Wednesday’s NBA slate was chock full of great games. The Bucks and Bulls went to overtime, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and DeMar DeRozan traded 40 pieces in an epic battle of Central Division opponents. The Pelicans came back against the Wolves and won by a single point behind Zion Williamson‘s career-high 43 points. But before those games… we had “the punch.”
Tempers flare in Detroit after an altercation between Moe Wagner and Killian Hayes.@OrlandoMagic | #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/ig6lYrdju8
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) December 29, 2022
Killian Hayes and Moritz Wagner raced after a loose ball, and Wagner shoved Hayes into the bench on his way out of bounds. Hayes took exception and charged after Wagner, punching him in the back of the head and seemingly knocking the man unconscious. That caused both benches to empty and three players (Hayes, Wagner, Hamidou Diallo) to be ejected.
Hayes is almost certainly facing a multi-game suspension, which makes Alec Burks a must-add player. Burks started the second half of the Pistons’ win over the Magic and delivered the third-highest scoring total of his career by putting up 32 on 10-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-7 makes from beyond the arc. Burks filled out his unbelievably efficient offensive performance with four assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 31 minutes.
32 PTS
— NBA (@NBA) December 29, 2022
6 3PM
Alec Burks was clinical for the @DetroitPistons tonight, going 10-11 from field and 6-7 from distance 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IfXkdkqjBh
Burks is our top pickup of the night, and while Cory Joseph (0%) should see more minutes moving forward, he’s a deep-league pickup only. Saddiq Bey is rostered in only 62% of Yahoo leagues, so there’s a chance he’s available on your waiver wire. Make sure to pick him up, as he should see plenty more opportunities in Hayes’ absence. Bey finished Wednesday’s win with 28 points, eight boards, four assists, a steal, a block and six triples.
The Pistons scored 76 bench points tonight against Orlando, tied for the third-most in franchise history.
— Pistons PR (@Pistons_PR) December 29, 2022
Alec Burks (32) and Saddiq Bey (28) combined for 60 points, the most by a bench duo in franchise history and the eighth time in NBA history two bench players have scored 28+ pic.twitter.com/XmITjSXYpA
Here are some other guys worth adding:
T.J. Warren (39%): I’m not convinced he can keep up the top-50 pace he’s on after last week’s strong play, especially once Joe Harris and Seth Curry are fully healthy. Regardless, he’s played too well to ignore.
Naz Reid (35%): He’s been playing more minutes alongside Rudy Gobert and making the most of his opportunities with so many injuries to Minnesota’s frontcourt. Over his last three games, Reid has averaged 16.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 triples and 1.7 swats across 26.3 minutes. Let’s get Naz-ty!
Phoenix Suns players: News dropped earlier today that Devin Booker will miss at least four weeks, so fantasy managers (myself included) took turns making bad guesses as to who the best pickup was. The Suns naturally stunk it up in Washington, and the only players who did anything worthwhile were Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.
Here’s how the minutes broke down among the role players:
- Dario Šarić: 3
- Isaiah Wainright: 13
- Josh Okogie: 21
- Bismack Biyombo: 8
- Duane Washington: 17
- Damion Lee: 25
None of these guys did anything to help your fantasy team, but Lee remains the safest option to get quality minutes. Torrey Craig continues to start, and he logged 29 minutes with minimal impact. Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne should be on your radar when they return from their respective injuries.
