Scotto: Julian Reese signs two-way with Pelicans

Kessler has blocked at least five shots in two games this season and at least one in each of the Lakers’ six games. Add in the rebounds and field-goal percentage, and this was a good night for fantasy managers who are rostering the 7-footer. As long as Kessler can stay healthy, he should provide good value for those punting free-throw percentage. The Lakers end their week with a home game against the Raptors on Sunday.

Although Reaves recorded his fifth 20-point game in six appearances, it was not a good night for him. For those hoping Luka Dončić’s return to the Lakers’ lineup would help limit Reaves’ turnovers, he committed eight for the second straight game. He was also 1-of-6 from three, but the recent jump in turnovers is a concern, especially for managers in nine-cat leagues. Hopefully, Reaves will take better care of the basketball on Sunday against the Raptors.

Dončić was rolling during the first quarter, knocking down five three-pointers and scoring 21 points. Unfortunately for the Lakers, their star guard needed a rest to start the second quarter, which opened the door for the Warriors to turn things around. While Dončić scored 13 second-half points, he didn’t get enough help from teammates beyond Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler to avoid the defeat. The Lakers host Toronto on Sunday to end their week.

After taking a back seat offensively in Wednesday’s win over the Timberwolves, Podziemski was more involved on Friday to make up for a quiet night from Yaxel Lendeborg (six points, one rebound, one three-pointer, and five turnovers). Podz scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line. The 21 points are a season-high for Podziemski, who scored 18 in each of his first two appearances.

Golden State’s bench made the difference on Friday, outscoring the Lakers’ bench 47-4. Melton scored 13 of his 16 points in the second quarter, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He needed just 21 minutes to record his final stat line, showing why Melton can add value for category-league managers despite coming off the bench. The Warriors play one more game this week, hosting the Clippers on Sunday.

The Warriors got off to a terribly slow start, being outscored 38-15 in the first quarter. The bench came up big in the second quarter, setting the stage for Curry to do his usual work in the second half. He scored 17 of his 31 after halftime, helping the Warriors turn a 25-point deficit into a 17-point victory. During the third quarter, Curry moved into 18th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Dominique Wilkins. Over the last two games, he’s scored 75 points and knocked down 14 three-pointers.

While it’s not the best performance from Jokic with his standards, it’s still a very good performance. He will have games where he’s not the most aggressive at scoring the ball and tonight was one of those. Jokic is 31 years old, so there might be some regression coming at some point down the road. For now, sit back and enjoy the ride with one of the most unique players in NBA history.

Braun went crazy in the first half and hit most of his shots which led to this stat line. Braun has gotten three steals in the past three games when his career average is 0.7 steals, so expect some regression to happen. If the steals become more of a consistent appearance from Braun, there is room for him to be a useful guy in redraft leagues.

Jamal Murray was an absolute monster in the third quarter, getting 15 points and was the reason they got secure lead. He got to the line 15 times and hit them at 805 which should be a nice boost to your FT% category. He’s been what you hoped for if you drafted him in the top 20 this season. He won’t shoot this efficiently every night, but barring injury he’ll continue to do what he’s doing.

While Bridges hasn’t been hitting his 3’s this season, he’s done everything else that he was doing in Charlotte last season. He’s scoring at a decent level, he’s rebounding the ball, and playing solid defense. It hasn’t translated to many wins at this point, but he does give them a good defender at the wing position which they didn’t really have last season.