)
- Celtics
- Marcus Smart (ankle)
- Magic
- Ben Gordon (DNP-CD)
- Aaron Gordon (foot)
- Kyle O'Quinn (ankle)
- Evan Fournier (heel)
- Hornets
- Gary Neal (concussion)
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (foot)
- Pacers
- C.J. Miles (calf)
- C.J. Watson (foot)
- David West (ankle)
- George Hill (knee)
- Nets
- Andrei Kirilenko (DNP-CD)
- Grizzlies
- Kosta Koufos (illness)
- Courtney Lee (illness)
- Tony Allen (illness)
- Raptors
- James Johnson (ankle)
- Pistons
- Jodie Meeks (back)
- Knicks
- Andrea Bargnani (hamstring)
- Jose Calderon (calf)
- Timberwolves
- Nikola Pekovic (ankle, wrist, personal)
- Thaddeus Young (personal)
- Ricky Rubio (ankle)
- Thunder
- Perry Jones III (knee)
- Ish Smith (DNP-CD)
- Kevin Durant (foot)
- Russell Westbrook (hand)
- Nuggets
- J.J. Hickson (rest)
- Lakers
- Wayne Ellington (personal)
- Xavier Henry (DNP-CD)
- Ryan Kelly (hamstring)
- Rockets
- Dwight Howard (knee)
- Terrence Jones (leg)
CASUALTY WARD
Aside from all the inactives announced during the day and before tip, we were injury free during the actual gameplay Wednesday.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
After being considered questionable to play due to an illness and receiving an IV during the day, Kevin Martin came to play, and play he did. Martin scored a season-high 37 points (14-20 FG, 7-11 3pt, 2-6 FT), grabbed four rebounds and added two assists and two steals in 35 minutes. Martin has now scored 71 points in his last two games and this is the third 30 point game of the season for the veteran. With the talent drain in Minnesota at the moment due to injury, Martin could be in line for slew of strong performances. Shockingly, Martin isn't 100 percent owned, so you'd be wise to gander at your wire and see if he's around.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
Boris Diaw moved into the starting lineup with Matt Bonner sitting with an illness and the results were spectacular. Diaw had 19 points (8-14 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block in 39 minutes. Despite his somewhat limited role, Diaw has been posting useful fantasy numbers this season, particularly if you are in a 12 team league.
Both Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had double-doubles, while Tony Parker struggled again with just eight points and three assists.
Anderson Varejao came out of the blue to lead the Cavaliers in scoring with 23 points (11-16 FG, 1-3 FT), 11 rebounds, and two blocks in 37 minutes. Considering he'd scored two points in his last two games combined, Varejao can be labelled a little inconsistent.
Joe Harris continues to get minutes, 27 in this one, but also continues to not do much with them, scoring just five points. He's a very deep league only special.
Brandan Wright continued his remarkably efficient run, scoring 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds, one steal, and one block in 24 minutes and with what he's doing, even in his current role, he should be looked at very closely in 12 team leagues. If anything happens to Tyson Chandler, Wright becomes must-own across the board.
J.J. Barea took advantage of the absence of Raymond Felton and Devin Harris, playing 23 minutes, scoring 14 points, with four rebounds and six assists. If Harris continues to miss time, Barea may be worth a look in 14 team leagues or 12 team leagues if you are crying out for assists.
Chandler Parsons continued to struggle, scoring just 11 points (4-12 FG, 3-8 3Pt) with three rebounds and one assist. His numbers this season are down across the board, but most importantly, he's playing six minutes less per game. On a per-36 basis, his numbers are almost identical apart from the seven percent drop in shooting from the field. If you get a nice trade to get rid of Parsons do it, but remember, it's unlikely Parsons returns the value of where he was drafted if these sort of minutes continue.
Bradley Beal returned for the Wizards and played 26 minutes off the bench, looking sharp straight away. He knocked down 21 points (9-17 FG, 3-6 3Pt) with three rebounds, three assists, and one steal and will be back starting very soon, Drop Garrett Temple in pretty much all formats now, and make sure Beal wasn't dropped in your league.
Aside from horrific shooting, John Wall stuffed the stat sheet, with 11 points (5-17 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, and two blocks in 35 minutes.
After his last outing, there was some concern of Kelly Olynyk's role, but he started and played 25 minutes, as opposed to Tyler Zeller's eight. Olynyk still wasn't great, but he must absolutely be owned in all leagues.
Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams both returned to the Sixers starting five against the Celtics, and posted impressive fantasy lines. Also impressive was Tony Wroten, who scored 21 points in 28 bench minutes, adding three rebounds, and seven assists. After a couple of duds with MCW back, his owners would be pleased to see this production, but his form over the coming week will be intriguing to watch. For now, he's a hold unless there is a serious must-add on your waiver-wire.
Blake Griffin's fantasy season is off to a rocky start, with all stat categories below last season's output. He had 20 points (8-18 FG, 4-6 FT) with four rebounds and two assists Wednesday, but his efficiency is hurting his value a lot and may be someone you can try to pry away in a buy-low deal.
With Evan Fournier sitting out with a sore heel, it was Willie Green getting the start over Elfrid Payton. Payton performed well in his 16 minutes, scoring seven points, with seven rebounds and five assists, whereas Green is a fantasy afterthought. Once Fournier returns, he should be straight back into the starting lineup.
Victor Oladipo continues to exhibit signs of rust, shooting just 35 percent from the field in his four games since returning from injury. He had just seven points in the loss to the Clippers, but it's not time to panic at all.
Gerald Henderson started in place of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but went scoreless, missing all six of his shots. Henderson is not a great fantasy option even if his shots are falling, and is really only worth a look in deep leagues.
Rodney Stuckey returned to action, playing 26 minutes off the bench, scoring 11 points (5-13 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-3 FT) with two rebounds and one assist. This sort of line is indicative of what Stuckey does on a regular basis, limiting his fantasy value, no matter how many minutes he gets.
Donald Sloan got close to a triple-double with 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists and will continue to have value until George Hill returns. Unfortunately, news on Hill has been a little thin, so Sloan can continue to be deployed for the time being.
The Bucks and Nets played a triple overtime game, so stat lines are obviously inflated,but it's important to note the minutes played by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Starting his third straight game, Antetokounmpo played 48 minutes for 18 points (7-11 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 4-8 FT) with 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He is definitely rising and is a good add in 12 and even 10 team leagues at the moment.
Jabari Parker scored a very efficient 23 points (8-13 FG, 7-10 FT) and added seven rebounds and two steals in 42 minutes. Although he has been poor, he has to be held in most leagues for the time being.
The Grizzlies were without Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Beno Udrih, Tony Allen and Jon Leuer, so the remaining player, and recently signed Kalin Lucas played more than their usual allotments. If you owned the healthy Grizzlies, you were pleased, but this is not a usual situation.
Once again, Jonas Valanciunas' minutes were limited, playing 22 minutes for 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks. It's an incredibly frustrating situation for his owners, but for now, you just need to stay the course.
P.J. Tucker got on the metaphorical bus, playing 30 minutes off the bench for 16 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with seven rebounds. He's been sporadic this season, making it hard to justify owning him in shallow leagues.
Alex Len was gunning for a hat-trick of good games, but fell short, posting just six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. While I love his potential, the minutes just aren't guaranteed at the moment, making owning him difficult, unless you can stash.
Andre Drummond's woes continue, hitting just two of 10 shots for four points, but grabbing 13 boards. The frustration is palpable in the fantasy community and at this point, I don't know what to say. You still need to hold, I think, but I'm becoming less confident with each poor performance.
The fact that Travis Wear played 22 minutes should tell you all you need to know about the state of the Knicks-Wolves game. Apart from Iman Shumpert, who struggled with his shot badly, and Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are a mess from a real and fantasy perspective.
Shabazz Muhammad started in place of Thaddeus Young at power forward and had his best game of the season, scoring 17 points with eight rebounds and one block. As Pekovic and Young will be out again Friday, Muhammad is a nice streaming option for that one day if you need boards from a wing player in particular.
Mo Williams replaced rookie Zach LaVine in the starting lineup and had a great night, totalling 14 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with three rebounds and 13 assists. I dropped LaVine for Williams in three leagues today and that's two poor performances in a row for the rookie, meaning his value could be done for the time being.
Steven Adams played just 17 minutes after picking up a couple of early fouls, but his disappearance in the second half was still a little bizarre. Let's hope this isn't a trend and Adams bounces back and brings the boards and blocks.
Timofey Mozgov had his second big game in a row, scoring 17 points with seven rebounds and three blocks in 36 minutes. If this is what coach Brian Shaw is going to go with now, Mozgov is a must-own, but with Shaw, who knows.
Kobe Bryant scored 29 points (10-28 FG, 1-7 3Pt, 8-10 FT) with five rebounds and seven assists, getting back to his inefficient ways. He's still a great head-to-head and daily fantasy option with his counting stats.
Jeremy Lin couldn't keep the momentum going, turning in a three points, four assist line after Tuesday's double-double. You just have to ride out the peaks and troughs with Lin, it seems.
Tarik Black started in place of Dwight Howard, but the guy you want to own if Howard and Jones' absence becomes more permanent seems to be Kostas Papanikolaou. The rookie had 19 points (6-10 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 3-3 FT) with six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block in 34 minutes and has been putting up solid, well-rounded, diverse lines regularly.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Kevin Martin, G, MIN, 37 points
- Monta Ellis, G, DAL, 34 points
- Kobe Bryant, G, LAL, 29 points
Rebounds
- Zach Randolph, F, MEM, 18 rebounds
- Tyson Chandler, C, DAL, 16 rebounds
- Nikola Vucevic, C, ORL, 14 rebounds
Assists
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 15 assists
- Mo Williams, G, MIN, 13 assists
- Rajon Rondo, G, BOS, 13 assists
Steals
- Corey Brewer, F, MIN, 6 steals
- Gorgui Dieng, C, MIN, 5 steals
- Kawhi Leonard, F, SAS, 4 steals
- Marcus Thornton, G, BOS, 4 steals
Blocks
- Spencer Hawes, C, LAC, 4 blocks
- Brook Lopez, C, BKN, 3 blocks
- Timofey Mozgov, C, DEN, 3 blocks
- Tyson Chandler, C, DAL, 3 blocks
- John Henson, C, MIL, 3 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Kevin Martin, G, MIN, 7-11 3Pt
- Kostas Papanikolaou, F, HOU, 4-7 3Pt
- Carmelo Anthony, F, NYK, 4-5 3Pt
- Sebastian Telfair, F, OKC, 4-4 3Pt
- Bojan Bogdanovic, F, BKN, 4-11 3Pt
Minutes
- Deron Williams, G, BKN, 52 minutes
- Joe Johnson, G, BKN, 52 minutes
- Brandon Knight, G, MIL, 49 minutes