Bogdan

Bogdanovic

Jokic and Serbia got revenge in the rematch of last year’s FIBA World Cup championship game, as he delivered the fifth triple-double in Olympic basketball history. Four other players chipped in at least 10 points in Serbia’s well-rounded effort, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (16 points, three triples) and Vasilije Micic (19 points, two triples).

Bogdanovic has been excellent throughout the Paris Olympics, and Thursday’s semifinal against the United States was no exception. He hit some big shots as Serbia built up a 17-point lead, punctuating two of his shots with Carmelo Anthony’s “three to the dome” celebration with the former NBA star sitting courtside. Unfortunately for Bogdanovic, he and Serbia could not hold off the US, which picked up the intensity on both ends of the floor in crunch time. Next up for Serbia is a matchup with Germany for the bronze medal on Saturday morning.

While South Sudan devoted considerable attention to Nikola Jokic (an understandable defensive approach), they had no answer for Bogdanovic. The Hawks guard scored 18 of his 30 points in the second half (11 in the third quarter) as Serbia pulled away and guaranteed itself a spot in the quarterfinals. Greece also benefitted from the result, which took the last quarterfinal spot on point differential. Bogdanovic will remain a key player for Serbia, and his role with the Hawks could expand next season due to the departure of Dejounte Murray.

Early in the second half, Bogdanovic broke Trae Young’s franchise record for 3-pointers in a season when he hit his 234th of the year. Not only did he have a bounce back performance from beyond the arc, but Bogi also tied his season-high for assists. He was on pace to have an even better night, but Quin Snyder pulled him from the game with four minutes left in the third. The lead didn’t end up being large enough for the reserves to hang on, but Snyder clearly had other priorities after losing a double overtime game on Tuesday. We’ll see if Snyder continues to limit his minutes over their final two games.

Bogi was able to keep his 3-point streak alive despite only making one of his 11 attempts. This was the first time that he made less than two triples since early March, and he also tied his season-high for turnovers in what was one of his worst performances of the season. He’ll have an opportunity to get back on track against Charlotte on Wednesday, which is the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. They’ll need him to be much better than this in the Play-In Tournament if they want to advance to the playoffs.

Young has been out since February 24, undergoing surgery on his finger three days later. A potential return to game action will not impact most fantasy leagues, as Sunday was the final day for many. However, Young playing at some point this week could help him shake off the rust ahead of Atlanta’s Play-In tournament matchup with the Bulls. Once he’s fully cleared to play, Bogdan Bogdanovic will return to the bench.

Bogdanovic led five Hawks in double figures with 17 points, and he’s reached double figures in 11 straight games. He’s one player whose fantasy value has been boosted due partially to injuries sidelining other members of his team’s rotation. Bogdanovic, a starter since the Hawks lost Trae Young to a hand injury, is closing in on top 50 per-game value in 9-cat formats. Given the Yahoo ADP of 129, this would undoubtedly qualify as a successful fantasy season. The only negative is the schedule, as the Hawks only play once more (Saturday at DEN) during Week 23.

Monday’s game was only the sixth time this season that Bogi took less than 10 shot attempts in a game. This was his highest-scoring performance out of those games by far, and he led the team in scoring while only missing one shot. Bogi has been on a tear lately and is averaging 27.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 triples over their last three games. After a phenomenal start to the season, Bogi is starting to produce to that level once again. They still have three more games this week, starting with the Pistons on Wednesday.

Bogdanovic led Atlanta in scoring and finished with the second-highest scoring total of his career. The 38 points scored Saturday are bested only by the 40-burger he served up to Denver on December 11. Double Bogey is averaging a career-high 16.6 points per game this season, and he’s posted some strong scoring numbers over the last week. Bogdanovic has averaged 25.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.3 triples across his last four. He’ll look to keep it up Monday in a road tilt with the Bulls.

Murray played through this back issue on Wednesday, but it didn’t limit his production whatsoever. However, if he sits out this game, there will be plenty of open minutes to be filled. Trent Forrest will likely fill that void and could provide decent value in extended minutes, especially with only two games being played. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vit Krejci would likely take on the playmaking duties.