Here’s a look at the four NBA games last night from a fantasy basketball perspective.
San Antonio Spurs 109, Philadelphia 76ers 103
- In typical Gregg Popovich fashion he gave Tim Duncan and Tony Parker the night off, Manu Ginobili only played 13 minutes. Luckily, Manu still posted 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting and connected on two threes.
- Kawhi Leonard has played 30-plus minutes in five straight games and the volume is bringing statistics with it. Leonard went off for 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. He made two threes, shot 6-of-8 from the free throw line and knocked 9-of-15 overall. In Leonard’s last five he’s averaging 34.6 minutes, 19.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals, with .54/.47/.69 shooting splits.
- Sixers rookie wing K.J. McDaniels continues to trend in the right direction, just missing out on a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes. McDaniels is a strong source of steals and blocks from the shooting guard/small forward position, combining for five of them. You should be adding McDaniels in pretty much all formats.
- Michael Carter-Williams‘ production is starting to look similar to last year. He’s great for points, rebounds and assists, but detrimental to any sort of shooting statistic. Williams had an 18-point, 16-assist and 10-rebound triple-double on Saturday and followed that up with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists versus the Spurs.
- Philly big man Nerlens Noel was held out with a hip injury. Noel is considered day-to-day.
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Washington Wizards 107, Miami Heat 86
- For the first time this season, Josh McRoberts has played more than 20 minutes in three consecutive games. The numbers aren’t there yet, but he’s definitely someone to be monitoring and I’d even look to add him. He’s had four assists in two consecutive games. On a Heat team lacking depth, the stats shouldn’t be far away.
- RASUAL BUTLER?!?!?! Yes, Rasual Butler. Don’t even think about adding him in any leagues, but he’s scored 23 points in two of the last three games. His shooting splits were .59/.55/1.00 in November. RASUAL BUTLER!!!!!!
- With Nene out with an injury, Kris Humphries has replaced him in the starting lineup the last four games. Humphries has played 24, 26, 23 and 22 minutes. He hasn’t reached double figures in scoring once, but has hit double-figure rebounding twice. He’s not a good source of steals or blocks either. Still think Hump needs higher MPG or really start to kill it on the boards to be worth adding.
Denver Nuggets 103, Utah Jazz 101
- Ty Lawson has become an assist monster capable of carrying you in that category for an entire week in head-to-head. Lawson had 12 assists Monday night and is averaging 12.4 over the last five games. The shooting should still bump up in time, his .42/.29/.75 shooting splits in November aren’t where you would like them to be.
- Timofey Mozgov continued his consistent, steady play at center with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a block. On the season Moz is averaging 10 points, 7.5 boards, 1.4 blocks on 54 percent shooting. He’s also making 73 percent of 2.8 free throw attempts per game. You can do much worse at center.
- Jazz guard Trey Burke might have finally remembered how to shoot a basketball. He hit four three-pointers on his way to 18 points and eight assists last night. Over his last five games his shooting splits are .53/.44/.60. Burke has made 10 three-pointers over that time period.
- Center Derrick Favors missed the game due to illness; it’s nothing serious. In 24 minutes Rudy Gobert totaled nine points, seven rebounds and a block off the bench. If he ever starts playing more than the 15.8 MPG he’s gotten this season, there is some value there. Enes Kanter had only in second double-double in the last 11 games. Trevor Booker moved into the starting lineup, but his six points and nine rebounds were pedestrian.
Los Angeles Clippers 127, Minnesota Timberwolves 101
- Since returning to the lineup, Thaddeus Young had two good and two bad games. Last night was a blowout and he was held to only 21 minutes; the other poor outing was his first game back. Young will be just fine as the season rolls on on a Minnesota team that needs to get its raw numbers from somewhere with Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic both out with injuries.
- Shabazz Muhammad has stacked two consecutive quality stat lines in a row. Bazz had an 18-point, 10-rebound, double-double with four assists on 6-of-11 shooting. On Sunday against the Blazers he tallied 28 points on 12-of-17 from the field with five rebounds. I’m not adding him yet, but continuing to monitor. There’s going to be a lot of garbage time for Minnesota and Bazz could be one of the beneficiaries.
- Clippers guard J.J. Redick broke the 20-point mark for only the second time this season, dropping 23 versus the T’Wolves. He has reached double figures in seven consecutive games. The three-point shooting is there with him knocking down four last night and 2.1 per game in November. He’s basically a two-category player.