No Tony Parker, no Tim Duncan, but still no victory for the Philadelphia 76ers. As the saying goes, "you win some, you lose some", unless you live in the City of Brotherly Love. That doesn't mean there's not a ton of fantasy to talk about, so let's dispense with the clichés and make lemonade out of these lemons.
ADD ME! ADD ME!
I started out talking about the Sixers and I'm going to continue on in the same vein, because rookie K.J. McDaniels is a guy that should be owned in pretty much all leagues at the moment. Against the Spurs, McDaniels had 10 points (2-8 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 5-8 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks in 30 minutes off the bench. Only owned in 15 percent of ESPN leagues and 37 percent of Yahoo leagues, McDaniels is turning it up to 11 with Tony Wroten out. In his last three games, McDaniels is averaging 16.3 points, 1.7 three-pointers, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks. With the play of McDaniels and Michael Carter-Williams, I think Wroten's role will be diminished when he does return and McDaniels should hold value for most of the season. Remember, he is a rookie and will only get better.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Monday's action, for one reason or another.
- Spurs
- Tiago Splitter (calf)
- Tim Duncan (rest)
- Tony Parker (rib)
- Sixers
- Tony Wroten (knee)
- Nerlens Noel (hip)
- Heat
- Chris Andersen (ankle)
- Danny Granger (DNP-CD)
- Wizards
- Martell Webster (back)
- Nene (foot)
- Nuggets
- JaVale McGee (DNP-CD)
- Randy Foye (quad)
- Jazz
- Derrick Favors (illness)
- Timberwolves
- Nikola Pekovic (ankle)
- Kevin Martin (wrist)
- Ricky Rubio (ankle)
CASUALTY WARD
Some good news. No new injuries to report. The biggest news from the infirmary side of things is the possible return of Kevin Durant on Tuesday. His season debut is one of the most anticipated events in recent memory and every owner is going to want to see how Durant looks after healing his Jones fracture. Let's hope he's the same KD we know and love.
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
There weren't a huge amount of outstanding fantasy performances Monday, but John Wall's night bears recognition. Wall had 18 points (6-10 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 4-5 FT), five rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and one block in 32 minutes against the Heat, as he systematically dissected the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Wall is now averaging 9.3 assists per game, up from the 8.8 he averaged last season, and is providing borderline first round value - right where you likely drafted him.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
With no Parker or Duncan, Cory Joseph and Aron Baynes were able to take advantage and help out streamers and daily fantasy players alike with their big games. Joseph had 14 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Baynes went for 15 points and nine rebounds in spot-start duty. Their value is only there when Messrs Parker and Duncan are resting/injured, but it's worth bearing in mind the next time the Big Three get "Pop'd".
Kawhi Leonard carried the load though, scoring 26 points with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals and I'm left with little doubt that Kawhi could be the number one player on a very, very competitive team.
As with K.J. McDaniels, Michael Carter-Williams is loving the fact that Tony Wroten is sidelined, and so are his owners. Backing up a triple double Sunday, MCW had 24 points (9-19 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 4-5 FT), 11 rebounds, and seven assists in 35 minutes and is back to being the fantasy beast we saw last season. Even his percentages were solid.
Alexey Shved also made the most of a Wroten-less lineup, scoring a season-high 19 points with four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Unlike MCW and McDaniels, I'm not buying it and he can safely be left alone on the waiver-wire.
Josh McRoberts is starting to get it going now, scoring eight ponts with four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, while Shawne Williams played just 19 minutes in a nother start. This arrangement can't last much longer and McRoberts is going to getting 28 minutes sooner rather than later. I don't feel like he'll be scooped up everywhere, so you can maybe wait until it does happen, but just keep in your mind.
Mario Chalmers played 31 minutes off the bench, but was pedestrian with just 11 points and two assists. In 10 team leagues, Chalmers' run may be over.
Rasual Butler exploded again for 23 points in 33 bench minutes, hitting three three-pointers and adding three rebounds and assists alike. Bradley Beal played just 17 minutes so that allowed Butler the extra minutes, but this is now two 23 point games in his last three outings. It's possibly the last time he scores 20 points for the season as well, but it is interesting to look it. Just don't make any silly moves for him.
The only good thing about Beal's low minutes and production is that it wasn't injury related. He will get better.
Ty Lawson's ridiculous run of assists continued, getting 12 dimes to take his double-digit assist streak to five games. Lawson is currently leading the league in assists and despite the concerns over his ankle, is killing it for his owners at present. He also added 15 points and two steals.
Wilson Chandler played 34 minutes compared to Danilo Gallinari's 14 minutes, and was productive, scoring 15 points with three three-pointers. He only added four rebounds and no other stats, but for the time being, Chandler appears to be the player to own.
J.J. Hickson scored 10 points, with eight rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes behind Timofey Mozgov, who double-doubled himself. Mozgov is the guy to own and should be on most rosters by now.
Trey Burke is quietly making a resurgence, putting an exclamation point on his latest run by scoring 18 points (7-13 FG, 4-7 3Pt) with eight assists and one block. Over his last seven games, Burke is averaging 12.9 points, 1.9 three-pointers, and 6.1 assists on 46 percent shooting, which compares favorably to his 38 percent mark for the season. If he is still on your waiver-wire, you need to rectify it.
With no Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter was able to feast, scoring 17 points with 15 rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes. Favors and Kanter are not a, pardon the pun, favorable pairing down low, but when isolated the numbers can be superb. Kanter is still a guy who should be owned in a lot of 12 team leagues, which he currently is not.
Night two of the Shabazz Muhammad experience ended with a bang, as Muhammad notched his first career double-double. The second-year man from UCLA had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and amazingly, four assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Sunday, he took advantage of Andrew Wiggins' illness, tonight, he got minutes at the expense of Corey Brewer, who played just 15 minutes. Muhammad is an animal on the boards and there may not be a better offensive rebounding guard in the NBA. The playing time may be tenuous, but the results are impressive. He's a deep league play at the moment, but one more like this and I may change my tune. It must be noted, though, that this game was a blowout of the highest order, so take that for what it's worth.
In his 2014-15 debut, recently signed Jeff Adrien had seven points, six rebounds, one steal, and two blocks in 13 minutes Monday. Last season, Adrien sported not only one of the best haircuts in the NBA, but also some of the most impressive rebounding numbers post-All Star break. For now, his value will be limited by the presence of Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett, but just remember the name.
DeAndre Jordan was impressive at doing what he does, scoring 11 points, hitting all five of his field goals, with 13 rebounds, one steal and four blocks. If you drafted him, this is what you wanted and you must be happy.
J.J, Redick had 23 points with four three-pointers in 23 minutes as he and the rest of the Clippers were able to take it easy in the victory.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Kawhi Leonard, F, SAS, 26 points
- Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 25 points
- Michael Carter-Williams, G, PHI, 24 points
Rebounds
- Enes Kanter, F, UTA, 15 rebounds
- DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 13 rebounds
- Michael Carter-Williams, G, PHI, 11 rebounds
Assists
- John Wall, G, WAS, 13 assists
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 12 assists
- Trey Burke, G, UTA, 8 assists
- Chris Paul, G, LAC, 8 assists
Steals
- K.J. McDaniels, G, PHI, 3 steals
- Luc Mbah a Moute, F, PHI, 3 steals
- Ten players tied with 2 steals
Blocks
- DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 4 blocks
- J.J. Hickson, C, DEN, 3 blocks
- Chris Bosh, F, MIA, 2 blocks
- Enes Kanter, F, UTA, 2 blocks
- Marcin Gortat, C, WAS, 2 blocks
- K.J. McDaniels, G, PHI, 2 blocks
- Jeff Adrien, F, MIN, 2 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Trey Burke, G, UTA, 4-7 3Pt
- J.J. Redick, G, LAC, 4-5 3Pt
- Spencer Hawes, C, LAC, 4-7 3Pt
Minutes
- Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 39 minutes
- Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 39 minutes
- Alec Burks, G, UTA, 37 minutes