Fantasy basketball daily notes for Thursday: Cole Anthony and De’Aaron Fox rise above teams’ records
De’Aaron Fox countered Anthony with 33 points of his own, his 31st career 30-point game. Only Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Tiny Archibald had more such performances in Kings history at age 23-or-younger.
The other top statistical stories from the contest include Mo Bamba securing four blocks, vaulting him to second in the league in blocks per game behind only Myles Turner. What a fun post-hype turnaround this has been for Bamba.
Adding to Fox’s big line for the Kings was the clutch play of Tyrese Haliburton. Sacramento secured the victory thanks to the second-year combo guard scoring 11 of his 18 points in the decisive final quarter, making all four of his shots from the floor. Even as these two rosters struggle to contend in their respective conferences, the emergence of multiple young fantasy gems is encouraging.
Highlights
Gordon Hayward, Charlotte Hornets: 31 points (10-18 FG), 5 rebounds, 7 assists
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 39 points (17-23 FG), 11 rebounds, 11 assists
Lowlights
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers: 6 points (2-5 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 TO
Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat: 6 points (2-6 FG), 2 rebounds
Jokic continues to carry the Nuggets. Last night marked his 61st career triple-double, putting him just one shy of tying James Harden for the seventh-most in NBA history. Jokic scored 11 points in overtime, outscoring the Pelicans all by himself. This marked the second time he has scored 10 points in an overtime period in his career. No other Nuggets player has scored 10 points in multiple overtime periods over the last 25 seasons.
Stephen Curry was chasing history against the Trail Blazers last night, entering the game 16 career 3-pointers shy of passing Ray Allen for the most in league history. Curry made six of his 17 shots from beyond the arc, meaning that 89% of his total shots in the win were from 3-point range. The Warriors head to Philadelphia this weekend for a prime-time matchup on Saturday. I’ll be in attendance to see if Curry can catch Allen. After all, he’s now just 10 3-pointers shy of the record and has 22 career games with at least 10 3-pointers made, the most in NBA history. Klay Thompson, who is now rostered in nearly 88% of ESPN leagues as his return to action looms, is second all-time in games with 10 3-pointers made, with five.
One of the top scorers in the G League just a few weeks ago, Brandon Boston Jr. erupted for a career-high 27 points for the Clippers last night. The team was without superstar wing Paul George, tasking the No. 51 pick in this year’s draft with a major offensive role in a win over the Celtics. It’s not yet time to roster Boston, as this seems like just a role-driven outlier, but it was emboldening to watch him capably hunt and hit his own looks en route to 18 points in the second quarter alone — the most by a rookie in any quarter this season. Just 10 days beyond his 20th birthday, Boston became the youngest player in Clippers history to make five 3-pointers.
The Lakers list both LeBron James and Anthony Davis as probable to play against the Grizzlies tonight, while Ja Morant is expected to miss another game for Memphis.
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San Antonio’s tandem of young forwards, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, are both listed as doubtful to play against the visiting Nuggets this evening. With these two off the floor this season, Derrick White has enjoyed the largest leap in usage (4.8%) among the team’s starters. Building out DFS lineups with Dejounte Murray and White, who just delivered a big fantasy line on Tuesday, could prove rewarding.
De’Anthony Melton, Memphis Grizzlies: The floor can be low at times with Melton, but he’s been so productive on both sides of the ball on a per-minute basis, that it’s worth assuming some risk on a three-game Thursday schedule. It also helps that the Lakers lack health and depth at the wing.
Steven Adams, Memphis Grizzlies: This reads like an underpriced Memphis roster for Thursday, as Adams should play heavy minutes against a large Lakers lineup, pushing his rebounding ceiling fairly high.