The big names, both literally and figuratively, returned after long absences - Dwight Howard for the Rockets and Chris Douglas-Roberts for the Clippers in Saturday's eight-game slate, but it was the Warriors who were the most impressive, yet again.
If your league counts shoe rejections, Tyson Chandler is your player of the night.
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If you had said you'd heard of Robert Covington prior to two weeks ago, you're either a liar or a basketball junkie. I'm going to lean that if you are reading this, you're a junkie, but regardless, even some hardcore basketball people couldn't have seen this explosion coming. I though maybe I'd be a little late to the party writing about Covington, but when I looked at his ownership on ESPN and Yahoo, it turns out not everyone has recognised what is happening in Philadelphia. Covington is owned in just 12 percent of ESPN leagues and 31 percent of Yahoo formats, so if your leagues falls onto the other side of that number, make sure you can create some space for the flavor of the month. Covington scored 24 points (5-16 FG, 3-11 3Pt, 11-12 FT) with nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal, marking the fourth time n five games that he has broken the 20 point plateau. Not only is he scoring, but as a power forward, he's hitting 3.7 three-pointers in his last three games, grabbing 6.7 rebounds and shooting 88 percent from the line of 5.3 attempts. It may not continue all season at this rate, but while he starts and gets minutes, Covington is going to produce and you need to make the most of that as a fantasy owner.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Saturday's action, for one reason or another.
- Warriors
- David Lee (hamstring)
- Andrew Bogut (knee)
- Mavericks
- Raymond Felton (ankle)
- Chandler Parsons (back)
- Pacers
- Ian Mahinmi (foot)
- C.J. Miles (knee)
- George Hill (knee/quad)
- Hawks
- Pero Antic (illness)
- Magic
- Aaron Gordon (foot)
- Nets
- Kevin Garnett (rest)
- Mirza Teletovic (hip)
- Brook Lopez (back)
- Clippers
- Spencer Hawes (knee)
- Bucks
- Ersan Ilyasova (face)
- Sixers
- K.J. McDaniels (ankle)
- Nuggets
- JaVale McGee (leg)
- Randy Foye (quad)
- Danilo Gallinari (knee)
- Rockets
- Terrence Jones (leg)
- Kostas Papanikolaou (knee)
- Kings
- Ramon Sessions (DNP-CD)
- Omri Casspi (knee)
- DeMarcus Cousins (meningitis)
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
Josh Smith gets a lot of hate, and rightfully so most of the time, but I need to point out how great his performance was Saturday. Smith scored 21 points (9-16 FG, 3-5 FT) with 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and five blocks in 38 minutes as the Pistons got their second consecutive victory. Smith's percentages are a huge hinderance to his value in roto leagues, but in head-to-head leagues, with the correct punting strategy in place, Smith has been a monster, particularly of late. In his last eight games, Smith has averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.9 blocks, and has actually been playing basketball better than last season as well. This is best illustrated that he has cut his three-point attempts from 3.4 per game last season, with a 26 percent conversion, down to 1.4 attempts this season. He's still only hitting 27 percent of them, but the reduction in attempts shows that he is listening to the coaching staff a lot more. Smith's production isn't for everyone, but he's a top 50 player in head-to-head formats.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were at it again for the Warriors as they cruised to another victory, scoring 29 and 25 points respectively, hitting eight combined three-pointers. At this point, it'll be a shock if both guys aren't playing in the All-Star game.
Harrison Barnes' resurgence continues, scoring 12 points with nine rebounds, two steals, and one block and is a guy who should find a home in 12 team leagues, after a dreadful sophomore campaign. He is shooting 53 percent the field, compared with the woeful 40 percent he shot last season and is definitely benefitting from the new coach.
Richard Jefferson moved into the starting lineup with Chandler Parsons out, and had a nice double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. That's a temporary situation, obviously, and you shouldn't be making any moves for Jefferson, because even if Parsons was to miss extended time, it's unlikely he would be able to reproduce this kind of performance.
Jameer Nelson returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence, but hardly set the world on fire, scoring six points, with four rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. His production hardly leads me to think he should be owned in most standard leagues.
Nicolas Batum stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 14 points with four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, finally having a good shooting night, going 6-for-11 from the field. If you own Batum, I have to preach patience and if someone in your league isn't showing said trait, I'd be buying low on the Frenchman.
Robin Lopez had a decent night, scoring just eight points, but added eight rebounds, one steal, and three blocks in 30 minutes. He has been dropped in a number of leagues, but I wouldn't be so quick to cut bait.
C.J. Watson moved into the starting lineup, thankfully, and proceeded to score a game-high 23 points with four three-pointers and five assists. His value won't stretch past when George Hill returns, but for the next week or two, Watson is a Mo Williams type of pick up.
Rodney Stuckey's 14 rebounds is a number you can quickly forget. His previous high for the season had been six and he has only had double-digit boards twice before in his career, so it's safe to say this is as big a mirage as they come. Still, Stuckey has value in 12 team leagues, despite being a very underwhelming player.
Solomon Hill made a return to the starting lineup after a one-game spell on the bench, but it was due to C.J. Miles' injury. It will be interesting to see what happens to Hill once Miles returns, but his fantasy value is low even if starting.
The Hawks' win-streak came to an end and Paul Millsap struggled in the last-second loss to the Magic. Millsap shot just 3-for-12 from the field for nine points with 10 rebounds, but it's just an off night. Nothing to see here.
Nikola Vucevic made his return after missing the last six games, and went straight back to work, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds and one block. That move completely killed Kyle O'Quinn's production, although I'm not sure that will be the case all season. If I own O'Quinn in a 12 team league, I'm giving it one more game.
Cory Jefferson made his first NBA start, and was serviceable, particularly for players in daily fantasy leagues given his rock-bottom salary. Jefferson, a second-round draft choice, scored 11 points with five rebounds and one block in 23 minutes, but with Kevin Garnett and Mirza Teletovic due back for the Nets' next game, there's no scope to add Jefferson.
Alan Anderson had his third straight solid night, scoring 17 points (6-7 FG, 4-5 3Pt, 1-1 FT) with three assists in 25 minutes. He has hit at least 50 percent of his shots in those three games and as a career 40 percent shooter, it's likely fake.
Cody Zeller was putrid with just one point and four rebounds in 20 minutes, but the game was a blowout and Marvin Williams actually played less minutes. Zeller hasn't been as good as I anticipated, but I'm still holding out hope he'll be a 12 team viable player.
Matt Barnes had a season-high 26 points and six three-pointers, and over the past two weeks has played himself back into standard league consideration. He's unlikely to maintain this rate all season, but for a short time, he can be useful.
Chris Paul had six turnovers for the second-consecutive night, after averaging only 2.1 per game this season, which is amazing for a point guard who handles the ball as much as Paul does.
Giannis Antetokounmpo filled up the box score in the Bucks' big win, scoring 20 points with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in 31 minutes and he should be owned in all standard leagues for his potential, despite his inconsistencies.
The Sixers took the Grizzlies to overtime, but that just allows our fantasy layers to pad their stats even more. Mike Conley had a season high 36 points with five three-pointers, and continues to be underrated. If you can get Conley in a trade for a guy ranked about 50, you've gotten yourself a steal.
It wasn't just Robert Covington who was having a big night as an undrafted player for the Sixers. Hollis Thompson drilled five three-pointers of his own to tally 21 points with three steals. Unlike Covington, I'm not rushing to grab Thompson, but he does have value in 14 team leagues.
In Tony Wroten's second game back from a knee injury, he played just 19 minutes, which is a good sign for Michael Carter-Williams' value. MCW had his second triple-double, with 16 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds, but of course, he killed your percentages. It remains to be seen, but I doubt Wroten has standard league value this season, despite scoring 17 points with five assists.
Kenneth Faried played off the bench again, just 20 minutes Saturday, scoring seven points with three rebounds. Probably the most disappointing fantasy player this season, Faried will soon find himself on waiver-wires everywhere if this keeps up. In a 10 team league, that time may be now and I wouldn't be picking him up if he found his way to my wire.
Jusuf Nurkic has fund himself back in the rotation for the last couple of games and ut up a nice line Saturday. The rookie had nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks in just 18 minutes, but he still has Timofey Mozgov, JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson to contend with. I'm watching Nurkic in deeper leagues, but not making any moves.
Mozgov was plagued by fouls, racking up five in 14 minutes and that is the major reason for his low production. No need to make a rash drop after this poor outing.
James Harden had his third career triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and two blocks. The blocks are a real thing for Harden this season and only serve to push him right into consideration as the number one fantasy player.
Donatas Motiejunas scored a career high 25 points with five rebounds, despite Dwight Howard's return. It was feared Howard would cut into Motiejunas' production, and he still may, but the early returns are promising.
Howard himself had 26 points with 13 rebounds, one steal, and three blocks and showed no ill effects from the knee injury that caused him to miss the last 11 games. He even played five more minutes than the pre-game minute restriction that was announced. He's good to go unless another injury befalls him.
Brandon Jennings sat the entire fourth quarter, scoring just three points with eight assists. We've seen this downturn from Jennings once this season already and then he bounced back to put up fantastic fantasy numbers. I'm not advising any sort of drop on Jennings, patience is the key for now.
Ryan Hollins replaced Reggie Evans in the starting lineup and had himself a nice night of six points, eight rebounds and two blocks, making it four blocks total in the last two games. Don't get excited about Hollins, he has close to zero fantasy value.
Ben McLemore scored 14 points with four three-pointers, but that's a bit of a misleading line as a number of those points came in the final seconds when McLemore hit a couple of deep and late triples as the Kings were furiously trying to get the win. The previous 47 minutes of the game, McLemore struggled, but he still has intrigue in 12 team leagues.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Mike Conley, G, MEM, 36 points
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 29 points
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 26 points
- Matt Barnes, F, LAC, 26 points
Rebounds
- DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 15 rebounds
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, POR, 14 rebounds
- Rodney Stuckey, G, IND, 14 rebounds
Assists
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 12 assists
- Michael Carter-Williams, G, PHI, 11 assists
- James Harden, G, HOU, 10 assists
- Deron Williams, G, BKN, 10 assists
Steals
- Nerlens Noel, F, PHI, 4 steals
- Jodie Meeks, G, DET, 4 steals
- Seven players with 3 steals
Blocks
- Josh Smith, F, DET, 5 blocks
- Dwight Howard, C, HOU, 3 blocks
- Tobias Harris, F, ORL, 3 blocks
- Robin Lopez, C, POR, 3 blocks
- Jusuf Nurkic, C, DEN, 3 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Matt Barnes, F, LAC, 6-8 3Pt
- Mike Conley, G, MEM, 5-9 3Pt
- Klay Thompson, G, GSW, 5-11 3Pt
- J.J. Redick, G, LAC, 5-7 3Pt
- Hollis Thompson, G, PHI, 5-5 3Pt
Minutes
- Robert Covington, F, PHI, 45 minutes
- Mike Conley, G, MEM, 42 minutes
- Trevor Ariza, F, HOU, 42 minutes