A slow night in the NBA, but still some fantasy basketball news to cover.
Welcome back: San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker
- It was a quiet night, but Spurs starting point guard Tony Parker made his return to the lineup. Parker played 13 minutes and scored three points with two assists. He didn’t play in the second half and after the game head coach Gregg Popovich said he’s just bringing him along slowly. Parker has been dealing with a hamstring injury playing in only six of the Spurs last 20 games. As Parker’s playing time increases this will have an impact on others — Cory Joseph, who’s been a very effective player, will see his minutes drop. Joseph has put up solid numbers over the past month. In Parker’s first game back he only got 27 minutes.
There’s a power forward that’s really good: Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris
- Markieff Morris went off last night for 26 points and 10 rebounds. Morris has been excellent for the Suns this season posting 15 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 30 minutes. His shooting splits are 49/33/80. The three-point percentage has taken a nice bump recently as he’s knocked down 21 of his last 50 good for 42%. Morris has made at least one three in 13 of his last 19 games. Where Morris really kills it is in the mid range — on the season he’s making a Dirk like 54% between 8-16 feet.
Starting to live up to the hype: Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
- There was a bunch of preseason noise around “The Greak Freak” and the second-year pro is coming into his own. Giannis posted 16 points and 12 rebounds last night versus the Suns. He has double-doubles in his last two games and most importantly the blocks are perking up. With his length and athletic ability his value was going to be in stat sheet stuffing across the board. The steals aren’t there, but he’s blocked seven shots in three games of January and averaged 1.3 blocks per game in December. He’s had multiple blocks in seven of his last eight games. Giannis has value this year and is a really great value in keeper leagues.