Isaiah Thomas and Damian Lillard are back, Austin Rivers is getting a second opinion, Lou Williams is unstoppable and Marquese Chriss suddenly looks like a potential fantasy stud.
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Cavaliers 127, Blazers 110 – Isaiah Thomas made his season debut and hit 6-of-12 shots and three 3-pointers for 17 points and three assists in 19 minutes on Tuesday. It was a bit emotional seeing Thomas getting back in action after a rough year and he looked great despite the limited minutes. It could be a week or so before he’s up to speed, but owners have to be thrilled at his short stint tonight. The Cavaliers play again on Wednesday night, so Thomas will obviously be iffy for that one, and they go back-to-back again on Thursday and Friday, so owners will want to watch the news feed for that one too. But going forward, feel free to start Thomas if he’s playing for the Cavs. LeBron James did his typical LeBron things, Kevin Love had 19 points, seven boards and four 3-pointers, and Dwyane Wade was nice with 15 points, eight boards and three assists. The Cavs should be about ready to start wrecking the East again after losing their previous three games before Tuesday’s win.
The Blazers welcomed back Damian Lillard and he didn’t disappoint after missing five straight games with his hamstring injury, hitting 8-of-15 shots and six 3-pointers for 25 points, six assists and a steal. He also had a season-high seven turnovers, but we’ll chalk them up to rust. It doesn’t look like he’ll be restricted at all, so get him back in your lineup and hope that he’s able to go in next Tuesday and Wednesday’s back-to-back games. The bad news is that Shabazz Napier, who was absolutely a monster while Lillard was out, played just 14 minutes and missed all five of his shots, failing to score. It was fun while it lasted, and while Napier will have the occasional big game off the bench, it’s probably time to cut the cord. C.J. McCollum and Evan Turner both played well and Turner has been great over his last two games. I don’t know if he can keep it going, but he had 22 on Monday and 15 on Tuesday with solid stat lines, making him worth a look right now. Jusuf Nurkic hit 10-of-12 shots for 23 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals, and appears to be back, averaging 13.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks over his last five. Al-Farouq Aminu was bad, hitting just 1-of-7 shots, but it was coming off a season-high 24 points on Monday. He should be fine and has played at least 31 minutes in four straight games, hitting seven 3-pointers in his last three.
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Spurs 100, Knicks 91 – The Spurs got big games out of LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, and it would appear that Leonard is good to go, although owners still have to make sure he’s in the lineup for tonight’s back-to-back against the Sixers, while they also go back-to-back on Sunday and Monday. Danny Green started, but didn’t score and didn’t play in the second half, and it sounds like the Spurs may shut him down in hopes of getting fully healthy. The headaches continue with Green and he’s just not worth it right now. And given that it’s the Spurs, the only trustworthy players are Aldridge, Leonard and sometimes, Pau Gasol. But because they’re the Spurs, owners always have to watch the newsfeed to make sure they’re actually playing.
Kristaps Porzingis hit just 5-of-19 shots for 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and is shooting just 36 percent since returning from a knee injury seven games ago for the Knicks. He’s a buy-low candidate right now and will look to get right against the Wizards tonight. Lance Thomas started again and scored a season-high 13 points with three 3-pointers, but he’s completely untrustworthy. Frank Ntilikina, who was coming on, played just 16 minutes for three points and one assist, but he reportedly wasn’t feeling well last night. It would have been nice to know that information before the game, instead of after. Jarrett Jack had 10 points, four boards, five assists and two steals in 33 minutes, and is much more trustworthy than Ntilikina right now, but I still think Ntilikina is going to take over the starting job at some point and makes for a nice stash, despite the setback. And then there’s Michael Beasley, who led the way with 18 points, nine boards, a block and a 3-pointer off the bench. He’s averaging 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, a steal and a block over his last three and should be a hot pickup, even with Porzingis back in action for the Knicks.
Suns 104, Hawks 103 – The Suns overcame a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes to steal a win over the Hawks. T.J. Warren hit 15-of-21 shots for 31 points and Devin Booker, who had 34 points and a fun line, hit three free throws after being foolishly fouled by Kent Bazemore to give the Suns the one-point win. However, it was Marquese Chriss coming up with clutch blocks, rebounds and three 3-pointers who stole the show. He finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two spectacular blocks and the threes, and is now averaging 12.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 3-pointers on 60 percent shooting over his last five. Don’t feel bad if you dropped him, because you’re not alone. We loved him, held onto him, liked him, hated him, dropped him, picked him up, dropped him again and wrote him off, but he’s playing really well right now. And like I’ve said all along, it wouldn’t surprise me at all for him to put together a huge second half of the season. If he’s available in your league, pick him up. Again.
Ersan Ilyasova, Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore and Marco Belinelli all played well for the Hawks. The first three should already be owned in most leagues, while Belinelli’s scored 16, 14, 14 and 19 points in each of his last four games, shooting lights out and hitting seven 3-pointers over that stretch. He’s a low-end own in 12-team leagues again. Meanwhile, Taurean Prince hit just 2-of-14 shots for nine points, four boards, two assists, a steal and a block, while John Collins hit just 1-of-6 shots for six points, five boards, two steals and a block in 20 minutes. It just wasn’t their night, but Prince should be owned everywhere, and Collins should be unleashed by the Hawks sooner than later. Maybe you should cut Collins for Chriss, but in my mind they both should be owned at this point and that’s a really tough call if Collins is your worst player.
Hornets 131, Kings 111 – Lost in all the hoopla over the return of Thomas and Lillard, as well as the theatrics of the Suns, was the fact the Hornets had just three turnovers last night. Yes, Damian Lillard and a bunch of other players had a lot more turnovers than the Hornets did as a team last night. They had just two turnovers in a game on March 28, 2017, but you won’t see a number that low many times during a season, from any team. They also scored a season-high 131 points on 57 percent shooting, but are still five games behind the Pacers (and a few other teams) for the final playoff spot in the East. Nicolas Batum, who’s been struggling, led the way with 21 points, four boards, four assists and three 3-pointers, and I’m hoping this was the game that gets his season kick started. His elbow has been a problem, but he finally looked right last night. Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker both played well, Johnny O’Bryant had a season-high 16 points and two 3-pointers off the bench, and Jeremy Lamb joined him with 16 points, five assists, three steals and three 3-pointers. Forget about O’Bryant, think about grabbing Lamb if he’s out there, and consider making a buy-low offer on Batum, as his owners have been getting headaches from his all season.
Zach Randolph bounced back with a 24 & 10 double-double, while Skal Labissiere may have been the surprise of the night. He came off the bench on Sunday for six points and two rebounds, but blew up for 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a start on Tuesday. It’s impossible to tell what the Kings will do with their lineup from night-to-night, but Skal should now be firmly on the fantasy radar across the board. He’s not must-own, but if he plays well in one or two of his next games, he might be soon. De’Aaron Fox was back from a six-game absence with a quad injury and looked good, starting alongside George Hill and hitting 5-of-12 shots and a 3-pointer for 17 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Again, who knows what the Kings will do in the next one, but Fox looked better than he has for most of the season and should be a lock to start as long as he’s healthy. If you have room, grab him, stash him and see what happens next. With Frank Mason (heel) out for at least a week, Fox might be ready to finally start getting it done. Buddy Hield had just six points in 25 minutes and is a guy I would cut for most of the aforementioned players, like Chriss, Labissiere, Fox, Beasley and even to take a flier on Labissiere.
Clippers 113, Grizzlies 105 – Austin Rivers will have his Achilles injury reevaluated and may get a second opinion, meaning he could miss a lot more time than it looked like he would earlier on Tuesday (he was originally due back last night). C.J. Williams started again and scored a career-high 18 points with (also a career-high) three 3-pointers and two steals. He’s starting and playing well at times, but he’s a one-trick pony. He belongs on the radar, but also waiver wires except in very deep leagues right now. Milos Teodosic hit three more 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, five rebounds, six assists and a block, and is starting to come on. He still can’t shoot it, but is averaging 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.0 3-pointers over last five. And with Rivers (and Patrick Beverley) out, Lou Williams continues to crush. He shouldn’t be available anywhere after scoring 33 and averaging a ridiculous 30.6 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 3-pointers on 49 percent shooting over his last five. He’s playing for a contract and it shows. And with the latest Rivers news, there’s no reason Lou-Will can’t keep it rolling. Blake Griffin had 21 points and looked great again, hitting a 3-point dagger and a late layup to help secure the win. The Clips go back-to-back on Jan. 10 and 11, so just make sure he’s good to go for both of those. He’s looked fantastic in all three games since returning from his knee injury and doesn’t appear to have any restrictions.
The Grizzlies are a mess. Marc Gasol hit just 3-of-10 shots for 11 points and no blocks, despite playing 36 minutes. He’s scored 11 or fewer point in three of his last four games, but you have to think he bounces back soon. This looks like a nice time to try to buy low. JaMychal Green was efficient and had one of his better lines of the season with 12 points, six boards, two assists, three steals and a block, but he hasn’t been worth owning. I need to see him do this a couple more times before going back in on him. And lastly, Mario Chalmers somehow played 25 minutes and had 15 points, three rebounds and a 3-pointer, while Kobi Simmons played just three minutes. I think the Grizzlies were just kicking the tires on Chalmers to make sure he still had a pulse, while the future should belong to Simmons. Simmons had played between 17 and 31 minutes in his five previous games and had a career-high 17 points on Saturday. I’m still not sure why he was benched last night, but chances are he bounces back rather quickly. But he’s only a deep-league stash, or a watch-list guy for now.
