There are only four games on Thursday’s slate in the NBA, but don’t worry, if you were tuned in to Wednesday’s games you got more than your fair share of action! As always some of the league’s biggest stars had some huge nights, but there were also some great performances from some unlikely suspects. We are in the midst of playoff season all around so today, we’ll highlight some plays that could win you your league this time of year. So without further ado, here are the 10 most intriguing storylines from Wednesday’s action!
Rockets’ young stars shine Wednesday
Arguably the biggest news from Wednesday was that the Rockets were shutting down Christian Wood (hamstring), Dennis Schroder (shoulder), and Eric Gordon (groin) for the remainder of the season. The Rockets are electing to prioritize the development of their young players, and hoping that the extra minutes will catapult them into next season. Their two young star guards wasted no time on Wednesday as they both crossed the 30-point plateau and did some historic things in their young NBA careers. For Kevin Porter Jr. Wednesday marked his first career triple-double as he poured in 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting (4-of-10 3-pointers) to go with 12 rebounds, 12 assists, one block, and three turnovers in 38 minutes.
For Green, he poured in 32 points on 11-of-25 shooting (6-of-14 3-pointers) to go with two rebounds, two assists, and one turnover in 37 minutes. Green became the first Rockets rookie to score 30+ points in consecutive games since Hakeem Olajuwon, and we know his career turned out pretty great. And the best part of it all was that the Rockets still lost the game 121-118, o their tanking efforts are still working to perfection. It is truly the best of both worlds for Houston right now as they can lose games, but also get their young stars some much-needed experience and momentum heading into next season. Expect more big nights to come from Green and Porter Jr.
Celtics fall without The Timelord
The other huge bit of news that dropped on Wednesday was that there is a scenario where the Celtics could get Robert Williams (torn meniscus) back this season if they advance to the second round of the playoffs. Williams is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but there is hope that he could return to the court between April 30th and May 2nd for the start of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Celtics will be relying on Al Horford and Grant Williams to hold down the fort down low with Daniel Theis now becoming a pivotal part of the rotation at center as well.
On Wednesday though, even with the injury to The Timelord, the Celtics stuck to an 8-man rotation as they took on the Heat in a pivotal game for seeding atop the Eastern Conference. Miami defeated Boston 106-98 on Wednesday, but they didn’t get much production offensively from their frontcourt. Theis actually ended up being the best offensive option, as he scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting (1-of-1 3-pointers) but he didn’t do much else, as he tallied just one rebound and nothing across the other statistical categories. Al Horford grabbed 15 rebounds with four assists, two steals, and one block, but he scored just six points on 2-of-6 shooting in 34 minutes. Grant Wiliams scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting to go with three rebounds and two turnovers in 26 minutes. With the loss, the Celtics are now the fourth-seed in the east but still are just two games back of the Heat for first place. It will be interesting to monitor how the rotation shakes out, and if they can find any consistent production from their remaining big men.
Tomas Satorsnsky double-doubles with zero points
Entering Wednesday, there had only been two recorded double-doubles in NBA history where the player failed to score a single point. Josh Giddey did so for the Thunder this season in December, but before that, it hadn’t happened since January 5th, 1971 when Norm Van Lier accomplished the feat. Tomas Satoransky joined the club on Wednesday as he dished out 13 assists while grabbing 10 rebounds, and going scoreless as the Wizards beat the Magic 127-110. Kristaps Porzingis also had arguably his best game as a Wizard, scoring 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting (3-of-6 3-pointers) to go with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two turnovers in 29 minutes.
The Wizards were without Kyle Kuzma (knee) again on Wednesday, and Rui Hachimura had another big game, scoring 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go with even rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 29 minutes. Deni Avdija was also solid, scoring eight points (3-of-10 FGs to go with eight rebounds, five assists, one block, and one triple in 26 minutes. There is no word yet on Kuzma’s status for Friday’s game against Dallas, but if he can’t go, Hachimura and Avdija are the two best options as streamers on the Wizards.
Tyus Jones shines again in start Wednesday
The Grizzlies were without their franchise player Ja Morant (right knee) for the sixth-straight game on Wednesday, yet they were still able to pick up their sixth-straight win as Memphis beat San Antonio 112-111. One of the biggest reasons why Memphis has been able to stay afloat without their superstar is Tyus Jones, who has been playing great basketball for the Grizzlies of late. The former Duke Blue Devil scored 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting (5-of-10 3-pointers) to go with six assists, five rebounds, and two steals in 36 minutes. Over the last six games, Jones is averaging 14.2 points per game on 47.7% shooting from the floor (50.0% 3-pointers) to go with 7.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 made triples, and 1.0 steals per game. Memphis is now 19-2 in games without Morant this season, and with the Grizzlies essentially locked into the two-seed in the Eastern Conference, there isn’t really a need to play him for the rest of the regular season. He is set to be re-evaluated in a week, but don’t be surprised if he misses the remainder of the regular season to gear up for a post-season push for the Grizzlies, who have just five games left in the regular season.
Pascal Siakam triple-doubles in win over Minnesota
Wednesday marked just the second triple-double of Siakam’s career, and it pushed the Raptors to their fourth-straight win and their 10th win in their last 12 games. Siakam scored 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 13 assists, one steal, and one block as the Raptors beat the Timberwolves 125-102 on Wednesday night. Though it wasn’t his most efficient night scoring the ball, the 13 assists were a career-high, so they helped to balance out the inefficiency, and his six turnovers, which weren’t ideal for 9-cat managers. All in all, it was a great performance for Siakam, who is quietly having an outstanding season for Toronto. Gary Tent Jr. was also awesome for the Raptors on Wednesday, scoring 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting (6-of-8 3-pointers) to go with two rebounds and one turnover in 27 minutes.
Jordan Poole goes off, Warriors lose again
We spoke earlier about how the Grizzlies have been able to manage without Ja Morant this season. The Warriors are also without their franchise point guard in Steph Curry, but they have not been able to figure it out without the two-time MVP. For fantasy managers with Jordan Poole though, you could likely care less at this point. Poole has been outstanding sans Curry, and he was again on Wednesday, but the Warriors still couldn’t beat the Suns. Poole poured in 38 points, which tied a career-high, as he shot 11-of-22 from the floor (7-of-15 3-pointers) to go with nine rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two turnovers in the 107-103 loss. In the month of March, Poole is averaging 25.4 points per game on 49.5% shooting from the floor (44.4% 3-pointers) with 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.2 made triples per game. He is on an outstanding tear right now, so if you have him, you should be feeling good here in the stretch run of the season.
Trae Young drops a 40-piece on Oklahoma City Wednesday
The Hawks led by as many as 34 points in this one, and usually, in games like that, you might not see huge lines from the starters because they likely didn’t play that many minutes. Now the minutes part held true in this one, as Young played just 29 minutes, but he poured in 41 points on 13-of-24 shooting (4-of-12 3-pointers) to go with eight assists, two rebounds, two steals, and just three turnovers as the Hawks beat the Thunder 136-118 on Wednesday. Young has been on a tear recently, and he will try to end the month on a high note when the hawks face the Cavaliers on night two of a back-to-back on Wednesday against Cleveland. This is a makeup game from a contest that was originally scheduled for December 19th but was postponed due to issues related to Covid-19.
Evan Fournier snaps out of slump Wednesday
Entering Wednesday, Fournier had been ice cold over his last three games, averaging just 7.6 points per game. He got back on track in this one, as he scored 30 points for the first time since February second against the Grizzlies. In this one, Fournier scored 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting (6-of-8 3-pointers) to go with four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two turnovers, but the Knicks still lost to the Hornets 125-114 at MSG. Fournier picked a terrible time to go cold, but if you held onto him, you were rewarded on Wednesday, so hopefully, he can use this game as some momentum going forward to close the regular season.
Nikola Jokic torches Indiana Wednesday
What else is new honestly? The Joker has been putting up unreal stat lines all season, and he did so again on Wednesday, and the Nuggets went into Indiana and won 125-118. Nikola Jokic scored 37 points on 15-of-19 shooting (7-of-8 free throws) and grabbed 13 rebounds with nine assists, two steals, one block, and seven turnovers in 36 minutes. Obviously, the seven turnovers aren’t ideal, but you will live with them given the production all around for the reigning league MVP. Bones Hyland was also awesome on Wednesday, coming off the bench and scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting (2-of-7 3-pointers) to go with seven assists, four rebounds, one steal, one block, and just one turnover in 27 minutes. The Nuggets have climbed to fifth place in the west, and sit just two games back of the Mavericks and Warriors for third place with five regular-season games remaining.
Luka Doncic torches the Cavaliers Wednesday
The Mavericks were without Spencer Dinwiddie on Wednesday as they were on night two of their last back-to-back of the regular season, so the veteran guard got the night off to rest his knee. This just meant more shots for Luka Doncic, who scored 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting (3-of-6 3-pointers) to go with 13 assists, nine rebounds, two blocks, and one steal as the Mavericks beat the Cavaliers 120-112. This marked Luka’s third-straight game scoring at least 30 points, and he is also averaging 10.3 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game over the stretch. Dallas is currently tied for third place in the west with five games remaining, so expect Doncic to keep his foot on the gas to close the regular season. They should also have Dinwiddie for each of those games, so if you have him, feel free to have him active for the rest of the fantasy season.
