Saturday’s slate of games was pretty ugly, featuring blowouts in four of six games. The Lakers/Knicks matchup offered some relief with wild point swings and some excellent individual performances. Despite the lopsided nature of most of these games, there were still plenty of noteworthy fantasy tidbits to discuss. Let’s get into them now!
Grizzlies 135, Magic 115
The Grizzlies added another impressive win, blowing out Orlando comfortably. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with a strong line of 21 points, six rebounds, two triples, a steal and a block. His breakout season continues as a three-point and blocks specialist.
Steven Adams posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high eight dimes as he teased a second career triple-double. He’s 12th in assists per game among centers but still a deep-league guy due to his deficiency in most categories this season.
Ja Morant did what he does best and led the team in scoring with another impressive line. King Ja finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He’s scored at least 30 points in eight of his last nine contests. De’Anthony Melton had a strong performance with 16/10/2/1 and four triples, while Desmond Bane fell back to earth with 7/8/3/1. It was his first game of the season with at least 25 minutes scoring in single digits.
The struggles have been very real for Mo Bamba recently, and his playing time has been a bit concerning. He still ranks 55th on the season, but he’s 157th over the last two weeks with some underwhelming performances. On Saturday, he went 3/3/2 with three blocks in 20 minutes
and has now averaged 6.0 points on 4.7 shot attempts, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 triples across 19.0 minutes over his last three games. Bamba isn’t a drop by any means, as there aren’t any players on the waiver wire who can come close to his level of upside. If anything, he’s a buy-low candidate if you can trade for him at a steep discount. Given his level of play recently, that shouldn’t be a difficult proposition.
Suns 95, Wizards 80
Washington closed this one with a 15-point deficit, but the score doesn’t reflect just how bad the Wizards were dominated. Only one starter scored in double figures (Aaron Holiday), while the leading scorer was Montrezl Harrell off the bench.
Thomas Bryant returned and muddled up Washington’s infuriating center situation. He played 17 minutes and mustered five points on 2-of-6 shooting and four rebounds with no defensive stats and a turnover. Gafford logged just seven minutes and totaled three points, three boards, one assist and a steal. Harrell ended with a 15/7/2 line in 23 mins. Harrell remains the only center option worth rostering here, but his production is inconsistent on a night-to-night basis. Kyle Kuzma had an off-night, but he remains an excellent play, especially when Bradley Beal is out.
No surprises, as Deandre Ayton recorded a monster 20/16/2/2 line in just 24 mins. He provided modest output over his last two games, but he took advantage of a clear get-right spot against Washington’s pedestrian frontcourt defense. Devin Booker didn’t need to do much scoring in the easy win and finished with 11 points, seven boards and five dimes. Chris Paul cooled off a bit too with 14 points, nine dimes and four boards. After three straight 24-point efforts, Mikal Bridges scored only 12 points.
Phoenix has a good problem on its hands with three excellent backup centers in JaVale McGee, Jalen Smith and Bismack Biyombo. All three have proven to be worthy fliers when inserted into the starting lineup, and all three played Saturday due to the blowout nature of the contest. McGee ended with six points, 10 boards, an assist and four stocks. McGee has standalone value in deeper leagues because of his per-minute production and stable backup role, while Biyombo and Smith aren’t playable unless they’re in the starting lineup.
Heat 104, Hornets 86
The NBA went a perfect 3-for-3 on blowouts to start the evening, as Miami handled its business with ease against Charlotte. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo led the charge with huge individual efforts. Butler went for 27/6/4 with a block, and Bam finished with 20/12/3/3/2. The latter has been an absolute beast recently, averaging 16.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.2 stocks over his last seven games, good for 24th in 9-cat in that span.
Kyle Lowry had nine points, six assists and four rebounds in 31 minutes. The lines have been small for him since returning, but you’ve got to play him if he’s on your roster. Duncan Robinson went 1-of-9 for just three points as his shooting woes continue. D-Rob is shooting sub-40% for the season and hasn’t been useful in 12-team leagues as anything more than a 3-point specialist. He ranks outside the top-175 on the season. Ouch.
This was a rough one for Charlotte all around. Miles Bridges ended with 15 points on 14 shot attempts, five assists, five rebounds and four swats, while Mason Plumlee posted six points, 10 rebounds and three stocks. LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward each played just 22 minutes in the blowout. Ball had a serviceable showing (16/6/1), while Hayward certainly did not. He finished with no points on 0-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and two assists across 22 minutes. His scoreless night ties his career-high for minutes played with no points and sets a new career-high for most shot attempts taken with no points. Hayward has played poorly in two games since returning from protocols, and all fantasy managers can do is hold onto him and hope that his disappointing play is a result of time off rather than a sign of things to come.
Lakers 122, Knicks 115
Game No. 4 of the evening looked like it was going to be yet another blowout, but the Knicks absolutely collapsed in the third quarter before the Lakers collapsed in the final minute of regulation. Up 71-56 at halftime, the Knicks lost the third quarter 31-13. A Trevor Ariza three put the Lakers up 110-103 with 1:17 left, and chaos ensued. Evan Fournier hit a three, R.J. Barrett slammed home a dunk, and then Barrett nailed a three with eight seconds left to tie it all up. In that span, Russell Westbrook missed two fouls shots, Ariza missed a free throw and Malik Monk missed a technical free throw.
The Lakers ultimately closed the deal with a 122-115 win in what turned out to be a fantasy bonanza. After five games off, LeBron James returned to post a 29/13/10 line, his fourth triple-double of the season and first since Dec. 28. The King now has 104 career triple-doubles and is three away from tying Jason Kidd for fourth on the all-time list. Anthony Davis delivered a monster 28/17 double-double that included three steals and four blocks. This is his third straight game with at least 28 points, 15 rebounds and three stocks. As long as they’re healthy, LBJ and AD have easy first-round value the rest of the way. Russell Westbrook has been quite a disappointment from a real-world and fantasy perspective, and the Lakers go as James and Davis go.
Malik Monk has become the Lakers’ most dependable third option, and he delivered 29 points Saturday, his second-most of the season and third game with at least 21 points in his last four games. Monk ranks 135rd on the season, but he’s been a top-95 play over the last month.
Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett were the first pair of teammates with 30/5/5 games this season, but the Herculean efforts were not enough. Randle produced 32 points, 16 rebounds, seven dimes and two blocks, and Barrett provided 36 points, eight boards and five dimes. The points are the third-most of the season for Randle and the most of the season for Barrett, while the rebounds match Randle’s season-high. Randle’s play has been lackluster as of late, and fantasy managers have got to be hopeful that this performance is a turning point in his disappointing season.
Kings 113, Thunder 103
The Thunder were without Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort, so Mamadi Diakite, Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Ty Jerome and Josh Giddey comprised the starting five. It’s likely the Thunder will experiment with a bunch of different starting lineups over the next two months due to injuries and a poor record.
Giddey finished with a career-high 24 points to go with four rebounds and eight dimes. Nothing new from him in the peripherals, but it was a surprise to see him score so many points. Diakite went for nine points and eight boards and has now averaged 7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 stocks in 23.7 minutes across three straight starts. Darius Bazley put up 18/7/1 with three steals, while Tre Mann ended with 16/3/3/1. Both should be fantasy relevant down the stretch, especially if they continue to start. There was an Aleksej Pokusevski sighting, his first game since Jan. 9. Poku finished with season highs in points (12) and boards (9). He’s the least likely of this group to have any consistent rest-of-season fantasy value.
Harrison Barnes had a nice game with 24/9/5/3. It’s his fifth game in his last nine with at least 20 points, though he hasn’t double-doubled since Nov. 5. Mo Harkless posted his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go with two assists and two stocks. He’s now scored in double-figures in three straight, including back-to-back games with 18 points, his season-high. Richaun Holmes managed just 14/6/1/1 as he continues to struggle post-COVID-19 protocols. He’s ranked 153 in 9-cat over the last 30 days and is not playable right now. He’s trending toward drop status but isn’t quite there yet.
As usual, the Kings’ backcourt is the focal point of the team and the best part of the fantasy discussion. Davion Mitchell posted 17/1/2/1 after averaging 19.4 points, 5.6 assists, 2.8 triples and 2.2 rebounds in his last five starts. If Mitchell hasn’t been added in your league, run to the waiver wire and pick him up immediately. Mitchell should have plenty of fantasy value for the rest of the season. De’Aaron Fox continues to miss time due to “ankle soreness,” and there’s a chance he gets moved before the trade deadline. Tyrese Haliburton handed out a career-high 17 dimes to go with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block. It’s his 14th double-double of the season and only the sixth game of the season in which a player racked up at least 17 assists in a game.
Bucks 137, Trail Blazers 108
This was a complete dud, as most expected it to be. Milwaukee was a 10.5-point favorite and more than covered that spread. The Blazers took the first step to blowing up this team by trading Norman Powell and Larry Nance Jr. to the Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow and Keon Johnson earlier in the week. Bledsoe and Johnson were unavailable but Winslow made his Blazers debut with 6/7/1 and a block. Portland started Tony Snell, Jusuf Nurkic, C.J. Elleby, Anfernee Simons and C.J. McCollum, and that starting five was no match for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. There’s not much to say for the Blazers.
On the Bucks side of things, Giannis finished with 29/9/6 with a block and Khris Middleton had a huge all-around showing with 14 points, seven assists, three rebounds, five steals and one block. Bobby Portis led all scorers with 30 points for a new season-high in scoring and his fifth career 30-point game. He stroked 6-of-8 triples for a new career-high in made three-pointers, and the big man has hit at least one three in 11 straight games. He added four rebounds, five assists and three stocks to round out the monster effort, one of his best of the season.
