via RotoWorld/Jared Johnson
Week 12 Schedule: Games Played
5 Games: CHI
4 Games: BKN, DET, HOU, LAL, MIN, NYK, OKC
3 Games: ATL, BOS, CLE, DAL, MEM, MIL, NOR, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, SAS, TOR, UTA, WAS
2 Games: CHA, GSW, LAC, MIA, PHO
1 Game: IND
Sunday Stars
James Harden
quadruple-doubled (with turnovers of course) during Sunday’s 129-122
win over the Raptors, registering 40 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists,
two steals, two blocks, four 3-pointers, and yes, 10 turnovers in 38
minutes. Watching
Russell Westbrook
and Harden obliterate the box scores this season has been euphoric, and
when you throw away those pesky turnovers (8-cat format), Mr. Harden
ranks No. 1 overall (Westbrook No. 2) with insane averages of 28.2
points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 3.0 triples and a league-leading 11.8
assists per contest on 44.3 percent shooting. When two guys are having a
ridiculous season like the one we’re witnessing, the MVP trophy is
typically awarded to the player on the team with the better record,
which in this case (at this moment) would be
James Harden. However, with
Russell Westbrook
very likely to average a triple-double for the first time since 1961-62
season, that could certainly sway the voting in his favor. I honestly
don’t really care whom the MVP award goes to this season, but I am
certainly enjoying the show.
Chris Paul
was phenomenal during Sunday’s 98-86 win over the Heat, racking up 19
points (7-of-11 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), 18 assists, six rebounds, one
3-pointer, two steals and just one turnover in 29 minutes. CP3 leads all
point guards in assist-to-turnover ratio by a wide margin at 4.38,
ranks No. 3 overall in assist percentage (47.2) and is No. 4 overall in
total assists (324), which are just a few reasons why he ranks No. 4
overall in standard 9-cat leagues. As a side note, Paul registered his
8,000-career assist in this one, a feat that only 10 other players have
accomplished.
Otto Porter
posted an Otto-Porter-line with 13 points, three 3-pointers, seven
rebounds, seven assists, one steal, two swats and two turnovers in 39
minutes. Porter can fill the box score like few others, which is why the
23-year-old has been a steady top-20 guy all year long. I used to give
Scotty Brooks a lot of grief over the way he handled his rotations in
OKC, but he hasn’t given the fantasy basketball world anything to
complain about this season, and you’ve got to give the man some credit
for Porter’s emergence as a stat-sheet stuffer this season.
Jabari Parker
abused the box score in his 41 minutes of action during Sunday’s
matinee, racking up 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three
3-pointers, two steals, one block and two turnovers. While
Giannis Antetokounmpo
has been getting all the headlines this season (and justifiably so),
Parker has also been having himself an impressive season, posting top-50
value and hitting career-highs across the board with averages of 20.4
points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 dimes, 1.1 steals, 1.4 trey-bombs and just 1.5
turnovers per contest on 49.9 percent shooting. Now that we have three
years of data to go off, it’s pretty obvious that Parker should have
gone No. 1 overall over
Andrew Wiggins in the 2014 NBA draft.
T.J. Warren
held his own against the defending champs on Sunday, hitting 7-of-9
shots on his way to 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, one
3-pointers, three steals and one turnover in 27 minutes. Warren has been
hit-or-miss since returning from his mysterious head injury, and his
usage rate has been down (from 22.3 pre-injury to 19.7 post-injury), but
hopefully this successful stat line against a tough defensive team will
help him start trending in a positive direction. I think Warren is a
good guy to try and buy-low on.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
drilled a tough, turnaround 3-point bomb to seal the victory for
Detroit during Sunday’s thrilling 125-124 double overtime win in
Portland, tallying 26 points, four triples, four rebounds, two assists,
four steals and three turnovers in 48 minutes.
Reggie Jackson
also went to work on offense, scoring a team-high 31 points on 13-of-26
shooting to go with one rebound, two steals, three assists and two
turnovers in 47 minutes. Jackson had a painfully slow start to the
2016-17 season, missing all of training camp and the entire month of
November as he recovered from PRP injections to his right (shooting)
thumb and left knee, and it was slow going when he initially got back to
the court as he worked himself into game shape. However, since the turn
of the New Year, Jackson has looked like a new man, pumping out top-30
value in 9-cat leagues with 24.0 points, 7.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.0
triples and just 2.6 turnovers per contest on 48.4 percent shooting.
Jackson is entering his prime at 26 years old, so it’s reasonable to
expect some improvement from last year’s numbers now that he’s fully up
to speed. In other words, I would recommend Reggie as a hold as opposed
to a sell-high guy.
C.J. McCollum
did all he could to help Portland to a win during the double overtime
loss, scoring 25 points on 16-of-28 shooting to go with three rebounds,
three 3-pointers, six assists, one steal, one block and one turnover in
44 minutes. McCollum has been a stud all year long, but he’s been
particularly impressive in 2017 with averages of 33.8 points, 4.6
rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.8 triples and 2.8
turnovers per game on 53.2 percent shooting from the field and 95.8
percent from the charity stripe. McCollum has ranked No. 4 overall in
9-cat leagues during that five-game span, so while I do absolutely love
C.J.’s game, owners may want to pursue some sell-high opportunities as
this is likely his plateau. And by sell-high, I mean don’t deal him
unless you’re getting a first-round stud in return.
On the Radar
T.J. McConnell remained in the starting lineup despite the return of
Sergio Rodriguez
(ankle) and put up four points, eight boards, six assists, two steals
and two turnovers in 36 minutes. The 76ers have now won three of their
past four games with McConnell running the point, and he’s also a much
better defender than Rodriguez, so it’s looking like he may stick as a
starter moving forward. Over the past four games, McConnell has been a
steady late-round guy with averages of 9.0 points, 9.8 assists, 5.3
boards, 1.5 steals and just 2.0 turnovers per game on 39.5 percent
shooting, so if you can stomach the inefficient scoring and need some
help in assists, give McConnell a look.
Dario Saric
had a nice game off the bench, going 5-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6
from the charity stripe on his way to 18 points, five boards, three
3-pointers, one steal and four turnovers in 30 minutes. However, this
stat line does come with an asterisk as he did this against the worst
team in the league at defending the forward spots, so I’d like to see
him do it again before recommending him as a standard league add.
Basically, as long as
Ersan Ilyasova is healthy, Saric is only going to be worth owning as a deep league stash.
Malcolm Brogdon remained in the starting lineup despite the return of
Matthew Dellavedova
(hamstring), and he went off for a career-high 22 points on 9-of-15
shooting (2-of-2 from the stripe) to go with two triples, one rebound,
three steals, one block, five dimes and four turnovers in 36 minutes.
He’s been a steady late-round guy since being inserted into the starting
lineup, owning averages of 13.7 points, 5.0 boards, 6.5 assists and 2.0
turnovers per game on 45.1 percent shooting, so give him a look if you
need a point guard.
Allen Crabbe
did not miss a single 3-point attempt during Sunday’s double-overtime
loss to the Pistons, going 12-of-15 from the field and 1-of-1 from the
line on his way to a career-high 30 points to go with five triples, one
rebound, one assist, one steal and two turnovers in 43 minutes. The
impeccable shooting had Crabbe clocking in with a ridiculous 97.2 true
shooting percentage, and he’s been heating up over the past three with
averages of 20.7 points, 2.0 assists, 3.0 triples and just 1.0 turnover
per game on 55.6 percent shooting. The uber-efficient shooting scoring
is not sustainable, but if you’re searching for some production in the
3-point category, it makes sense to swoop Crabbe up to see just how long
he can keep this up.
Al-Farouq Aminu
also had an efficient night, going 7-of-10 from the field and sinking
his only freebie on his way to 16 points, eight boards, two assists, one
block, one 3-pointer and one turnover in 37 minutes. Aminu was
launching up bricks at an alarming rate to begin the 2016-17 season, but
he’s been much more efficient over the past seven games, sitting on an
eighth-round evaluation in 9-cat leagues with averages of 8.4 points,
7.6 boards, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.9 treys and just 1.0 turnover per
game on 42.6 percent shooting. Aminu is an intriguing fantasy prospect
with his ability to bring a little bit of everything to the stat sheet
on a nightly basis, so he’s deserving of a speculative pickup in most
leagues. In points leagues, I think he’s a must-own guy.
DeMarre Carroll
made it rain on the Rockets, draining six trey-bombs in 34 minutes on
his way to 26 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one turnover.
Carroll has been stealthy climbing the rankings over the past five with
averages of 11.6 points, 2.4 triples and 1.2 steals per contest on 48.6
percent shooting. He could fall off at a moment’s notice, but if you’ve
got someone to cut, Carroll could be worth a look.
Injury Tracker
Hassan Whiteside
(eye, personal) returned from a four-game* absence and put up 15
points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two turnovers in 31 minutes. His
return to action resulted in
Willie Reed
being sent back to the bench, and Reed ended his night with four
points, 10 boards, one steal, one block and one turnover in 17 minutes.
With Whiteside healthy, Reed won’t be worth owning in most leagues.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (illness) sat out Sunday’s game, which resulted in
Mirza Teletovic
moving into the starting five, although Teletovic was a no-show in his
31 minutes of playing time. Considering it’s just an illness, I imagine
the 22-year-old Antetokounmpo will be back in action for Tuesday’s game
in San Antonio.
Michael Beasley
exited Sunday’s game with a left shin contusion and did not return.
Consider him questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Spurs.
Sergio Rodriguez
(ankle) returned from a three-game absence and went 2-of-6 from the
field in 12 minutes off the bench on his way to four points, three
assists and one turnover.
T.J. McConnell
may have stolen Rodriguez’ spot in the starting five during his injury,
and as a reserve, El Chacho isn’t worth owning anywhere.
Larry Nance (knee) is expected to return to the court in about two weeks. He’s not worth stashing in most scenarios, but
Luol Deng
owners can expect a fairly significant drop-off in production once
Nance returns to the court. When Nance was healthy, Deng was only
earning 26.2 minutes a night.
Jon Leuer
exited Sunday’s game with a sore right knee and did not return, so he
should be considered questionable for Tuesday’s game in Sacramento. If
he’s out,
Tobias Harris would move back into the starting five and
Stanley Johnson would have the opportunity for some extended minutes off the bench.
Trevor Booker
exited Sunday’s game with a left hip contusion, and while he was
initially ruled out for the remainder of the game, he eventually got
back on the court and ended his night with four points, four boards,
three dimes, one steal and one block in 18 minutes. Because Booker was
able to return, I imagine that he’ll be available for Tuesday’s game
against the Hawks.
Austin Rivers
(illness) missed Sunday’s win over the Heat, but with the Clippers off
until Wednesday, he’ll likely be back on the court for a matchup with
the Magic.
Raymond Felton
drew the start in his place and produced seven points, seven boards,
five dimes, two steals, one 3-pointer and one turnover in 37 minutes.
Josh Richardson missed Sunday’s game with a left foot sprain, which resulted in
Wayne Ellington
moving into the starting lineup and he struggled during his 20 minutes
on the court, missing all five of his 3-point attempts and finishing the
game with just four points and one assist. Richardson said that he
injured his foot “a few games ago,” and that the injury was only getting
worse the more he played on it, so while X-rays and an MRI revealed no
structural damage he could be missing more than a few games here. The
timing of this injury is extremely unfortunate, as Richardson had
finally been coming around as a mid-round guy over the past few weeks
after a lackluster start to the year; but now he finds himself back on
the sidelines with yet another injury to a different appendage. While
Ellington drew the start on Sunday, I imagine that
Dion Waiters
could find his way back into the starting five if this is a long-term
issue for Richardson, so Waiters is someone to consider as a speculative
pickup in deep points leagues.
Luke Babbitt (illness) also sat out Sunday’s game, which allowed
Derrick Williams
to draw the start, but he did a whole lot of nothing during his 21
minutes of action with two points on 1-of-5 shooting, three boards, two
assists, one steal and one turnover.
Matthew Dellavedova
(hamstring) logged 18 minutes off the bench in his return from a
five-game absence on Sunday, going 1-of-5 from the field on his way to
two points, two boards, four assists, one steal and one turnover. It’s
looking like
Malcolm Brogdon may have usurped Delly for the starting point guard position in Milwaukee, so Dellavedova isn’t worth owning anywhere.
Kyle Korver did not play on Sunday because
Mike Dunleavy
has failed to report for his physical in Atlanta. Dunleavy wants to be
bought out, so he’ll be free to join a team of his choosing, and if this
situation isn’t resolved quickly, Dunleavy’s antics will delay Korver’s
Cleveland debut.
Brandan Wright
(left ankle) has begun going through full-speed individual workouts,
and he’s hopeful to return to the court sometime in January. He’ll be
brought along very slowly, and can remain on the waiver wire in all
leagues.
Aron Baynes (ankle) returned from a two-game stint on the sidelines and put up two points and one rebound in six minutes off the bench.
Bradley Beal
rolled his right ankle on Sunday, and while he played through it (and
looked fine doing so), he was spotted limping around the locker room
after the game. Beal said he was “OK” during his post-game interview,
but with a long history of lower right leg injuries, I’m going to have
to consider him questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Bulls. If
Beal hits the sidelines,
Kelly Oubre will benefit most with
John Wall running the show on offense.
