Most of the games were too competitive to completely ignore. We're going full-on paralysis by analysis.
Boston @ Indiana
Coach Bradley Stevens, henceforth known as Even, strikes again (I wrote this about three hours before tip-off and two hours before he altered his starting lineups). I've tried to get people to call him Even Stevens since this summer, to no avail. If you read this, promise me you will perpetuate this nickname.
On cue, Stevens replaced David Lee and Tyler Zeller with Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson in the starting lineup. Sullinger led the bigs in minutes (27) and posted the best stat line among the quintet: nine points (3-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. I advise a clean break from those situated in the Boston frontcourt, For those in leagues deep enough to warrant consideration, Johnson suffered a leg injury and Zeller is clearly at the bottom of the totem pole, playing nine combined minutes in the last two games. Olynyk is the most intriguing fantasy player if all five were given equal minutes, Sullinger can throw up inconsistent monster lines, and Lee won't hurt you in any category, but he won't help much in blocks and steals. Stevens values flexibility, so what transpired last night should be considered the norm here on out.
Marcus Smart (toe) was unavailable. Isaiah Thomas started in Smart's absence and contributed a game-high 27 points (9-19 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 5-5 FT), seven assists, two steals, one rebound, and five turnovers in 36 minutes. Thomas leads the Celtics with a 32 percent usage rate; no other Celtic guard sits above 20 percent. This is Thomas' team.
Jae Crowder has secured 10 steals in the first four games of the year. He's also one of four Celtics averaging at least 30 minutes per game; everyone else isn't playing more than 22 minutes a night. He's a terrible three-point shooter, but he takes enough to offer some contribution in that category. Stevens' reliance on him is fortified. You don't have to add him tonight, but the Celtics begin a stretch of five games in seven nights on Tuesday.
Ian Mahinmi (back) and C.J. Miles (ankle) were inactive. Coach Vogel started Jordan Hill and Lavoy Allen, which shifted Paul George to small forward. Per usual, Allen gobbled up six offensive rebounds and 11 total boards in 29 minutes. Hill manufactured 16 points (7-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 10 rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes. It's unclear if Mahinmi or Miles will miss more time. However, I don't expect a repeat performance from Hill or Sullinger because they were guarding each other. This game isn't indicative of their insufficient capabilities. The Pacers lineup against the Heat on Friday, and Hill will have to contend with Hassan Whiteside and Chris Bosh. Myles Turner was held to 18 minutes off the bench, his customary minute allotment at this point in the season.
Glenn Robinson III played his first game this season and provided 10 points (3-4 FG, 4-5 FT) in 19 minutes. He received a large dose of Miles' minutes and played meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter. President Larry Bird is infatuated with Robinson and the Pacers don't have much wing depth, especially with Vogel refusing to play Solomon Hill.
Paul George corralled 10 rebounds and is averaging a team-high 8.4 boards and 4.6 assists per game. His percentages are deplorable, but he's positively contributing in all the counting stats except blocks, which I expect to turn around with enough minutes at power forward.
San Antonio @ Washington
Kawhi Leonard leads the Spurs in scoring (21.6), field goal attempts (18.8), steals (2.0), blocks (1.6), minutes (33.3), and usage rate (29.9). He's only converted 4-of-16 three-pointers, the lone blemish on his stat line.
Manu Ginobili continued his early-season renaissance. He dropped 12 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), two rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 22 minutes. Over the past seven seasons, Ginobili has averaged at least 4.2 assists per game and he's sitting at a team-high 3.8 in 20.7 minutes per game thus far.
You won't believe it. Marcin Gortat had another lackluster performance. In terrible news, he's played 5.1 minutes per fourth quarter, just 0.1 minutes more than last season. I say buy-low at your own peril. Expect an increase in his 45 percent field-goal accuracy, and that improvement will lift his scoring above 10.0 points per game. The rest of his line depends on playing time, which is less than his average from last season.
John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 42 points. Wall handed out 13 assists and leads the Wizards with 2.3 blocks per game. Beal transformed into an efficiency monster, hitting 48 percent of his field goals and 46 percent of his three-pointers. Gone are the days of 16 points on 16 shots. Now he's scoring 25.3 points on 20 shots. The backcourt duo has played all but 29 minutes together, and that has stonewalled Beal's assist chances - he's averaging 1.8 per game. I'm concerned about Beal's playing time because of his history of stress reactions. The Wizards play a league-low 11 games in November, so 35.2 minutes per game isn't fatal. However, be wary of any lower right leg injuries that creep up.
Otto Porter is second on the team in assists with 2.8 per game. Last night, he scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half. He's only 3-of-13 on three-pointers through four games, but he sank 38 percent from deep during the playoffs, indicating room for improvement. You witnessed Wall turn Trevor Ariza into a fantasy relevant player two seasons ago. Porter's per possession numbers mostly align with his career numbers, including the minuscule 14.1 percent usage rate (20 percent is average).
Brooklyn @ Atlanta
Joe Johnson led the team in assists for the second straight game, notching six. As you'd expect, most of those assists come courtesy of Brook Lopez, who scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Johnson made 1-of-10 shots, reducing his accuracy to 28 percent this season. There are just some nights he looks disinterest and Jarrett Jack doesn't do a good enough job finding Johnson for easy looks. If you're holding onto Johnson, the best thing you can hope for is an in-season trade to a contender that will slot him into a 30-minute a night role. Otherwise, he's going to continue to toil in Brooklyn.
Dennis Schroder started for the resting Kyle Korver and registered 20 points (7-15 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 28 minutes. The Hawks play another back-to-back set later this week, and the rest tango will play out the same. Thabo Sefolosha will rest one night and Schroder won't play as many minutes; then Korver will take a night off and Schroder will start. I signed up for the patience rollercoaster.
Kent Bazemore avoided the offense and doubled-down on the counting stats, finishing with eight points (3-6 FG, 2-3 FT), three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in 27 minutes. He's shooting a team-high 58 percent on three-pointers, the most unsustainable facet of his early season success. It's also unlikely a career 61 percent free-throw shooter sustains his current mark of 88 percent. I contend Sefolosha will eventually reclaim his role in the starting lineup. It's merely a matter of time.
New York @ Cleveland
Jose Calderon is where dreams go to die. He played 29 minutes and scored two points (1-5 FG) while handing out a season-high five assists. In 22 minutes per game, seventh-highest on the Knicks, Calderon is shooting 27 percent with a healthy Achilles.
Kristaps Porzingis is second on the team in scoring (12.0), attempts (10.6), rebounds (8.3), and first in steals (1.8) and blocks (1.2) per game after five contests in just 23 minutes per game. However, he's only made 3-of-15 three-pointers because he's trying to acclimate to different dimensions and all his attempts are above-the-break. He was able to play 21 minutes last night after sustaining a sprained neck two nights ago, but his minutes are depressed because he's averaging 4.4 fouls per game. Poor shooting aside, Porzingis is looking like the real deal. He's only one of six players averaging at least 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. It's a list that includes Kawhi Leonard, Andre Drummond, Derrick Favors, John Wall, and James Harden - all of whom are playing at least 30 minutes per game.
With J.R. Smith (knee) out at least two games, Richard Jefferson started and added nine points (2-6 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 4-6 FT), four rebounds, and three assists in 35 minutes. The Cavaliers lack viable options on the wing, and coach Blatt isn't ready to play Jared Cunningham meaningful minutes after a blistering preseason. The Cavaliers play three times over the next eight days, and Jefferson isn't an appealing fantasy choice.
LeBron James is shooting 2-of-18 from the three-point line and 15-of-27 from the free-throw line this season. Clearly, his back is still an issue, and the injection he received during the preseason was not the cure-all. James converted 68 percent of his shots in the paint and 23 percent outside the paint. It's a blend of his time on the Heat and his performance during the 2015 NBA Finals. James has a lot of work to do before climbing back into the fantasy top-10.
Orlando @ Houston
Nikola Vucevic sustained a sprained right knee and doesn't believe it's serious. Dewayne Dedmon and Jason Smith are next in line for playing time. Channing Frye has played in one game this season and didn't enter last night's game even after Vucevic left early in the third quarter and Dedmon fouled out. He could be a matchup play if Skiles wants to keep the opposition on their toes, but the Magic's next two opponents are the Raptors and Sixers.
Evan Fournier was up to his mischievous ways again, recording 29 points (11-21 FG, 3-8 4Pt, 4-5 FT), six rebounds, four assists and one steal in 46 minutes. It was an overtime affair, and Fournier is second to Victor Oladipo in the entire league in minutes per game at 39.1. Assuming even the slightest reduction in minutes would drop him from a team-leading 20.6 points per game to roughly 15. He's on par with his career per possession numbers, and the one outlier is the 48 percent shooting.
Elfrid Payton is becoming the third wheel in the Skiles-Fournier relationship. Payton picked up two fouls in the first five minutes, barely played down the stretch, and has played fewer than 30 minutes in three straight games. His shooting is an obvious problem, but Mario Hezonja is the only player shooting better than average from three-point land, hitting 5-of-9 in limited run.
Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 19 points in 32 minutes. My stance hasn't changed since yesterday: I'm holding onto him because I think he'll eventually carve out a consistent role. Conversely, Tobias Harris was limited to 21 minutes and played a total of 10 seconds in the fourth quarter. Much like Payton, Harris hasn't played more than 30 minutes in three consecutive games.
Patrick Beverley left early due to an illness and Ty Lawson played a season-high 41 minutes.
Dwight Howard provided 23 points (10-10 FG, 3-7 FT) and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes against his former team. The Rockets' back-to-back set later this week guarantees he'll miss a game, a hindrance if you plan on keeping him.
James Harden is veering toward Lance Stephenson three-point shooting territory, converting 9-of-55 triples through five games.
Marcus Thornton is second on the team in scoring and averaging 17.0 points per game without Terrence Jones (eyelid). The train continues until Jones returns, which may be a while according to coach McHale. Jones' eye is still swollen shut. The Rockets play twice over the next six days.
Clint Capela made 4-of-5 shots, increasing his accuracy to 78 percent.
Philadelphia @ Milwaukee
Isaiah Canaan lasted 13 games before relinquishing the starting point guard job to Ish Smith last season. He only needed four games to yield starting duties to T.J. McConnell this time around. McConnell fell shy of a triple-double, producing seven points (3-4 FG, 1-1 3Pt), 12 assists, and nine rebounds in 35 minutes. It was his second straight 12-assist game. However, in a move that went completely undetected by the public at large, the Sixers used the hardship exception to bring in Phil Pressey, who arrived after the opening tip and played three minutes. Pressey is a pass first, second, and third point guard. During his rookie season, Pressey recorded 241 assists to 213 points. Canaan isn't completely dead in the water, but he played 16 minutes last night and is a shooting guard, not a point guard. Pressey and McConnell will battle it out for Philadelphia supremacy until Kendall Marshall (knee) returns. I'm not getting attached to McConnell because of the short-term volatility.
Nik Stauskas scored 14 points on 19 shots and connected on 3-of-14 three-pointers in 35 minutes. License to Kill the Backboard, am I right? With Robert Covington (knee) out another two weeks, Stauskas is the only three-point shooter in the starting lineup. He's in a position to produce gross stats but not necessarily flourish. Don't expect Covington 2.0. Covington thrived even though he shot the highest percent of contested three-pointers in the league.
Jerami Grant started for Covington and added eight points (3-9 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, four blocks, and three assists in 23 minutes. He once blocked eight shots in a game last year, so yeah, he's interesting. What's more curious is his improved free-throw touch, converting 11-of-13 one season and preseason away from shooting 59 percent. Perhaps the tide has turned. Unlikely, but it would be a big win.
Jahlil Okafor scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and after making all three free-throws, he's 13-of-16 for the season. He was 8-of-9 in the preseason. Don't panic. His improved free-throw shooting is rivaled by his 5.5 rebounds in 34 minutes per game. He only has eight more rebounds than Stauskas in 51 extra minutes. The expectation is his free-throw shooting regresses and he can pick up a few more rebounds. The rebounding may not be as easy considering Nerlens Noel is grabbing 10.8 per game.
Jabari Parker suited up for his first game since last December and played 16 minutes. He's going to be limited for quite a while. He's not second-overall-pick Jabari Parker anymore; he's returning-from-a-torn-ACL Jabari Parker, and the latter will be handled with Kidd gloves. The Bucks engage in consecutive back-to-back sets, and Parker is a lock to miss two of the four games as a precautionary measure.
Michael Carter-Williams had to skip out due to a sore left ankle, and Jerryd Bayless remained in the starting lineup while Parker absorbed Carter-Williams void. Bayless played 30 minutes, but Greivis Vasquez crafted a better fantasy line: 11 points (4-12 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-3 FT), five assists, one rebound, and one steal in 22 minutes. Both career backups are tenuous short-term options because Carter-Williams could return soon. Vasquez is the distributor, as evidenced by his 5.4 assists per game, and Bayless is the streaky shooter.
Toronto @ Oklahoma City
The Raptors performed as predicted. Luis Scola failed to replicate a second straight double-double against Serge Ibaka. DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points, didn't attempt a three-pointer, and made 14 free throws, the same number as the Thunder attempted. The bench showed up on the court while neglecting the stat sheet.
Serge Ibaka blocked three shots, a number that equals his three-point attempts from the entire season. Enes Kanter played 17 minutes and produced 15 points and six rebounds. In 20 minutes per game, Kanter is averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 10.0 rebounds per game. The starter, Steven Adams, contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks in 27 minutes. Some nights both Adams and Kanter become marginalized when Ibaka is asked to play spot center minutes. Both were decent options this week with the Thunder playing four games in five nights, but Kevin Durant is set on playing every game possible early in the season. Kanter has displayed more fantasy value over Adams in fewer minutes, but both are difficult to count on when the Thunder is fully healthy.
Sacramento @ Phoenix
Coach George Karl switched up the starting lineup, replacing Ben McLemore with Darren Collison and Kosta Koufos with James Anderson. The Collison maneuver was more about matching up with the Suns' duel point guards as opposed to a permanent move. The Kings were defeated by 21 points, so that experiment may come to a halt quickly. On the Anderson front, Karl loves him some James Anderson. Coach trusts him completely and thinks of him as an insurance blanket. The confidence doesn't translate to fantasy basketball. I just thought you'd like to know why Anderson started after playing 12 combined minutes in the previous four games. Anderson finished with 15 points on 15 shots in 26 minutes, 12 more minutes than McLemore. The Kings play the Rockets next, and it's a good bet Collison doesn't start opposite James Harden.
Willie Cauley-Stein underwhelmed with zero points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. Koufos recorded 16 points (8-11 FG), seven rebounds, two blocks, and one steal in 28 minutes. DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles) wants to play Friday, but with a back-to-back set slated, it may be wiser for him to rest. Either way, the Cauley-Stein/Koufos combo concede playing time and value.
Collison is averaging 30.5 minutes per game to Rajon Rondo's 27.7 minutes per game. Collison is on the court more often in the fourth quarter, and he's the one you yearn to own.
P.J. Tucker picked up two fouls in the first four minutes. That, combined with the blowout factor, allowed T.J. Warren to play 27 minutes and register 13 points (6-9 FG, 1-2 3Pt), four rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 27 minutes. Warren will return closer to 20 minutes a night the next time out.
Alex Len also benefited from the blowout. After five straight games sub-20 minutes, Len scored 14 of his 16 points (7-12 FG, 2-3 FT) in the fourth quarter and grabbed seven rebounds, handed out one assists, and claimed one steal in 22 minutes. It's nothing you should expect two nights from now.
Brandon Knight scored all 17 points in the second half to salvage a poor night, and his partner in crime, Eric Bledsoe, continues his onslaught with 19 points (8-18 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-3 FT), eight assists, six rebounds, four steals, and one block in 33 minutes.
Portland @ Utah
Meyers Leonard is stuck in second gear. No one told him it was going to be this way. It hasn't been his day, week, month, or even his year. Leonard landed on Trevor Booker's foot and suffered a sprained right ankle in the first half. Ed Davis started the second half, but Mason Plumlee was the story in the frontcourt. In a season-high 35 minutes, he provided 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-9 FT), 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. The Trail Blazers close the second game of a back-to-back tonight against the Grizzlies, and I'm not expecting Leonard to suit up. If you can withstand the irreparable free-throw damage Plumlee is laying down, then you can pick him up knowing he's the first option to move up to center when Al-Farouq Aminu shifts to power forward while Leonard rests.
Maurice Harkless awoke from his slumber to grace the Blazers with 15 points (5-8 FG, 2-2 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds, and three blocks in 29 minutes. He was used in a more prominent role with Aminu shifting up to power forward. Speaking of, Aminu is shooting 8-of-17 on three-pointers and 13-of-18 from the free-throw line. The outside shooting is due for prime regression. Harkless has surpassed Allen Crabbe in the rotation, as much as it pains me to admit. I suspect coach Stotts goes traditional in the next game against the Grizzlies, and that caps Harkless' minutes.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combine for 62 points, seven assists, five rebounds, eight three-pointers and nine turnovers.
The Jazz recorded nine assists and nine turnovers. Rodney Hood led the team with four assists, three of which came in the first half. Coach Snyder has to balance reintroducing Alec Burks into the rotation, increasing Rodney Hood's role, and figuring out the point guard balance. The road has been bumpy, and it's part of the reason Hood is averaging a team-high 3.0 assists per game. Gordon Hayward is no longer playing alongside a passive Dante Exum and inexperienced Hood. Neto can create for his teammates. The same goes for Hood, and Burks is a player who prefers to operate with the ball. Even with all the creators, the Jazz are averaging a league-low 14.5 assists per game. I don't want to live in a world where Gordon Hayward doesn't record an assist for the first time in 106 games.
LA Clippers @ Golden State
Chris Paul didn't play in the final 13 seconds after suffering a strained right groin. The Clippers have two days off, and Paul said he would play on Saturday against the Rockets.
Stephen Curry was whistled for two fouls in the first three minutes of the game. Nevertheless, he cashed out with 31 points (8-17 FG, 7-11 3Pt, 8-9 FT), five rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 33 minutes.