The big news for the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday was the debut of Kevin Durant, who was appearing in a game for the first time since spraining the MCL in his right knee on January 8. Durant looked sharp, playing 27 minutes and finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two 3-pointers in the Suns’ win over Charlotte. But for the purposes of this column, the issue of importance was who would be the Suns’ fifth starter. The answer was Josh Okogie, who’s rostered in 36% of Yahoo leagues, with Torrey Craig (8%) moving to the bench.
Providing 8th-round, per-game value over the last two weeks, Okogie didn’t offer much in the way of production Wednesday night, finishing with four points (0-of-4 FGs, 4-of-4 FTs), three rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one blocked shot in 33 minutes. Craig played the other 15 minutes, recording a line of eight points (3-of-4 FGs), two rebounds, two steals, and two 3-pointers. Despite the quiet night, Okogie should still be viewed as the priority option ahead of Phoenix’s final two games of Week 19, even though there’s always the possibility of Craig receiving the starting nod if a particular matchup calls for it.
Let’s take a look at a few other top pickups from Wednesday’s nine-game slate, with all being rostered in no more than 40% of Yahoo leagues.
Austin Reaves (19%) and Troy Brown Jr. (2%)
The Lakers were without LeBron James (foot), D’Angelo Russell (ankle), and Anthony Davis (foot) for Wednesday’s win over the Thunder, absences that opened up minutes throughout the rotation. Brown was back in the starting lineup, filling in for James, and was much more productive than he was in Tuesday’s loss to the Grizzlies. Playing 34 minutes, he shot 7-of-10 from the field and finished with a nice line of 19 points, one rebound, four assists, one steal, two blocks, and four 3-pointers. A good night for Brown, but he’s still ranked just inside the top 200 in 9-cat, per-game value over the last two weeks.
Reaves, on the other hand, has been a top 50 player during that stretch of games. Once again coming off the bench, he’s finished Wednesday’s win with 19 points (5-of-5 FGs, 8-of-9 FTs), four assists, one steal, and one 3-pointer in 25 minutes. While Brown may entice a few fantasy managers due to his place in the starting lineup, Reaves is readily available and has been the more productive of the two despite coming off the bench. That said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add both, especially with Russell saying it’s unlikely that he plays on Friday and Davis set to undergo further evaluations on his right foot once back in Los Angeles.
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Matisse Thybulle (25%) and Cam Reddish (21%)
Wednesday was supposed to be a good night for the Blazers, as Anfernee Simons was returning ahead of schedule from a sprained right ankle. Unfortunately, the loss to New Orleans was capped by the young guard aggravating his injury during the third quarter, and he would not return. Thybulle (12/8/4/1/4 with two 3-pointers in 38 minutes) was already going to be mentioned here due to his remaining in the starting lineup. But he continues to make strides offensively and is providing 3rd-round, per-game value in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks. Whether or not Thybulle’s recent 3-point shooting is sustainable remains to be seen, but the defense alone makes him worth adding with the playing time he’s receiving in Portland.
Reddish hasn’t been as good of a fantasy option, even when filling in for Simons, but the injury opens the door for him as far as streaming is concerned. And Reddish had a solid night off the bench, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two 3-pointers in 24 minutes. Portland plays two more games this week and four in Week 20, beginning its six-game road trip Friday night in Atlanta.
Dennis Smith Jr. (40%)
Smith didn’t start Wednesday’s game against the Suns, with Steve Clifford moving Terry Rozier to the point guard spot in the aftermath of LaMelo Ball‘s season-ending ankle injury (Kelly Oubre was the fifth starter). But there’s still value to be had in adding Smith, as he was the only other point guard in the rotation. He didn’t shoot the ball well in the loss to Phoenix, going 2-of-7 from the field, but he finished with a line of eight points, five rebounds, six assists, one steal, two blocks, and no turnovers in 26 minutes. That’s more than enough playing time for Smith to provide late-round value, at a minimum.
Tari Eason (35%)
Eason played 25 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s loss to the Grizzlies, finishing with 10 points (4-of-11 FGs), seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, three blocks, and two 3-pointers. The returns of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green will impact the entire rotation once those two are able to take on their usual workloads, but Eason shouldn’t have much difficulty hitting 25 minutes on most nights. And given his activity as a rebounder and defender, that’s more than enough time for Eason to offer tangible fantasy value. And as a rookie on a rebuilding team, he doesn’t appear to be a shutdown candidate. Two games against the Spurs to end the week should give Eason’s value another boost.
Hamidou Diallo (9%)
Detroit’s rotation has been a mess recently due to injuries, making it difficult to pinpoint fantasy adds outside of James Wiseman (45%) and Marvin Bagley (52%). But Diallo has been playing well recently, hitting double figures in seven straight games. He finished Wednesday’s loss to the Bulls with 19 points, one rebound, and one assist, shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line. The production outside of points and percentages was lacking, but Diallo is worth a look due to his recent play and Detroit’s upcoming schedule.
Over his last seven games, Diallo’s averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 22.4 minutes, shooting 59.2% from the field and 81.0% from the foul line. Diallo won’t provide 3-point shooting or assists, but he’s a slasher who does a lot of his work within 10 feet of the basket, which helps the field-goal percentage. As for the schedule, Detroit plays two more games in Week 19 and four in Week 20.
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Paul Reed (1%)
With Wednesday’s game in Miami being the first of a back-to-back for the 76ers, Joel Embiid (foot) was held out. While Doc Rivers decided to go small in this spot, shifting P.J. Tucker to the center position with Tyrese Maxey moving into the starting lineup, Reed was the big winner as far as fantasy is concerned. He played 29 minutes off the bench, recording a line of 16 points (7-of-10 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), 14 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Operating under the assumption that Embiid will be available for road games against Dallas (Thursday) and Milwaukee (Saturday), there isn’t much to be gained from adding Reed now. But he made for a nice streaming option once it was announced that The Process would be shelved.
Quentin Grimes (8%)
Grimes remains rostered in less than 10% of Yahoo leagues despite being a starter, and with good reason, as the offensive production hasn’t been there. That wasn’t the case Wednesday night, as he went off for 22 points, three rebounds, one assist, and six 3-pointers in the Knicks’ blowout of the Nets. To say Grimes needed a night like this would be an understatement; he’d failed to hit double figures in eight straight games, averaging 6.1 points on 38.3% shooting from the field during that stretch. Hopefully, Wednesday’s effort will serve as a catalyst for Grimes, but he’s difficult to fully commit to right now.
