So, a nice, solid, seven-game slate of NBA games was turned into a disappointing five game night, all thanks to Jack Frost and the impending (insert media-derived snow based headline) descending on the east coast. THose games are lost from a fantasy perspective and there games you missed will not hep you in your push toward the playoffs as the games will be made up sometime in April. Let's not dwell on the negative, we still had Anthony Davis toying with the Sixers to keep us entertained.

KJ MCD

I'll often get Twitter questions about K.J. McDaniels and his name is often abbreviated to KJ McD, which, without fail, reminds me of this old McDonald's commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTSdUOC8Kac

That's just the way my brain works. Now, onto McDaniels. Against the Pelicans, McDaniels was benched in favor of the Sixers running a one guard, four forward lineup, but still got his 28 minutes, and was as impressive in the box score as we've seen for a while. He dropped 16 points, his highest output since the end of November, on 5-for-8 shooting, hitting his only three-pointer and going 5-for-6 from the line. The second-round rookie also added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks and this sort of line is a great indication of his fantasy potential. It won't be his averages, at least not this season, but he should start to do this more often than not as the season progresses. McDaniels is not someone who will find a place on every team, but in all leagues, you have to consider adding him and if you are comfortably high in the standings or looking for blocks, his appeal should be amplified.

M.I.A.

These guys all sat out Monday's action, for one reason or another.

• Sixers
  • Michael Carter-Williams (illness)
• Pelicans
  • Jrue Holiday (leg stress reaction)
• Timberwolves
  • Shabazz Muhammad (abdominal)
  • Kevin Martin (wrist)
  • Ricky Rubio (ankle)
• Thunder
  • Kevin Durant (toe)
• Grizzlies
  • Tony Allen (ankle)
• Celtics
  • Kelly Olynyk (ankle)
• Jazz
  • Rodney Hood (foot)

FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT

Anthony Davis took advantage of the sub par opposition, scoring 32 points (12-19 FG, 8-8 FT) with 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks in just 31 minutes. The guy is a beast. Interestingly, I took part in a midseason draft, and Davis didn't go at number one. I was, to put it mildly, surprised at that outcome. Anyway, Davis has been the best head-to-head player, but it's debatable to a degree as to who the best roto player has been.

ROTATION NOTES AND QUIRKS

With Michael Carter-Williams sidelined by an illness and Tony Wroten done for the season, Larry Drew II made his first NBA start and underwhelmed. He did play 32 minutes as the Sixers lack any other point guard, but he should only be looked at in deeper leagues and in daily fantasy if he gets another start. Oh, Drew added four points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal for those of you playing along at home.

As is the norm, the Pelicans played their main guys limited minutes, allowing players like Nate Wolters and Quincy Pondexter to find themselves on the court more than would seem usual. Remember, this was the Sixers so don't get super excited about the extra run.

Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic started next to each other again, and this time, it was Dieng who played more minutes and was more fantasy relevant, pulling down 18 rebounds with three blocks. I'm fairly confident it will remain that way and Dieng should remain owned in all leagues. Mo Williams played just 30 minutes and was bothered by a hip complaint and is unlikely to play Wednesday, meaning fi you own Williams, be prepared for a DNP. I'm not advocating dropping Williams in your league, but with the Rubio return coming soon, his value will drop off a cliff anyway.

With no Kevin Durant (toe), Perry Jones III got the start, but he gave us nothing, scoring six points with two blocks in 24 minutes. Reggie Jackson benefitted with 14 points in 26 minutes and added three steals. If you believe a trade is forthcoming, Jackson is a great add, but his value when everyone is healthy in OKC is not high enough for most standard leagues. Steven Adams returned from his one game, migraine-induced absence, and added four blocks with five rebounds and his value is best described as blah.

Tobias Harris played just 20 minutes off the bench, even with Channing Frye getting benched the entire second-half, scoring only eight points with two rebounds. While Harris is a much better player than this, if he is going to be anchored to the bench, his value takes a hit and at this point, I'm not entirely sure what Jacque Vaughn's plan is. Given Orlando's sub-optimal head-to-head playoff schedule, if you can trade Harris for a top 60 player, you should. Frye played just 13 minutes, scoring six points and it's very hard to own him at the moment. Dewayne Dedmon played 30 minutes in preference to Harris and Frye, double-doubling with 10 points, 10 rebounds and one block. Don't make any move on Dedmon.

Beno Udrih got himself 26 minutes as Mike Conley battled through wrist issues, scoring 15 points with five assists and four steals. If Conley misses Tuesday's game, which is possible, Udrih has value as a streaming target and becomes relevant in daily fantasy, but don't expect any long-term value.

Tayshaun Prince led the Boston Celtics in minutes. I'll just let that sink in. That is exhibit A as to why owning a member of the Celtics is an exercise in frustration. That's not to say not to own any, but Brad Stevens' fickle rotations are enough to turn anyone's hair prematurely grey. Prince was productive with 19 points and five assists, but that doesn't mean you should look at him n anything shallower than a 16 team league. Marcus Smart returned from bereavement leave and went straight back to his 29 minute bench role, accumulating nine points and five assists and is still the highest upside player on the team. Evan Turner hurt his thumb again. X-Rays came back negative, but we could still be seeing some more of Smart if Turner has to miss.

Dante Exum remained starting, played 25 minutes and went scoreless. He's still worth a flier in 14 team leagues and possibly 12 team leagues, but remember his per-36 numbers have been horrible.  Rudy Gobert played 26 minutes off the bench, while both Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors got over 30 minutes. All three guys were productive and should be owned in almost all leagues.

Good news for Jusuf Nurkic owners, with the big Bosnian playing 29 minutes, despite four fouls. He had 10 rebounds and three blocks in that time and while the sky is the limit, remember, Brian Shaw is still his coach, so a random benching could occur at any time. There is a ton of value in Nurkic, assuming he gets minutes.

With Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford getting hot, J.J. Redick was reduced to only 19 minutes. This isn't something to get worried about, but his owners wouldn't have enjoyed his six point outing.

BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES

Robert Covington struggled mightily with his shot, going 2-for-11 for six points, adding six rebounds and five assists. Poor shooting aside, Covington is still owned is too few leagues.

Aside from Davis, all members of the Pelicans played under 30 minutes, but don't let that dissuade you from adding Eric Gordon, who had 13 points with five assists in his 25 minutes.

Thaddeus Young played a massive 42 minutes, scoring 22 points with eight rebounds and two steals and is in the midst of a massive hot streak. Over his last four games, Young is averaging 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists and if someone dropped him, you need to make sure he is owned. He may not keep this up, but hopefully he's got this figured out in Minnesota and can be productive moving forward.

Lord Elfrid Payton played big minutes again, logging 36, and scored 12 points with six assists. If you can stomach the shooting, 42 percent from the field and 53 percent from the line, Payton is giving some high-level counting stats.

Zach Randolph had his ninth consecutive double-double after his return from a knee injury and is just dominating the points and rebound categories. Even his blocks are up, garnering five blocks in those nine games, compared with two for the rest of the season before he went down. Jeff Green continued to start and was relatively productive across the board, scoring 12 points with six rebounds, adding a steal and a block. His value lies somewhere between 10 and 12 team leagues, despite the presence of Courtney Lee and Tony Allen.

All three of Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger and Brandon Bass had productive nights, but for the time being, Sullinger and Bass are the more reliable as their minutes have been the most consistent. As I mentioned when talking about Tayshaun Prince earlier, trust is something you should be very reticent to give out when it comes to Boston's rotations.

Trey Burke played 32 minutes off the bench, scoring 18 points with four three-pointers and literally nothing else. Since being demoted, Burke has retained his fantasy value and is still someone you can own in 12 team leagues, depending on your team needs.

Arron Afflalo has been on fire lately, averaging 17.5 points, 1.8 three-pointers, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals over hs last four games. These numbers particularly the assists and steals are significantly over his numbers on the season, so if someone believes in Afflalo as a top 50 player, which he has been recently, you have to sell. He is an empty points and three-pointers guy usually and this outburst doesn't make me change my perspective just yet.

Blake Griffin just missed a triple-double by one rebound, going 14/9/10, but shot 6-for-17 from the field. Overall, Griffin has been disappointing as a fantasy player, seeing career-lows in rebounding and field goal percentage, but improving his assist numbers, up now to 5.1 per game.

NIGHTLY LEADERS

Points

1. Anthony Davis, F, NOP, 32 points
2. Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 26 points
3. Zach Randolph, F, MEM, 24 points

Rebounds

1. Serge Ibaka, F, OKC, 19 rebounds
2. Gorgui Dieng, C, 18 rebounds
3. Nikola Vucevic, C, 12 rebounds
4. DeAndre Jordan, C, 12 rebounds

Assists

1. Tyreke Evans, G, NOP, 12 assists
2. Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 11 assists
3. Blake Griffin, F, LAC, 10 assists

Steals

1. Beno Udrih, G, MEM, 4 steals
2. Joe Ingles, G, UTA, 4 steals
3. Anthony Davis, F, NOP, 3 steals
4. Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 3 steals
5. Arron Afflalo, G, DEN, 3 steals
6. Ryan Anderson, F, NOP, 3 steals
7. K.J. McDaniels, G, PHI, 3 steals
8. DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 3 steals
9. Reggie Jackson, G, OKC, 3 steals

Blocks

1. Anthony Davis, F, NOP, 4 blocks
2. DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC, 4 blocks
3. Derrick Favors, F, UTA, 4 blocks
4. Jerami Grant, F, PHI, 4 blocks
5. Alexis Ajinca, C, NOP, 4 blocks
6. Steven Adams, C, OKC, 4 blocks

Three-Pointers

1. Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 4-5 3Pt
2. Ryan Anderson, F, NOP, 4-5 3Pt
3. Trey Burke, G, UTA, 4-12 3Pt

Minutes

1. Thaddeus Young, F, MIN, 42 minutes
2. Nikola Vucevic, C, ORL, 39 minutes
3. Andrew Wiggins, F, MIN, 38 minutes