Sunday featured a bunch of blowouts and an unlikely win for the Suns, who came back to beat the Grizzlies near the buzzer. But with so many blowouts, there is a lot of garbage time to sort through. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here!
Raptors 121, Lakers 107 – Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry got hot early and the Raptors blew this game open with a 42-17 first quarter, and never looked back. Ibaka finished with a career-high 34 points on 15-of-17 shooting with 10 rebounds, two steals and a 3-pointer. He made his first 14 shots and was out of his mind tonight. Ibaka’s having a rebirth this season, averaging 21 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.6 blocks and 0.6 3-pointers over his last five games, while shooting 59 percent from the field. His value will never be higher again than it is now. Lowry went off for 21 points, six rebounds, 15 assists, two steals, a block and three 3-pointers, Pascal Siakam added 16 points and 13 boards, and Danny Green had 15 points, three boards, three assists, two blocks and five 3-pointers in the laughable win. Jonas Valanciunas also double-doubled off the bench, and Delon Wright got loose for 11 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Siakam is averaging 14.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals on 63 percent shooting over his last five games, and should be owned everywhere for his upcoming three-game week. And yes, he might take a hit once Kawhi Leonard is back from his sore foot, but I’m not too scared. Leonard has missed two of his last four games and is questionable for tonight against Utah.
The Lakers were a disaster, but Kyle Kuzma led the way with 24 points and five boards on 10-of-16 shooting, but missed all four of his 3-pointers. LeBron James added 18 points and six assists, Brandon Ingram had 16 points, three assists and a block, Lonzo Ball had 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two 3-pointers, and JaVale McGee had eight points, six boards and two blocks in the blowout. Josh Hart had a quiet 30 minutes with six points, five boards, three steals and a 3-pointer, and Rajon Rondo had just 10 points and three assists in the loss. The Lakers have three games this week, and owners of Hart may be at a crossroads. I’m planning to hold him, but if you want to drop him, it does make some sense.
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Bucks 144, Kings 109 – Giannis Antetokounmpo went crazy with a 26-15-11 triple-double (his second of the season), while Khris Middleton was quiet in the blowout with just 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting. He’s fine. Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points, four boards, a steal and three 3-pointers, but has been alternating good games with not so good games. John Henson, Pat Connaughton and Tony Snell were all garbage time winners, so don’t read too much into what they did last night. The Bucks are 8-1, good for their best nine-game start in franchise history, and also pumped up a franchise-record 56 3-pointers.
The Kings had their five-game winning streak broken with the blowout loss and Nemanja Bjelica finally had a bad game. He hit just 2-of-8 shots for four points and four rebounds, and didn’t hit a 3-pointer for just the second time this season. The Kings were down big all night and I’m still not worried about Bjelica. De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield played well, Willie Cauley-Stein were quiet, and Iman Shumpert is still start for the Kings. Justin Jackson was the big garbage-time winner tonight, hitting 9-of-12 shots and four 3-pointers for a career-high 22 points, but did nothing else. Just keep an eye on him.
Nets 122, Sixers 97 – Jarrett Allen had a 15 & 10 double-double with a steal and two blocks, D’Angelo Russell broke out of a slump for 21 points and six dimes, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also scored 21 points in the win. Caris LeVert stayed hot with 20 points, five boards, two assists, four steals and a 3-pointer, and Joe Harris added 11 points and three more 3-pointers, and has now hit a 3-pointer in 25 straight games.
The Sixers are now 6-0 at home and 0-5 on the road, hit just 4-of-20 3-pointers, and committed 27 turnovers to Brooklyn’s nine. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Robert Covington all had five turnovers and there was almost nothing to learn from this one, except that things will go poorly for the Sixers if Embiid only gets eight shots, which is how many he got in this one.
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Wizards 108, Knicks 95 – The Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak and got nice lines from John Wall, Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris, while Dwight Howard, playing in his second game of the season, had a 10 & 10 double-double, his first of the season. The Wizards are probably the worst defensive team in the league, so getting Howard back is a big deal. Jeff Green also played well for the Wizards, but I don’t trust him, and Ian Mahinmi never got off the bench, apparently losing his role with Howard playing. Kelly Oubre started for Otto Porter (toe), but played 24 minutes and didn’t do much, which was surprising to me.
Damyean Dotson has scored in double figures in all eight games that he’s appeared in and continues to start for the Knicks. He’s averaging 11.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 3-pointers in 31 minutes a night. The Knicks play four times this week, so Dotson is worth a look in most leagues. Kevin Knox (knee) sounds close to making a comeback soon, which could hurt guys like Dotson, Allonzo Trier and Mario Hezonja. Noah Vonleh now has nine fouls in his last 20 minutes of action, which has killed him. Hopefully he’s better on Monday night. Mitchell Robinson started again for the Knicks and had 10 points, six boards and a block. I love the idea of picking him up now that he’s starting. Frank Ntilikina had a bad night, but should be OK, and Tim Hardaway Jr. left with a back injury, that ended up ending his night early. My guess is he won’t play on Monday, which should help Trier. Mario Hezonja played well and Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 boards after his move to the bench, so hopefully he’ll survive the demotion to the bench in terms of fantasy value. Trier was quiet, but I still like him for the upcoming week, along with most other Knicks with a pulse.
Magic 117, Spurs 110 – The Magic blew a 26-point second-half lead, but still hung on to beat the Spurs behind 26 points from Aaron Gordon and a season-high 18 points from D.J. Augustin. Mo Bamba had 12 points, 11 boards and a block, but played just 16 minutes. He’ll obviously need more minutes to be an effective fantasy play, but I’m intrigued. Terrence Ross had 17 points and has been playing well in alternating games, but I like him more as a DFS play than a standard league. Jonathon Simmons was back tonight (didn’t score), but Jonathan Isaac was out with his sprained ankle and Wesley Iwundu started in his place. Iwundu scored just two points in 14 minutes.
DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Spurs with 25 points and another fat stat line, but LaMarcus Aldridge was underwhelming in the loss. Bryn Forbes, Pau Gasol, Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli all played reasonably well, but you’ll probably want to avoid Spurs this week, as they only play two games.
Suns 102, Grizzlies 100 – Devin Booker hit a 17-footer with 1.7 seconds left on the clock to give the Suns the win last night, their first since opening night. He played the entire fourth quarter with five fouls and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter after a quiet first half. Trevor Ariza played really well with T.J. Warren out with back injury, while Ryan Anderson got the start for TJW. Isaiah Canaan stayed relevant with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and three 3-pointers, while Elie Okobo played just 14 minutes in the win. I wish they’d just turn Okobo loose, but the Suns may be bent on playing Canaan heavy minutes and starting him until further notice. Deandre Ayton had a nice game with nine points, eight boards, six assists, three steals and two blocks in 37 minutes. He only took four shots, which is laughable. He should be getting at least 12 a night. Even with TJW out, Josh Jackson played just 13 minutes and didn’t do much. I’m about to cut bait.
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley combined to hit just 5-of-29 shots, and Shelvin Mack led the team in scoring with a season-high 21 off the bench. He also had four steals and two 3-pointers, and I think he’s a very solid pickup right now. Dillon Brooks also scored a season-high 17 points and Garrett Temple stayed relevant with eight points, five boards and two assists, but missed both his 3-pointers in 36 minutes. Kyle Anderson had a season-high 10 points, but the line wasn’t all that great, Jaren Jackson Jr. was quiet, and the Grizzlies didn’t look like the team who had won its previous three games. There aren’t any obvious pickups here, but Anderson should at least be on your radar. And Conley and Gasol will bounce back.
Blazers 111, Wolves 81 – Jusuf Nurkic was great with 19 points, 12 boards and a block on 8-of-11 shooting, and Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum also played well in the blowout win. Meyers Leonard blew up for 15 points, 12 boards, a steal and a 3-pointer in garbage time, good for his first double-double since November of 2016. The Blazers only play three times the next couple weeks, so if you picked some of them up for their five-game week, you can probably safely drop them (Al-Farouq Aminu, Zach Collins, Leonard, Nik Stauskas, Evan Turner, etc.).
This was over before the fourth quarter started on a night when Jimmy Butler was once again sitting out as he waits for the Wolves to trade him. And Derrick Rose was out with a sore left ankle, so hopefully this doesn’t become a normal occurrence. He blew up for 50 on Halloween, then left his next game after five minutes, and didn’t play on Sunday. The injury doesn’t sound serious, but this is what life is like owning Rose. Even with the guards sitting tonight, Josh Okogie and Tyus Jones were both really quiet. I’m still into both of them, especially with the uncertainty facing Jeff Teague (knee), Butler (trade) and Rose (ankle), but tonight was a disappointment. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins both played well, but it was a lost night for the rest of the Wolves.