Nicolo

Melli

Jokic struggled a bit down the stretch and Italy shocked the world by knocking Serbia out of the tournament. Jokic can now get some rest in preparation for the new season, which is probably not a bad thing for his prospective fantasy managers. Nicolo Melli led Italy with 21 points and they will meet France in the quarterfinals.

No surprise here, as it was reported earlier in the week that the two sides were nearing an agreement. Melli played for both the Pels and Mavs in 2020-21, appearing in 45 games and averaging 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists.

Melli appeared in 45 games this season, split almost evenly between the Mavericks and Pelicans. He finished the season with averages of 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game with his best game coming on April 27th against the Warriors when he tallied 13 points, two rebounds, and one assist in 12 minutes in a 30-point victory. Melli most recently played for Milano in 2015 before the two parted ways and Melli established himself as one of the best players in Europe over the next few years, being named to the All-EuroLeague second team in 2017. Stroggylakis has reported that the two sides “have been having long conversations for quite some time” and that it is now looking like a deal could be done soon.

Melli had a rough go of it Thursday afternoon, missing all six of his field goal attempts while also going 0-of-2 from the foul line. But Italy managed to come back and win anyway, clinching the top spot in their Olympic Qualifying Group as a result. Italy will face either Philippines of the Dominican Republic in Saturday’s semifinal round.

If Melli can’t crack the rotation when the Mavericks are without Kristaps Porzingis (right knee soreness) and Maxi Kleber (right Achilles soreness), then he’s simply not in coach Rick Carlisle’s plans. It doesn’t help that he shot a combined 1-of-10 in the Mavs’ previous three games.

This will be KP’s fifth straight game on the sidelines, and there’s no telling if he’ll be able to return for Sunday’s rematch in Cleveland, so he’s a cut candidate in redraft, head-to-head settings. With both Porzingis and Kleber watching from the sidelines tonight, there will be more minutes available for Willie Cauley-Stein, Dwight Powell and Nicolo Melli, with Powell being the preferable fantasy target amongst that group.

It doesn’t look like Kleber will return and he’ll finish with just two points and nothing else. Burke is going off with 19 points with six minutes left in the game and will be an intriguing add, along with Nico Melli, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dwight Powell if Kleber’s going to miss time.

THJ bricked all five of his FGA tonight, with his only points coming at the charity stripe. He did replace Nicolo Melli in the starting lineup after halftime, but that didn’t help his production. Melli was also bad in his 22 minutes of play, scoring six points on 2-of-5 shooting to go with one rebound, two triples and one turnover in the loss.

In three previous starts, Melli has averaged 4.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.0 minutes. That about sums it up.

He’s back from a one-game absence, which will result in fewer minutes for Nicolo Melli and Dwight Powell. He’s not a great target in fantasy hoops with Kristaps Porzingis healthy, though.