It was a relatively light night in the NBA on Wednesday, as only eight games took place on the evening. Despite the light load of games, there was still tons of action that will affect your fantasy season as we head down the stretch run of the regular season and into postseason play. So without further ado, let’s get into my biggest takeaways from each of Wednesday night’s games.
Malcolm Brogdon goes Bonkers in win over Magic
Brogdon got the night off for Monday’s loss to Orlando as it was the second night of a back-to-back, and the Pacers are continuing to be cautious as he works his way back from an Achilles injury. The rest day served him well on Wednesday as he had a huge night and the Pacers got some revenge against the Magic, winning 122-114 in overtime on Wednesday night. Brogdon poured in 31 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor (3-of-5 3-pointers) to go with 11 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block in 41 minutes. He also shot 12-of-15 from the free-throw line and tallied just one turnover for the game.
Any questions about whether he would still be able to be effective alongside Tyrese Haliburton should officially be put to rest, and the Pacers have also now won three of the last four games that he has played in. The Pacers also got a great night out of Jalen Smith, who went back to the second unit after starting in Brogdon’s place on Monday. The big fella put up a double-double on Wednesday, scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor (6-of-6 free throws) to go with 15 rebounds, one steal, one block, and one triple in the win. He also posted a +27 plus/minus in 37 minutes, which was head and shoulders above all other players on Wednesday. Smith is getting the majority of the minutes as the five even though he is coming off the bench. He is only rostered in 27% of fantasy leagues, so if he is sitting around your waiver wire, be sure to scoop him up quickly.
Isaiah Thomas impresses in debut with Hornets
I.T is back and he made his debut in style on Wednesday night with the Hornets. Thomas signed a 10-day-contract with the Hornets on Tuesday. He has previously had 10-day stints with the Lakers and Mavericks this season, so this was his third such deal, and his sixth regular-season game this season. Thomas played 14 minutes and shot 4-of-11 from the floor (2-of-7 3-pointers) for 10 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals as the Hornets beat the Cavaliers 119-98.
Thomas provided great per-minute value on Wednesday, and his line ended up being pretty decent. Unfortunately, with LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier both healthy, it is hard to see him earning many more minutes in the rotation, so this might be as good a game as we’ll get from I.T in Charlotte. Though it is a great story, he will likely have more of an impact on the Hornets in real life than he will in fantasy basketball, so it is safe to leave him on the wire for now.
Isaiah Roby goes toe-to-toe with Jokic in win
The Nuggets entered Wednesday’s matchup against OKC as the hottest team in the league, as they were riding a six-game winning streak. The Thunder were without two of their three leading scorers in Josh Giddey (hip) and Luguentz Dort (shoulder) on Wednesday night and neither of the two has a concrete timetable for when they will be back. Add all of this up with the fact that the game was in Denver, and the Nuggets entered the matchup being 15-point favorites over a rebuilding Thunder team.
Now that I have said all of that, you should know what happens next. That’s right, the Thunder pulled off the upset and beat the Nuggets 119-107 behind a career night from Isaiah Roby. Roby scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor (4-of-5 3-pointers) to go with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks, and just one turnover in 34 minutes. The points and the made threes were both career marks for Roby, who was matched up with the reigning league MVP on Wednesday night.
The Thunder also got 29 points out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 10-of-23 from the floor (3-of-5 3-pointers) to go with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in 37 minutes. He did have seven turnovers, but that was understandable given the fact that he was the only experienced playmaker that the Thunder had on Wednesday. As good as this performance was from Roby, it is hard to count on him to do it on a consistent basis, but with the Thunder being shorthanded, keep an eye on him if you are in need of a big man as a streamer.
RJ Barrett stays hot in loss to Sixers
Barrett has been on a heater as of late, and he kept it going on Wednesday in a second-consecutive matchup against the Sixers. Philadelphia won round one at The Garden, and this one was played in Philly, as it was James Harden’s first game at Wells Fargo Arena. Barrett did his best to spoil the occasion, scoring 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting (3-of-8 3-pointers) to go with seven assists, six rebounds, and three turnovers, but the Knicks lost 123-108 on Wednesday night. Over his last three games, Barrett is averaging 33.3 points per game with 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The Knicks have lost six straight games, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel, so Barrett could just be taking matters into his own hands. It is unrealistic to expect him to keep up this pace, but he is playing well right now, and managers who have him have gotten some great value out of him recently.
Mike Conley ties season-high in minutes Wednesday
On Wednesday morning, Conley said that the plan going forward was for him to play more minutes and that he would be playing in select back-to-backs as the Jazz try to make a late-season push to catch either Golden State or Memphis for the second or third seed in the west. Wednesday night, the Jazz played the Rockets, and Quin Snyder made due on his promise as Conley played 34 minutes, which tied a season-high. He didn’t have his best shooting night, as he shot just 4-of-10 from the floor, but he shot 3-of-6 from deep, and 4-of-6 at the line, while adding eight assists, four rebounds, and four steals with just one turnover. All in all, it was a solid outing for Conley, and if he can find some consistency scoring the ball, his production should see a slight increase with the uptick in his minutes. The Jazz have three more back-to-backs this season, and whether Conley plays in all of them or just one or two remains to be seen, but all in all, things are looking up on the Conley front.
Brandon Ingram has a big night in win over Kings
Ingram got off to a slow start in his first few games after C.J. McCollum was traded to New Orleans, as he averaged just 15.4 points through their first five games together. It looks like he has figured it out, as things have gotten progressively better in the three games since then. On Wednesday, Ingram scored 33 points on 15-of-19 shooting (2-of-3 3-pointers) to go with six assists, five rebounds, and three turnovers as the Pelicans beat the Kings 125-95. Over his last three games, Ingram is averaging 26.7 points per game, and the Pelicans have won all three. Don’t look now, but Ingram, McCollum, and the Pelicans look like they’re starting to figure it out so watch out.
Landry Shamet and Cam Johnson get boosts sans Booker
In a surprising bombshell on Wednesday morning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Suns star guard Devin Booker was entering the league’s health and safety protocols. Per league rules, Booker will have to quarantine for at least five days unless this is deemed a false positive. If not, Booker will be out at least for the Suns’ next two games against the Knicks on Friday and the Bucks on Sunday. He could be eligible to return for Tuesday’s game against Orlando should he be able to post two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
On Wednesday, Landry Shamet took Booker’s place in the starting lineup, and played 23 minutes, scoring 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor (2-of-8 3-pointers) to go with three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one turnover as the Suns beat the Blazers 120-90. Cameron Johnson played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting (4-of-5 3-pointers) to go with four rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Both Johnson and Shamet should be the biggest beneficiaries to Booker’s absence and while Johnson would be the better streaming option, he will be harder to get as he is rostered in 63% of Yahoo! leagues.
Jimmy Butler struggles again in loss to Bucks Wednesday
On Monday, Butler didn’t have his best game, as he shot 4-of-13 from the floor for 15 points against the Bulls. He did have seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals to make up for it while going 7-of-10 at the foul line. On Wednesday against Milwaukee, Butler struggled shooting again, only this time, he didn’t do much else either. He shot 2-of-14 from the floor (0-of-3 3-pointers) for 6 points to go with three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 35 minutes, and the Bucks beat the Heat 120-119. Chicago and Milwaukee are both very capable defensive teams with elite defensive players on the wing so this isn’t too surprising. We will chalk it up to great defense couples with a bit of a shooting slump, but we expect Butler to bounce back and to start stuffing the stat sheet again going forward.