I hope everyone stayed up to watch the Clippers and Suns in one of the most entertaining games of the season. If you didn't, you missed two of the best individual performances of the season as well, from Eric Bledsoe and Blake Griffin. Do you want to know who won the fantasy line of the night? Well, I'm not telling, but I'll give you a clue, it's one of these two. It wasn't just all happening in Los Angeles though, with big lines around the Association. Let's break down those box scores.
ADD ME! ADD ME!
I know he's old, but Paul Pierce needs to be owned in more than the 61 percent of ESPN leagues and 82 percent of Yahoo leagues that he is currently. We have to factor the 'former team' factor and the double overtime nature of the game against the Celtics, but The Truth looked like vintage Pierce, scoring 28 points (9-12 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 6-6 FT) with seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 39 minutes. But, let's not dwell on this game only. Over the season, Pierce is averaging 13.5 points, 1.3 three-pointers, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists on 44 percent shooting and 83 percent from the line, which means if you are in a 12 team league, Pierce needs to be owned.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Monday's action, for one reason or another.
- Pacers
- Ian Mahinmi (foot)
- George Hill (knee/quad)
- Wizards
- Martell Webster (back)
- Nene (knee)
- Nets
- Joe Johnson (illness)
- Brook Lopez (back)
- Nuggets
- Kenneth Faried (back)
- JaVale McGee (leg)
- Randy Foye (quad)
- Raptors
- DeMar DeRozan (groin)
- Warriors
- David Lee (hamstring)
- Timberwolves
- Ricky Rubio (ankle)
- Nikola Pekovic (ankle/wrist)
- Mo Williams (back)
- Kevin Martin (wrist)
- Kings
- DeMarcus Cousins (meningitis)
- Omri Casspi (DNP-CD)
- Suns
- Isaiah Thomas (ankle)
- Clippers
- Jordan Farmar (back)
CASUALTY WARD
Andrew Bogut lasted just two minutes before what was classed as a knee irritation forced him from the court. Bogut said he has been dealing with tendonitis for about a week, but downplayed any concern and said it won't bother him going forward. Festus Ezeli played 21 minutes in his stead, but as Bogut isn't likely to miss major time at the moment, he's not a viable add in most leagues.
Mirza Teletovic also was forced to leave the Nets' game early due to a facial laceration and a hip pointer. This is a blow for Teletovic owners as the Nets were already without Brook Lopez opening more time for Teletovic. If he misses time, Jerome Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Mason Plumlee would see increased roles and it was Jordan that saw the lion's share in the game against the Cavs.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
I know I've said this before, but I could rename this the fantasy line of the year. Eric Bledsoe exploded for 27 points (8-16 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 9-9 FT) with 11 rebounds, 16 assists, two steals, and two blocks to record his first triple-double of his career. The 16 assists were also a career high, but bear in mind, this all happened while Isaiah Thomas was sitting. I'd be trying to trade Bledsoe for top 20 value now, while his value is literally as high as it can go. Once Thomas returns, Bledsoe and Goran Dragic's value takes a significant hit, so you should try to maximise the recency bias that a lot of fantasy owners demonstrate.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
Al Horford scored 25 points with eight rebounds and three blocks and this is more in line with the sort of production he is capable of. He's a buy-low candidate right now and we should see more like this in 2015.
DeMarre Carroll was solid yet again, scoring 12 points with three three-pointers, seven rebounds, and two steals and needs to be owned in most 12 team, and some 10 team leagues. He is criminally under-owned.
C.J. Miles was one of just three Pacers in double figures scoring, dropping 15 points with four three-pointers. He's shooting just 29 percent from the field this season and is only averaging 22 minutes a night. That keeps him in deep league only territory.
Kelly Olynyk, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner and Brandon Bass all filled it up off the bench for the Celtics in the double overtime loss to the Wizards. Olynyk has had decent value in half of his games off the bench and is worth an add again in 12 team leagues. He had 19 points (6-12 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 6-6 FT), 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals, and one block in 41 minutes. At this stage, both Olynyk and Tyler Zeller have value in 12 team leagues.
John Wall was amazing and emotional, scoring 26 points with seven rebounds, 17 assists, and three steals. John Wall is good.
With Nene out, Kris Humphries looked good yet again and in standard leagues, he has short-term value. Humphries dropped 17 points with nine rebounds, two steals and one block in 43 minutes and is worth a look.
The Cavaliers blew out the Nets, so a lot of value was skewed, but it was interesting to note that Jerome Jordan played more minutes (26) than both Kevin Garnett (19) and Mason Plumlee (19). With no Brook Lopez and potentially no Mirza Teletovic, someone needs to step up, but who that is, is anyone's guess. Plumlee has the most potential, but also is liked least by new coach Lionel Hollins.
Alan Anderson started in place of the ill Joe Johnson and scored just six points with five rebounds and two steals. He can be ignored in most leagues.
Timofey Mozgov played a whopping 49 minutes, scoring 15 points with 12 rebounds and one block, and along with Wilson Chandler, needs to owned in 10 team leagues. With Kenneth Faried sidelined, Brian Shaw has been forced to use Mozgov more as he realizes J.J. Hickson isn't a good NBA player. A deep league guy to consider is Darrell Arthur, especially while Faried is out. Arthur had 12 points, 13 rebounds, one steal and one block and is averaging 17 minutes a game.
Patrick Patterson got hot from deep, hitting 5-of-7 from beyond the arc for 19 points. He paired that with eight rebounds and one block, and while he isn't a must own, his value demands he is considered in 12 team leagues.
Draymond Green had his second consecutive game with multiple steals and blocks, tallying three thefts and two blocks in 30 minutes. He also added 10 points and 10 rebounds and just keeps putting up big lines. The chances of Steve Kerr benching him get slimmer by the day.
Zach LaVine started in place of Mo Williams, and had eight assists and three steals, but shot a putrid 25 percent from the field. He has daily fantasy and streaming value while Williams is out, but Williams could be back for the next game Wednesday, nullifying LaVine's usefulness.
Alec Burks made his surprise to the lineup after it was reports by some that he may miss the season with his shoulder injury. He was straight back to work in the starting lineup, scoring 16 points with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 31 minutes. If he was dropped in your league, you should consider adding him, but by no means is he a must add.
Jason Thompson got painstakingly close to a double-double, scoring 10 points with nine rebounds Monday without DeMarcus Cousins. In fact, Thompson has missed a double-double by one rebound, one rebound and one point in the last three games. While Cousins is out, Thompson is a decent add in deeper leagues, but it's unlikely he'll ever explode for a big line.
Unfortunately for Blake Griffin, his overall line was overshadowed by Eric Bledsoe in the same game. Not that he'd care, winning the game off a three-pointer in overtime after posting 45 points and eight rebounds. His shooting was particularly fantastic, hitting 14-of-24 shots from the floor and 15-of-17 from the line. Don't get too carried away by this line, apart from the points and percentages, the other numbers are underwhelming. My RotoWire colleague Matt Smith pointed out that Eric Bledsoe has blocked more shots (7) in his last three games, than Griffin has all season (6) and as a power forward, his lack of blocks is confusing.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Blake Griffin, F, LAC, 45 points
- Rudy Gay, F, SAC, 29 points
- Paul Pierce, F, WAS, 28 points
- Jeff Green, F, BOS, 28 points
Rebounds
- Kevin Love, F, CLE, 14 rebounds
- DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 14 rebounds
- Anderson Varejao, C, CLE, 14 rebounds
Assists
- John Wall, G, WAS, 17 assists
- Eric Bledsoe, G, PHX, 16 assists
- Kyle Lowry, G, TOR, 13 assists
Steals
- Corey Brewer, F, MIN, 5 steals
- Kelly Olynyk, C, BOS, 4 steals
- Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 4 steals
- Shaun Livingston, G, GSW, 4 steals
Blocks
- Jonas Valanciunas, C, TOR, 4 blocks
- DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 4 blocks
- Al Horford, C, ATL, 3 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Patrick Patterson, F, TOR, 5-7 3Pt
- Paul Pierce, F, WAS, 4-5 3Pt
- Marcus Smart, G, BOS, 4-8 3Pt
- Arron Afflalo, G, DEN, 4-7 3Pt
- Wilson Chandler, F, DEN, 4-11 3Pt
- James Jones, F, CLE, 4-5 3Pt
- C.J. Miles, F, IND, 4-7 3Pt
Minutes
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 49 minutes
- Timofey Mozgov, C, DEN, 49 minutes
- Wilson Chandler, F, DEN, 47 minutes