A ton of players had big nights on an eight-game slate to begin Week 16, but believe it or not, it’s Isaiah Jackson who I’m most impressed with. I’ll talk the rookie’s fantastic numbers in his first career start, Steph finally making shots and plenty more.
76ers hang on for OT victory over Grizzlies
This game was a thriller as the 76ers took the red-hot Grizzlies to an extra five-minute period and came out on top by a final score of 122-119. Joel Embiid (rest) didn’t suit up for what seems like the first time in forever, so enter Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. These two carried the brunt of the offensive load, with Maxey just barely leading in scoring with a team-high 33 points (13-of-23 FGs, 6-of-7 FTs) with three rebounds, eight assists, one steal, a career-high four swats, one 3-pointer and three turnovers in 43 minutes. Maxey hadn’t scored more than 20 points in over two weeks despite hitting double figures in a dozen straight, and it makes a ton of sense with the void left by Embiid being inactive. Tobias Harris was great as well as he went 12-of-25 from the floor (hit all five freebies) for a 31/5/5 line with two blocks and two triples in 40 minutes, and he came in with a 20.0/6.5/3.7 stat line in six prior games without Embiid, so this all lines up. Andre Drummond wasn’t as dominant offensively but went bonkers with 16 points, 23 rebounds, five assists, two steals, three blocks and three turnovers in a Maxey-matching 43 minutes, but per usual he’s just a DFS play without Embiid or a handcuff for him in season-long settings. The only other double-digit scorer was Isaiah Joe with 10 points and two treys in 14 minutes and Seth Curry struggled from the field for a 9/3/8 line with two steals. Joe isn’t a fantasy option by any means and Curry’s been cold since returning from a back issue but he’ll turn it around in no time.
Eerily similar to the 76ers, the Grizzlies had two 30-point scorers that took care of a majority of the offensive load, and it’s no real shocker who the two were. Ja Morant went off for 37 points (15-of-30 FGs) to mark his seventh straight 30-point game, and he added five boards, five assists and one steal in 42 minutes. Everything preceding this sentence looks good, but Morant did cough up the ball nine time to tie a career worst, and he shot just 7-of-10 from the line with one of the misses being a crucial one with 7.4 seconds left in regulation that would’ve given the team the win and therefore avoided overtime. He’s still insane, as he also made this pass and threw down this oop, and we’re still hailing King Ja until further notice (aka forever). Desmond Bane tallied yet a new career high himself with 34 points to go with seven rebounds, three steals, five 3-pointers and just one turnover in 39 minutes, and he also shot it well with a 12-of-21 clip while sinking all five free throws, so you could very well argue Bane had the better fantasy showing of this deadly backcourt. Jaren Jackson Jr. looked like usual with so-so percentages (7-of-17 FGs, 3-of-6 FTs) but a full 18/7/1/1/2 line with no turnovers, and you may just have to live with the poor shooting at this point but maybe he can at least get his free throw shooting back up. Ziaire Williams scored just eight points in 34 minutes but at least hauled in nine rebounds, and Steven Adams posted his second straight fun line with a 7/12/2/2/3 effort but I wouldn’t necessarily expect these going forward.
It’s Isaiah Jackson time
We have arrived. There has been a ton of hype surrounding rookie Isaiah Jackson lately due to both his strong per-minute production and the fact that Indiana could easily blow up the roster and keep Jackson as their starter going forward. In a 122-116 victory over the Clippers on Monday, Jackson got his first career start for Domantas Sabonis (protocols) and tallied 26 points with 10 rebounds (both career highs) to go with one steal, two blocks and one 3-pointer for good measure in just 29 minutes. He was red hot from the field and drained 12 of his 19 shot attempts and was visibly active for all of his time on the court, and his 22% Yahoo! roster percentage is about to skyrocket, and rightfully so. Please go get him if you can as he may wind up on a ton of winning fantasy teams if the Pacers unleash him. I’m so excited about Jackson that I don’t care nearly as much about the other Pacers, but Caris LeVert (17/7/9 with five turnovers) and Duane Washington Jr. (16/4/4 with four triples) fared the second and third best on the team since Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles) didn’t play. Meanwhile, Terry Taylor had a career nigh with 15 points, eight boards, two dimes and a triple in 21 reserve minutes, and he’s not as hot of a pickup as Jackson will be but should be monitored if the Pacers do a lot of dealing before February 10. Justin Holiday posted a 13/5/6 line with two blocks and only took nine shots, which is rare, and Lance Stephenson went for a 10/3/4 line in just 12 minutes but can be dropped as he’s played fewer than 20 minutes in nine of his last 10 contests.
Amir Coffey shined bright again with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding a bit of everything along the way with five boards, four assists, one steal, one block, five treys and only one giveaway in 35 minutes. I don’t see any scenario where he shouldn’t be rostered, and he won’t be this good with so many Clippers wings getting minutes but he’s my favorite out of the Batum/Morris/Mann/Kennard logjam. Serge Ibaka started for Ivica Zubac (calf) and double-doubled with 14 points, 11 boards, one steal and two swats, but he’ll only be serviceable for as long as Zubac is out and then he can go back to the wire where he belongs. Reggie Jackson had a 21/3/5 line with four triples but of course went 8-of-18 from the field, and Luke Kennard flopped with just two points in 16 minutes after a string of solid games, but hang onto him as he’s my second favorite L.A. wing. Nicolas Batum scored 13 points with four threes and remains an unsexy but fairly productive late-round guy, while Eric Bledsoe had a 13/6/3 line with a swipe but you can probably do better as we approach the silly waiver wire segment of the season.
Brandon Goodwin score 21 in win over Pels
Cavs guard Brandon Goodwin tied his career high with 21 points in a 93-90 defeat of the Pelicans, and while he was efficient in his 27 minutes via 8-of-11 shooting, he didn’t add a whole lot to the box score besides his three triples. Obviously, this was a best case scenario for Goodwin and Darius Garland (back) sitting out helped him get some extra run, but don’t look into this at all. It was Kevin Love (15/11/3 with two blocks) that double-doubled as opposed to Jarrett Allen (16/8 with two blocks), and while Allen is rounds above Love in fantasy value, the vet is shocking all with value in all leagues imaginable. Cedi Osman was pretty miserable from the field as he netted just seven points on 3-of-16 shooting, but he did dish out a career-high 12 assists to go with a couple rebounds in his 38 minutes. Lauri Markkanen (ankle) remains without a timetable so Osman could be worth rostering in deep leagues, but he may be a rollercoaster. Lamar Stevens had a randomly nice 11/4/2/3/2 line, Isaac Okoro scored 14 boring points and Evan Mobley had one of his worst games with a 4/5/2/1/3 showing but he’s just fine.
Brandon Goodwin and the Cavs spoiled a phenomenal showing by Jaxson Hayes (bizarre sentence alert), in which he notched 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 31 minutes of a start. He only missed one of his 10 shots and looked the best he has all season, and thank goodness New Orleans coach Willie Green finally decided to start him over Garrett Temple with Brandon Ingram (ankle) still warming the bench. Hayes played very well alongside Jonas Valanciunas (illness), who returned from a three-game absence and posted a 16/9/4 line with two blocks in 31 minutes, and if these two start together going forward at least there are signs of life in terms of the two coexisting. Devonte’ Graham led the team with 20 points but shot 40% from the field and didn’t do much else in the box score while Josh Hart double-doubled again with a 10/10/3 line with two steals, and he’s been good all season but has been slightly underwhelming in his last two games especially given Ingram’s absence. Willy Hernangomez returned to the bench but still grabbed 10 boards in jus 16 minutes and somehow managed to chuck up 12 shots (he made two) for seven points and two assists, but he can be sent back to the wire after a fun little stretch.
Celtics make light work of Jimmy Butler-less Heat
The Celtics are picking it up with four wins over their last five, and Monday’s 122-92 victory wasn’t even the biggest margin of victory in that span (thanks Kings). Jaylen Brown did his thing with 29 points (11-of-19 FGs), four boards, two assists, two steals, three trey bombs and zero turnovers in 32 minutes, and he hasn’t grabbed as many boards lately as his managers have been used to but his scoring has increased to make up for it. Jayson Tatum posted a 20/12/5 line and shot 7-of-15 from the floor, and the increased efficiency lately will be huge for him, and Marcus Smart was solid with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, seven assists, two steals and four 3-pointers in 28 minutes. Al Horford scored in double digits for the first time in six games and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two 3-pointers in 32 minutes, and he’s still surprising with fifth-round value but hopefully you sold very high when he was a first-round phenom when the season started.
Udonis Haslem played five minutes in the loss, and with absolutely no disrespect to the Heat legend, that should tell you how lopsided the game was. Usual starters Jimmy Butler (toe), Kyle Lowry (personal) and P.J. Tucker (knee) were all in street clothes for this one, which allowed Max Strus to start and drain a career-high nine triples that made up for all 27 of his points in 41 minutes. He added just three boards and a pair of assists, but he’s a sniper when given the chance and will be a popular play if Jimmy Buckets misses Tuesday’s game against the Raptors. Tyler Herro played 29 minutes off the bench but couldn’t get it going with just 13 points and little else on 5-of-18 shooting, and he’s been in a bad drought over his last two with 10-of-40 shooting in that span, but he’s not someone to worry about and could easily erupt at any given moment. Bam Adebayo was in a prime spot and wasn’t bad as he scored just 12 points but was nice otherwise with five rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and two turnovers in 32 minutes, while Caleb Martin (14/4/2) and Gabe Vincent (10/3/9 with two steals) were decent but it was because of the short-handed nature of the team.
Alec Burks comes to life in easy win over Kings
Another blowout game, but at least not nearly as bad as the Heat @ Celtics disaster, and it was Alec Burks that broke out of his offensive slump in this one. Burks came off the bench but scored a team-high 21 points (6-of-9 FGs, 5-of-6 FTs) to lead the Knicks to a much needed 116-96 win, and the guard added five rebounds, four assists, one steal, four 3-pointers and two turnovers in 26 minutes to round out his best game in a while. It was his first 20-point game since his 34-point explosion on December 29, so this is more of an anomaly and we can’t expect consistent high-scoring games from him going forward. Julius Randle made half of his 14 shots for a 17/9/4 line with a steal and of course four turnovers, Evan Fournier tallied 18 points, two dimes, two steals and four 3-pointers and RJ Barrett scored 11 boring points on 4-of-14 shooting. Obi Toppin keeps impressing and notched a 14/4/2 line in just 19 minutes, and if the Knicks ever go full tank mode, Toppin could get some extra run down the stretch and would be a viable fantasy option if that was the case. Mitchell Robinson wasn’t bad with a 9/13/1/1/2 line but went 3-of-6 from the line to ruin near 9-cat perfection, and Kemba Walker didn’t even score in his 17 minutes. No one on this team is ranked inside the top-100 in standard leagues, so if you wanted to take the Rockets approach and disregard entirely, you won’t miss out on much.
De’Aaron Fox hasn’t shaken his ankle injury quite yet which has allowed Tyrese Haliburton to thrive even more than usual, and he did just that despite an ugly loss as he scored 21 points with eight assists and two triples in 35 minutes. Hali added just one rebound and no defensive stats so it wasn’t as full of a line as we’re used to, but he’s built for fantasy hoops and has a safe role no matter what happens to this team at the trade deadline. Davion Mitchell had his third strong game in a row with 18 points (8-of-17 FGs), one board, six dimes, two blocks and two triples in 34 minutes of another start, and with the Kings clearly in no hurry to bring Fox back, Mitchell will be fine to utilize until that day comes. Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield both scored 11 points with five rebounds, and Richaun Holmes (8/7 with a steal) still doesn’t look himself so there’s still a bit of a buy-low window with him.
Gary Trent Jr. drains nine triples
Gary Trent Jr. set a new career high with nine made 3-pointers in Monday’s 106-100 win against the Hawks, finalizing his evening with 31 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover in 41 minutes. He overcame a slow start to finish 10-of-22 from the field and has now reached 30+ points in four straight games, which is one game away from tying DeMar DeRozan’s franchise record of five straight (according to Raptors PR). Fred VanVleet posted a 16/6/11 line with four triples and a block but went 6-of-20 from the field, and he finished the month of January by shooting a putrid 38.8% from the field over those 14 games but is still a first-round player on the season and somehow a top-5 player in 2022 alone due to elite numbers everywhere possible despite a dip in shooting percentage. Pascal Siakam had another full 25/6/4/2/2 line and O.G Anunoby scored 15 points with five boards, one steal, one block and three triples in 36 minutes and Chris Boucher is worrying me again as he scored just three points in 21 reserve minutes, but he’s a buy-low candidate and maybe you can snag him from someone who’s tired of his shenanigans.
The Hawks were only without Trae Young (shoulder) on this occasion, but that’s a pretty key cog missing from the Atlanta system. Delon Wright started in his absence and scored just four points but didn’t completely flop as a DFS play with a 4/4/7 line with three steals and two turnovers, but he’s just a guy to stream if Young is out again for Thursday’s showdown with the Suns. Kevin Huerter was the one who took full advantage of Young’s absence as he came through for 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, adding two rebounds, two assists, two steals, five 3-pointers and four turnovers across his 39 minutes. Huerter has now put up a 25.5/6.5/3.5 line with 1.5 steals and three treys in two games without Young this season, so keep that in mind going forward. De’Andre Hunter was probable with ankle discomfort but didn’t show it in his 33 minutes as he netted 17 points with five rebounds and one each in the assists/steals/triples departments, and Bogdan Bogdanovic posted a 18/5/4 line with four treys and is still a hold even though he’s coming off the bench these days. Clint Capela (six points, eight rebounds) and Onyeka Okongwu (nine points, nine rebounds) each played 23 minutes to basically split center duties down the middle, and Okongwu has looked far better than Capela in real life and sometimes even in fantasy hoops as well. Okongwu is the future center of this team and Capela has had a pretty down year, and while Okongwu likely won’t be unleashed this season, he has legitimate early-round upside if Capela is ever hurt or traded down the road.
Blazers blow 18-point lead vs. OKC
The Thunder overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Trail Blazers 98-91, and OKC scored nearly as many points in the fourth quarter (33) as Portland did in the whole second half (34). No one on either side went absolutely bonkers, but Lu Dort paced his team with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two treys in 34 minutes. He sank just six of his 16 shots and turned it over three times, but the field goal percentage especially is something Dort’s managers have grown accustomed to. Josh Giddey recorded his 11th double-double to now lead all rookies, and he finished with 14 points (5-of-12 FGs, 4-of-4 FTs), 12 rebounds, four dimes, one block and four turnovers in 33 minutes, and with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) out at least until the All-Star Break, Giddey has more than enough opportunity to find his stride. He came into Monday with a 17.0/9.0/10.0 line in three games without SGA, so another triple-double is seemingly just around the corner. Tre Mann started and scored 13 points with two boards, two steals and two triples in 24 minutes of a start and could also benefit without SGA, but I’m not in a hurry to snag him and as far as I’m concerned, it’s time to Giddey-up. The only other fantasy relevant guy in this one and in general was Darius Bazley, who scored 15 points with five boards, three dimes and three triples in 26 reserve minutes, but the trajectory says he’s bound to flop for the next game or two and he’s just really hard to trust.
The Blazers really miss Damian Lillard (abdominal) and Nassir Little (shoulder) and have now dropped four of their last five as whatever playoff hopes they had start to slip away. C.J. McCollum hit 10 of his 17 shots for 21 points, three rebounds, seven assists and one 3-pointer in 39 minutes, but backcourt buddy Anfernee Simons really struggled with just eight points and two treys on 3-of-16 shooting. Simons came in with seven straight games of at least four made threes, all of which were double-digit affairs, so don’t worry about him given his role is very safe as the team is in no hurry to bring Dame back. Norman Powell posted a 17/5/2 line with three treys and a block, and Jusuf Nurkic was quiet for his standards with a 14/9/1/1/1 effort but he’s been ballin’ and Robert Covington didn’t score his two points until the fourth quarter (on free throws) and finished with two points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, three blocks and four turnovers in what is the most typical RoCo line you’ll see. Feel free to ignore everyone on the Blazers bench except maybe Ben McLemore, but he’s only useful if you’re incredibly desperate for some made 3-pointers.
Steph scores 21 in the fourth quarter to pull away from Rockets
Stephen Curry un-slumped in a huge way in a 122-108 win over the Rockets on Monday night, as he scored 40 points on 13-of-23 shooting and added five rebounds, nine assists, one steal, one swat, seven 3-pointers and just one lone turnover in 38 minutes. This game was oddly close for a while and then fourth-quarter Steph happened as he scored 21 points in that frame alone to put the Rockets to bed, and he needed this in the worst way. The greatest shooter to ever exist had a month to forget as he shot just 38.5% from the field and 32.9% from deep in his 15 January games, and maybe this outburst will help him have a better February. Klay Thompson struggled from deep with a 1-of-8 mark from deep for 14 points (6-of-15 FGs overall) and also tallied three rebounds three assists, one steal, one block and two turnovers in 26 minutes, and it’s very possible he rests for Tuesday’s second leg of a back-to-back against the Spurs. All-Star starter Andrew Wiggins (I need to type that out as much as possible to get used to it) had a full 23/5/3/2/2 evening with an efficient 8-of-14 mark with only one turnover as the second best Warrior this time out, Moses Moody got a spot start with 11 boring points and Kevon Looney hauled in 14 rebounds in 26 minutes and has grabbed double-digit boards in seven of his last 10 games if that piques your interest.
The Rockets actually played pretty well all things considered and saw seven of the nine guys that got in the game score in double figures. Christian Wood kept it cookin’ with 24 points (8-of-16 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block, five 3-pointers and six turnovers in 34 minutes, and while he was on pace for a 56/20 game after the first quarter, this will do. Kevin Porter Jr. had a 17-point, 11-assist double with five treys on an ultra-efficient 6-of-13 shooting mark (for KPJ’s standards) but did have five turnovers in what was really the only area these two guys struggled in tonight. No one else was all too exciting as far as fantasy goes, as Jae’Sean Tate had a 10/3/2 line with a block, Eric Gordon scored 12 inefficient points with nothing else, Jalen Green had a 10/5/2 evening but at least did this, and Garrison Mathews and Josh Christopher scored 11 and 13 points off the bench respectively.
