76ers 119, Bulls 108
And the historic season continues for Joel Embiid. He’s now 10-0 in his career when playing against the Chicago Bulls. He had his 7th 40-point game of the season with a line of 40/10/3 with two blocks. Despite a lot of injuries to the team this season, they’re sitting a game and a half out of first place in the East. Embiid has to be a frontrunner for MVP, as he’s averaging career-highs in points and assists while averaging a career-low in turnovers. Tobias Harris has been a top-50 fantasy asset this season and added another solid performance in this game with a 23/8/5/1/1 line. Tyrese Maxey has basically been described as untouchable for the Sixers. He also had a nice game with a line of 16/4/6 and three steals. With Matisse Thybulle (shoulder) sidelined, Danny Green got the start. He did about what you’d expect at this point of his career with eight points on two 3-pointers. Seth Curry was a little down on his field goal percentage (5-of-15), but still turned in a decent line of 12/3/4 with two 3-pointers.
DeMar DeRozan became the 12th Chicago Bull with a 45-point game as he put up a line of 45/9/7. It’s a pretty easy guess as to who leads the franchise in 45-point games, but the fact that Michael Jordan has 73 career 45-point games is just unfair. DeRozan has been phenomenal this season, providing second round value. The obvious knock on him is that he doesn’t hit 3-pointers, which held true in this one, but that makes the 45 points all the more impressive. Nikola Vucevic has played outstanding for the Bulls lately, and that has shown with his fantasy output. Over the past two weeks, he’s played at first round value. He didn’t have his best game with a line of 23/7/5 on 8-of-18 shooting, but he had averaged 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks on 62.7% shooting over the three previous games. Ayo Dosunmu has provided 6th round value over the past two weeks, which is pretty good for a second round pick. He had eight points and seven assists this game. That wasn’t close to his best performance, but he did have this dunk on Andre Drummond. Javonte Green has been a stock hero lately, recording at least one steal and one block in six straight games and in nine of the past 10. Zach LaVine (back) and Coby White (thigh) weren’t available for this game.
Timberwolves 118, Pistons 105
Karl-Anthony Towns played like the All-Star that he is with a line of 24/12/2. For only the second time all season, KAT didn’t attempt a free throw. He averages 6.2 attempts from the line a game and converts at an 81.4% clip. The only other time that happened this season was against the Warriors in November, which was a game they lost by 13. D’Angelo Russell returned from a four-game absence and put up a line of 22/5/8. Russell’s return meant Patrick Beverley wasn’t going to get as many assists, and he only finished with two. Pat Bev averages 6.3 assists per game when Russell is out as opposed to only 4.5 assists when D’Lo plays. Malik Beasley had just his second 20-point game of 2022 while also collecting a season-high nine rebounds. Jaden McDaniels returned to a bench role, but still finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three blocks.
Cade Cunningham (hip) was sidelined yet again, which opened up plenty of room for other guys to step up. Hamidou Diallo added two more steals to his collection, and he now has recorded at least one steal in four straight games. He got another start in place of Cade. Cory Joseph put up a full line of 15/2/4/1/2. The two blocks were a season-high. He’s recorded 11 blocks on the season, but four have come over the past three games. Saddiq Bey stayed hot with another 20-point game, which gave him three straight. Isaiah Stewart tied his career-high with four blocks to go with his fifth consecutive game with double-digit rebounds. Dwayne Casey said that Kelly Olynyk was really affected by COVID-19 and the knee injury, which is why it’s taking him awhile to get his conditioning back. He struggled in 14 minutes and probably doesn’t need to be in anyone’s lineup right now. Trey Lyles turned in a strong performance with 16 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. He’s been a reliable source of points off the bench for Detroit, but that’s about it. Killian Hayes had a full line of 10/3/8/1/1 off the bench.
Nuggets 124, Nets 104
Nikola Jokic again. A line of 27/12/10/2/1 in just 30 minutes while shooting 12-of-15 from the floor. The only category he’s struggled with this year is the turnovers (3.6 per game), but he only turned it over twice in this game. He’s doing this so regularly that it seems normal. He’s eight triple-doubles away from passing Wilt Chamberlain for the most by a center in NBA history. When you’re passing Wilt, you know you’re doing something good. Aaron Gordon returned from a two-game absence and turned in a solid line of 17/9/7. Against a depleted Nets frontcourt, Gordon and Jokic looked unstoppable. Will Barton, who has been the only Nugget not named Jokic to provide top-100 value this season, put up a line of 21/6/4. Monte Morris also had a solid line of 12/5/8. Every Nuggets’ starter had a +/- of at least +21. Their bench doesn’t really provide much for them, or for fantasy GMs. DeMarcus Cousins has been a solid source of rebounds, but not much else. He had nine rebounds in this game. In five games with Denver this season, Cousins has four technicals and an ejection. Austin Rivers was on the injury report before the game with a hip issue and ended up leaving the court after playing for eight minutes.
The James Harden trade rumors have almost overshadowed the Nets’ eight-game losing streak. Almost. Kyrie Irving played without his superstar teammates and finished with a line of 27/5/11/1/3. The three blocks were a season-high. Blake Griffin scored a season-high 19 points and hit a season-best five 3-pointers in this game. If this is the BG that the Nets can get with everyone healthy, then watch out. But don’t count on it. Griffin got the start with both LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Claxton sidelined. Day’Ron Sharpe had been getting a lot of minutes when their frontcourt was depleted, but he only played 14 minutes and didn’t really provide anything for fantasy teams. Cam Thomas had another excellent game. He followed up his career-high 30-point performance with a line of 20/3/4/1/2, with the blocks being a career-high. When Harden is out, the Nets will continue to look to Thomas for scoring.
Cavaliers 98, Pacers 85
The main headline surrounding this game was the Caris LeVert trade that happened just hours before tipoff. LeVert was sent to Cleveland in exchange for Ricky Rubio and a few draft picks. LeVert will likely come off the bench and provide a scoring punch. Interestingly enough, it was the Cavs’ bench that allowed them to win this game. After the Pacers jumped out to a 27-12 lead at the end of the first, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and Rajon Rondo helped Cleveland roar back. They all finished with massive lines. Love had 19/7/5 with two steals. Osman put up 22/4/5. And Rondo had 15/5/12. As for the starting group, Jarrett Allen continues to make his case for an All-Star bid as a replacement, finishing with 15 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks. Evan Mobley didn’t have a great game, but still managed three blocks. Brandon Goodwin has been starting at point guard in place of the injured All-Star Darius Garland, but he really struggled in this game.
Domantas Sabonis returned from league protocols, but didn’t turn in the best game. He finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, which should be something he can do in his sleep. Chris Duarte was the only starter to play pretty well, as he finished with a line of 22/5/2/1/1. With LeVert gone and more trades likely coming, Duarte is due for a jump in production during the second half of the season. Duane Washington Jr. scored 17 points for the second straight game. After playing only four minutes between October and November, Washington Jr. has carved out a spot in Indiana’s rotation. After averaging 22.5 points and 15 rebounds over two games, I was looking forward to seeing how Terry Taylor did this game. Well, the return of Sabonis halted his run of excellent games. He finished with five rebounds in 12 minutes, so if he played as many minutes as he had been, he was still on pace for 15 rebounds.
Celtics 116, Magic 83
Since the calendar flipped to 2022, the Celtics have been number one in the league in net rating, defensive rating, and opponent eFG%. That continued in this game, as they absolutely dominated the Magic on both ends of the court. Jaylen Brown was unstoppable, finishing with a 26/5/3 line with three steals and this poster dunk. Brown should definitely be considered as an injury replacement in the All-Star game, and I’d love to see him do more dunks like that. Robert Williams III has been a block machine lately. He’s recorded at least two blocks in nine of the past 10 games. He finished with a line of 10/6/1/2/2 in this game. Al Horford recorded double digit rebounds for the third consecutive game. Jayson Tatum struggled with his shot (6-of-18 shooting), so he made an impact with his passing by recording seven assists. Dennis Schroder, who has been the subject of a lot of trade rumors, seemed to be showcasing his value by finishing with 22 points and four triples off the bench. This was his best game since Marcus Smart returned to the lineup, which pushed Schroder to the bench. Grant Williams added a full line of 12/3/3/1/1 off the bench.
When a team scores only 83 points, it’s hard for players to produce much from a fantasy perspective. Jalen Suggs had a decent performance with a line of 17/6/5 with three steals, but his six turnovers negated a lot of his impact. Mo Bamba collected 10 rebounds and blocked two shots, but shot 2-of-9 from the field. That’s not what you’re looking for from a 7-footer, but he did hurt his ankle again on Saturday night, so we’ll chalk it up to that. Wendell Carter Jr. was okay with 14 points and eight rebounds. Chuma Okeke provided two blocks and three steals. He’s been inconsistent about it, but has occasionally been an excellent source of stocks. Franz Wagner has yet to miss a game this season and is the only rookie in the NBA to do that. He was a little off in this game, shooting 4-of-13. This was just an ugly game for the Magic, which has become a running theme for them. This was their second straight game losing by 20 or more.
Mavericks 103, Hawks 94
Foul trouble couldn’t stop Dallas in this one. Luka Doncic got his fifth foul very early in the third quarter, which limited him to only 28 minutes in this game. He still managed another triple-double, which was the 45th of his career. This is the fifth straight game that Luka has dropped double digit dimes, and the foul trouble helped prevent him from coughing the ball up, as he finished with only one turnover. Jalen Brunson also got his fifth foul of the game in the third quarter. He finished with 22/5/5. Reggie Bullock stepped up with 22 points, nine rebounds, and six triples. Bullock is now averaging 21.7 points and five 3-pointers in the month of February. Dorian Finney-Smith put together a solid line of 11/4/2/1/1. Dwight Powell got another start with Kristaps Porzingis still out, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Josh Green recorded a line of 9/6/1/3/1, which gave him a season-high three steals.
Over the past three games, John Collins has averaged 21.3 points and 11.3 rebounds. He came down with a season-high 18 rebounds in this game. Trae Young struggled with his shot (6-of-19 from the floor), but still finished with 17 points and 11 assists. Onyeka Okongwu ended up finishing with three steals and two blocks, while also closing the game in favor of Clint Capela, who finished with nine rebounds. Okongwu played 16 minutes, while Capela played 20. It seems like the logjam is preventing both of them from achieving their true potential, which is unfortunate for fantasy GMs. Capela has a clause in his contract that prevents him from being traded until the offseason, and Okongwu has shown too much potential for the Hawks to trade him. Barring an injury, it doesn’t seem like either can be relied on until Nate McMillan figures out what he wants to do. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter combined to shoot 6-of-23 from the floor, which is not what the Hawks need from them. Both of them have shot the ball well lately, so expect them to bounce back.
Pelicans 120, Rockets 107
After starting the season 1-12, the Pelicans are in sole possession of the 10th seed out West. Brandon Ingram had the first 30/10 game of his career, finishing with 33 points and 12 assists. Over his past 10 games, BI has averaged a line of 24.5/5.4/7.3, and New Orleans is 7-3 in those games. He is making a strong case to be an injury replacement in the All-Star game. He also just loves playing Houston. In their two matchups this year, Ingram has averaged a line of 36.5/8/4/2/1 with three triples per game. Jonas Valanciunas got in some foul trouble, but still finished with a line of 18/5/3/1/1. That opened up minutes for Jaxson Hayes, who continued his strong run with 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. He has shot 29-for-34 from the floor over the past four games. He’s still rostered in only 21% of Yahoo! leagues. While he may not have gotten this opportunity if Valanciunas didn’t get in foul trouble because of the return of Josh Hart, he’s been too good to leave on the wire. Hart had a line of 13/7/4 with three steals in his return from a two-game absence.
There hasn’t been much fantasy production coming out of Houston this season, but it’s always a victory when Christian Wood has a nice night at the free throw line. He shot 3-of-4 from the strip in this game to go with his line of 22/8/3. He jumps from a 9th round value to a 3rd round value if you punt free throws, so when he just doesn’t ruin you in that category, it’s a good day. He’s shooting 61.5% on free throws this season. Jalen Green scored 18 points, which was the fifth straight game that he’s scored in double figures. He’s also recorded a steal in three straight games, including two in this game. If you exclude the game that he left at halftime with an illness, Kevin Porter Jr. has averaged 8.3 assists over the past eight games, including eight assists in this game. Jae’Sean Tate only had one steal in this game, but he’s averaged two per game over the past three. He also swatted two shots in this game. He’s been as reliable as one can be in the steals category lately, but the added blocks are a nice bonus. Josh Christopher followed up his career-high 23 point night by scoring another 12 points off the bench. Garrison Mathews scored 18 points on five triples off the bench.
Bucks 137, Clippers 113
It’s hard to complain about Giannis Antetokounmpo when he shoots 10-of-12 from the line. He finished with a 28/10/5/1/2 line and even added in two 3-pointers in 31 minutes. Over the past three games, there are two Bucks that have provided top-five fantasy value if you punt steals. Giannis and Bobby Portis. Portis has been on fire, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and four 3-pointers in this game. He has averaged 23.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 3.7 triples over his past three games on shooting splits of 69.2/61.1/85.7. That’s out of this world. Jrue Holiday was also unstoppable in this game, finishing with a line of 27/5/13/2/1 on 11-for-16 shooting from the floor. Khris Middleton added 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Pat Connaughton scored 18 points on six triples. Basically, since getting thrashed by Denver a week ago, this Milwaukee team has been unstoppable.
What a debut it was for Norman Powell. In his first game since being shipped from Portland, he scored 28 points in 24 minutes off the bench. This definitely seems sustainable, and the Clippers will look to him for a lot of offense, especially when the starters struggle like they did in this game. Robert Covington’s debut wasn’t quite as impressive, though he did finish with 13 points, four rebounds, and a steal. Hopefully being on a new team won’t prevent him from collecting a bunch of stocks like he did in Portland. Tyronn Lue said that Terance Mann was the new backup point guard after they shipped out Eric Bledsoe. Mann has averaged 2.2 assists per game this season, but dished out five of them in this game. Hopefully that’s something he can keep up. Marcus Morris was the only starter that played a decent game, as he finished with a line of 20/8/4. Lue staggered the minutes of the three big men, which prevented Ivica Zubac, Serge Ibaka, and Isaiah Hartenstein from playing 20 minutes. It’s hard to trust any of these bigs right now.
