Here’s a look around the fantasy basketball world from Thursday night’s NBA action.
Who needs 48 minutes? Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant
- Kevin Durant played 19 minutes in the first half in the Thunder’s loss to the Warriors. He left with a sprained right ankle, but it doesn’t sound like it’s anything serious. In those 19 minutes he scored 30 points. Yes, 30 points in 19 minutes in one half — that was a thing that happened last night. Durant hit 10-of-13 shots and 5-of-6 from three-point range. Kevin Durant, you are freaking insane.
Unleashed: New York Knicks center Cole Aldrich
- Cole Aldrich got to start for the New York Knicks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COLE COLE COLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok sorry had to get that out. The Knicks’ starting lineup in their loss to the Bulls was Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Travis Wear and Amar’e Stoudemire. I puked on my keyboard while writing that. Aldrich has no future fantasy value, but if you think he was going to get a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double in 26 minutes and I wasn’t going to write about it you don’t know me well enough. In really deep leagues if Cole got a consistent 25-30 minutes and you need rebounds he could have value (I just contradicted myself, sue me). It will be interesting to see if he earned more consistent minutes with this performance because he’s the one player on New York’s roster head coach Derek Fisher has been hesitant to play.
Hopefully the shots eventually go in: Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza
- Trevor Ariza has shot poorly this season. Ariza splits are 36%/34%/83%. The free throw percentage is fine, but the other two are…yikes. His three-point volume is so high you can get away with it because he’s hitting 2.6 per game. Ariza is still averaging 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.7 steals per game, but you would really like that field goal percentage to be better. His last five games have been even worse — 30%/27%/74%. I do think in time this will all improve with Ariza.
The return of the Boogie down: Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins
- My man Boogie took no time to get back into the mix. Cousins returned after missing nine games with viral meningitis posting 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes. He came right back at the top-10 level he was playing at before the illness. Cousins was even more efficient than usual making 8-of-12 shots. It wasn’t a good turnover night as he had six. Ride the Boogie train again.
Trade Impact: Rajon Rondo goes to the Dallas Mavericks
- Oh boy this was a crazy one. Rondo heads to the Mavs, while Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson and Jae Crowder go to the Boston Celtics. Two people not impacted will be Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler — I don’t think anything changes with them. I lean towards Chandler Parsons going into the category with Dirk and Tyson. The guy I’m honestly not sure is Monta Ellis. Ellis and Rondo are both most successful with the ball in their hands. I trust the hell out of Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle to get the most out of his players. I would expect to see one of Ellis and Rondo on the court at all times with their minutes staggered, giving them each plenty of time to spearhead the Mavs’ offense. I’m not in any sort of panic mode from the Dallas perspective, I’m waiting and seeing.
- On the Boston side the guy I’d target is Brandan Wright. In 18.7 minutes this season Wright has averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on .748 shooting. Per 36 minutes that translates to 17 points, 7.8 rebounds and three blocks. Boston still has Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk so there’s no way to know how much run Wright will actually get. I will assume it’s higher than the 18.7 minutes he’s been seeing.