Each Monday morning I’ll pick out a few teams to identify and look at for next week’s action of NBA fantasy basketball.
Atlanta Hawks:
Games: Four (vs. Celtics, at Heat, at Nets and vs. Nuggets)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 105 (not good)
- Should be a good week for the Hawks. Atlanta is tied for third most drives per game according to SportVU and three of the four teams they face are in the bottom half of the league in restricted area defense based on field goal percentage.
- Since returning from missing four games DeMare Carroll has scored in double digits in all five games. He actually has double digits in 10 of the 11 contests he’s played in this season. His per game numbers are right where they were last year and he’s currently shooting a scorching .415 from three-point range on 3.7 attempts per game.
- Before a slight dud against the against the Hornets on Sunday, Jeff Teague had been torching the league. In the previous five games Teague was averaging 25.8 points, 6.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals on .54/.50/.95 shooting splits.
- Al Horford still isn’t where you want him. He’s only had two games of 10 rebounds or more in the month of November. If you have him I’m still firing him up.
Chicago Bulls
Games: Three (vs. Mavs, at Hornets, vs. Warriors)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 101.3
- Not sure exactly when Taj Gibson will be back but it sounds like it will be relatively soon. In the last four games Gibson has sat, Nikola Mirotic has averaged slightly over 25 minutes per game. The three previous games there was significant run also. During the last five Mirotic has averaged 12.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals, with .49/.47/.85 shooting splits.
- Derrick Rose has played in the Bulls’ last four games. His per minute/per possession numbers are extremely solid when he plays, but the volume is still unknown. If Rose is playing he’s always worth having in your lineup, whether he gets enough run to be elite is another story, but he can be helpful.
Golden State Warriors
Games: Three (vs. Magic, vs. Pelicans, at Bulls)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 103.5
- Only one things here matters — Stephen Curry‘s ankle. Curry had to leave Sunday’s game against the Pistons with a left ankle injury. X-rays taken after the game were negative, but there wasn’t much information besides this. Kerr and Curry both said they hope it’s not a big deal. Golden State’s next game is on Tuesday.
Indiana Pacers
Games: Three (at Suns, at Blazers, at Kings)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 102.4
- Tough little three-game west swing for Indiana. It’s their first trip out to that part of the country this season.
- Indiana is getting healthier. I’ve picked up Rodney Stuckey wherever I could. C.J. Watson is someone I’m monitoring and if you need threes you can do worse than C.J. Miles.
- Lavoy Allen is putting up some decent numbers during November. Across 15 games Allen’s is putting up 7.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22 minutes. If you need some rebounding he’s getting to the point where he can be a reasonable low-end option.
Los Angeles Clippers
Games Three (vs. T’Wolves, vs. Magic, vs. Pelicans)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 106.8
- The Clippers return home from a 6-1 road trip. The schedule sets up nicely for their offensive to continue rack up some good looking statistics.
- Matt Barnes is shooting 36.7 percent from three this season. I was confused and thought Espn.com was lying to me — it wasn’t. Barnes has made two threes or more in five of the last eight games he’s played in.
Los Angeles Lakers
Games: Four (at Pistons, at Wizards, at Celtics, vs. Pelicans)
Opponents Defensive Rating Average: 104.3
- In his seven games since being back from injury Nick Young is doing what Nick Young typically does. Low overall shooting percentage, but you get points and threes. There’s also some true duds mixed in when his shot isn’t connecting.
- All that matters in this arena is box score stats. Look at Kobe Bryant‘s freaking game log.
- You deal with that shooting percentage for everything else you’re getting with Bryant this season.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Games: Three (at Pelicans, at 76ers, at Pistons)
Opponents Defensive Rating: 105.1
- Point guard Russell Westbrook made his return to the lineup after missing 14 games and took longer than expected to get adjusted. He was only able to put 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 24 minutes versus the Knicks. In my estimation an unacceptable performance in his first game back.
- It’s sounds like Kevin Durant could also be back any game now from his foot injury. It will be his first regular season action of the season. If he has a debut as disappointing as Westbrook’s Oklahoma City could be in some real trouble.
- I don’t think the guys getting healthy will impact Serge Ibaka much. According to SportVU last season Ibaka received 26 percent of his passes from Kevin Durant and shot 56 percent on those attempts. Right now he’s receiving 43.9 percent of his passes from Reggie Jackson and shooting 41 percent.