There were plenty of notable headlines from Saturday’s 10 game slate. Detroit’s losing streak extended to 23 games in a blowout loss to Milwaukee. The record is 26 games, and their next four games are in Atlanta, at home against the Jazz, at Brooklyn and then at home against Brooklyn. Miles Bridges posted a -56 plus/minus in a blowout loss to the 76ers. Jimmy Butler and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each hit game winning mid-range shots. Cam Thomas scored 41 in a loss to the Warriors. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 40 in a win over Indiana. Luka Doncic recorded a 40/12/10 line. Keegan Murray nearly made history by scoring 47 points and knocking down 12 triples. He hit all of them through the first three quarters, but he wasn’t able to break Klay Thompson’s record of 14. It was a fun day of hoops, and there will be five more games to close out the week on Sunday, including two afternoon matchups. Make sure you set your lineups early!
Brandin Podziemski- 29% rostered in Yahoo leagues
In his second game since taking over Andrew Wiggins’ starting spot, Podziemski put up 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block and four 3-pointers. He had a poor shooting night in his first start, but his one went much better. Wiggins played well in this game, but Podziemski really isn’t in danger of losing the starting spot anytime soon.
Eric Gordon- 34%, Grayson Allen- 23%
Bradley Beal is set to miss “several weeks” after suffering an ankle injury on Friday night. Gordon is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday, which means that both him and Allen will be worth rostering until Beal is back. Allen has provided top-100 value in 9-cat leagues this season, while Gordon is currently sitting just outside the top-100.
T.J. McConnell- 10%
With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined on Saturday after suffering a knee contusion on Friday, McConnell got the starting nod. He contributed 10 points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes. If Haliburton remains sidelined for Monday’s game against the Clippers, McConnell will be worth streaming again.
Caris LeVert- 49%
LeVert played 25 minutes on Saturday and finished with 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer. This was their first game without Darius Garland for the next few weeks, and LeVert will continue to make up for the absence of the scoring and playmaking that Garland provided.
Isaac Okoro- 5%
In their first game without Garland, Okoro got the starting nod in his place, with Donovan Mitchell taking on the point guard responsibilities. Okoro finished with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and three 3-pointers. He hasn’t been consistently productive as a starter in the past, but he played well on Saturday.
Ayo Dosunmu- 4%
With Alex Caruso out, Dosunmu moved back into the starting unit. He played 41 minutes in this game and contributed an 8/4/3/2/1 line with two triples. It wasn’t quite as productive as his previous game on Thursday (24/8/5), but the big minutes were encouraging. They play in Philadelphia on Monday, and if Caruso is still out, Dosunmu should play big minutes once again.
Isaiah Joe- 7%
Joe currently sits just outside the top-150 in 9-cat value over the course of the season, with most of his value coming from 3-pointers. However, Josh Giddey only played six minutes in the second half of Saturday’s game and 15 on the night. Joe ended up playing 27 minutes and posting a 12/2/1/1/1 line. This is a situation worth monitoring moving forward, though Giddey getting benched doesn’t seem imminent.
