With Kevin Love ruled out due to a rib contusion, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra took a different approach to filling the resulting void in the starting lineup for Monday’s game against Atlanta. Instead of going back to Caleb Martin (17% rostered in Yahoo leagues), who began the season as Miami’s starting power forward, he went even smaller, inserting Max Strus into the lineup. While Strus didn’t offer much production in his 22 minutes on the court in Miami’s 130-128 victory, Martin did. Playing 28 minutes off the bench, Martin tallied 21 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and two 3-pointers. This was the fourth time he’s scored 20 points or more in a game this season, with Monday’s total being three shy of Martin’s season high.
And he wasn’t the only Heat reserve to step up, either. Victor Oladipo (16%) played 32 minutes, accounting for 22 points, two rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and four 3-pointers. Of the two reserves, Martin has been the more productive fantasy option recently, providing top-100 value in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks. Martin and Oladipo were worthy of a look ahead of Monday’s win, and they made good. Love’s injury isn’t believed to be long-term, but the Heat do play three more games this week with a back-to-back, so keep a close eye on that injury report.
Monday’s six-game slate didn’t lack for players thrust into larger roles, but the pickings were slim regarding those who rewarded fantasy managers for adding them.
Every season is draft season with the Rotoworld Draft Guide Bundle. Get our baseball, football, and basketball draft guides at one low price, $44.99 for the year. Plus, use promo code BUNDLE5 and save an extra $5 at checkout. Buy today!
Cam Reddish (39%)
Reddish has now started eight of Portland’s last nine games due to Anfernee Simons missing time with a sprained ankle. He’s hit double figures in seven of those starts, finishing Monday’s win over the Pistons with 13 points, six rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and three 3-pointers in 40 minutes. Reddish was only 3-of-10 from the field, but the encouraging aspect of his performance was the production in other categories. He’s providing 7th-round value in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks and is approaching the point where he can be trusted while Simons remains sidelined. Portland plays three more road games this week, so now would be a good time to kick the proverbial tires on Reddish.
Jalen McDaniels (17%)
Philadelphia played Monday’s game without the injured Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker. While De’Anthony Melton is already rostered in well over 40% of Yahoo leagues, that isn’t the case for McDaniels. And as was the case in Charlotte on many occasions, he raised his production when given the opportunity to play extended minutes. McDaniels finished the 76ers’ win over Indiana with 20 points, eight rebounds, and one steal, shooting 8-of-13 from the field. Harris and Tucker are expected to be available for Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, so McDaniels will be droppable in most leagues as soon as those two are officially cleared to play.
Davion Mitchell (5%)
In six prior starts, Mitchell put up pedestrian numbers, averaging 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.3 3-pointers in 28.3 minutes per game, shooting 46.7% from the field and 66.7% from the foul line. Filling in for the injured De’Aaron Fox, Off Night was solid, scoring 15 points with one rebound, six assists, one steal, three 3-pointers, and just one turnover. Kevin Huerter was the star for a team that had seven players scored in double figures, but Mitchell’s work as the lead guard should not be glossed over.
Rotoworld’s Roundball Stew Podcast: From waiver wire pickups, to season-long NBA trends, to DFS and random side bets, the crew has you covered. Don’t forget to rate and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jordan Nwora (5%)
With Aaron Nesmith sidelined for a second consecutive game, Nwora remained in the starting lineup for Monday’s loss to the 76ers. Shooting 7-of-12 from the field, he scored 16 points with two rebounds, one assist, and two 3-pointers in just 30 minutes. While this was a solid performance, Nwora doesn’t provide enough defense to make him worth rostering long-term. And Indiana won’t play again until Thursday, so there isn’t much to gain from going out to add Nwora.
Isaiah Livers (2%)
Livers has started the last three games he’s appeared in, but Monday’s was the best. He played 39 minutes, accounting for 17 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three 3-pointers, shooting 7-of-12 from the field. Of course, it helped from a fantasy standpoint that Isaiah Stewart and Bojan Bogdanović were both sidelined due to injury. Livers is still well off the radar as a streaming option, with Alec Burks (22%) being the better option in deeper leagues. Bogdanovic could be back for Tuesday’s game against the Wizards, which would eliminate Livers’ value as a streamer.
