Fantasy basketball daily notes for Tuesday: Josh Giddey stuffing the stat sheet
In snapping the team’s seven-game losing streak, Giddey registered his rookie-leading 11th double-double of the season, marking the most double-doubles by a Thunder rookie since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. Shooting guard Luguentz Dort scored 18 points to go with three steals and now has at least 16 points in three straight games.
Rostered in roughly 60% of ESPN leagues, Giddey has produced 14.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per 36 minutes whenever he’s been on the floor without Gilgeous-Alexander this season.
Highlights
Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies: 34 points (12-21 FG), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers: 33 points (13-23 FG), 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 blocks
Lowlights
Kemba Walker, New York Knicks: 0 points (0-2 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 assist
• The Pacers drubbed the Clippers behind rookie Isaiah Jackson, who posted new career highs in scoring and rebounding in becoming just the second Pacers rookie in the last 10 seasons with at least 25 points and 10 boards in a game. Fellow rookie Duane Washington Jr. sank four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give him 16 points for the game. With Domantas Sabonis in health and safety protocols and Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner dealing with respective injuries, Jackson has emerged as an interesting interim value.
• Tyrese Maxey tied his season-high with 33 points in a riveting overtime duel with Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. Already posting the largest leap in scoring production in the league from last season, Maxey is taking his game to new heights. Joel Embiid rested last night, affording Andre Drummond a spot start that led to 16 points and a slate-best 23 rebounds, his fourth game this season with at least 20 boards. Drummond is clearly a valuable option whenever his MVP candidate teammate is sidelined.
• Desmond Bane was brilliant for Memphis in establishing a new career scoring peak. Morant and Bane combined for 71 points in the loss, marking the most by a Grizzlies backcourt duo in franchise history. Bane’s somewhat surprising second-year breakout makes him one of the best fantasy values of the season.
• It seems Stephen Curry found his stroke, as he tallied 21 of his game-high 40 in the fourth quarter in a win over the Rockets. This marks the most fourth-quarter points in any regular-season game of Curry’s storied career. Klay Thompson struggled from the field, sinking just one of eight 3-pointers, but it’s likely he rounds into form eventually.
• Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. was solid in the loss to the Warriors. The young guard produced a double-double that included a game-high 11 dimes and now has dished at least seven assists in six straight games. Porter is rostered in right around 62% of leagues.
• The Wizards won’t have Bradley Beal in the lineup tonight due to a wrist injury. The fantasy fallout of Beal’s injury is detailed below.
• The Bulls won’t have Lonzo Ball or Alex Caruso in the lineup this evening, setting up Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White as solid streaming additions.
• James Harden is listed as questionable to play in Phoenix tonight due to a hand injury. Kyrie Irving could emerge as a top daily fantasy play if he’s the lone star in Brooklyn’s lineup.
• After missing multiple weeks due to a thumb injury, Detroit’s Jerami Grant isn’t listed on the injury report ahead of this evening’s game against the Pelicans. Grant is still a free agent in a fifth of ESPN leagues.
The short-handed Heat lost to the Celtics by 30 points, marking the team’s largest defeat this season. A rare positive in the loss was the play of guard Max Strus, who knocked down a career-best nine 3-pointers, the most made by a Miami player this season.
Strus has posted an awesome true shooting rate of .731 across his last two games, evidence he’s an efficient scoring option when afforded freedom to shoot from beyond the arc. With the Heat’s backcourt likely depleted again this evening against Toronto, Strus could serve an important offensive role and is still a free agent in more than 98% of leagues.
Spencer Dinwiddie, Washington Wizards: Whenever Beal is off the floor, Dinwiddie has seen team-high leaps in usage rate and fantasy points per minute.
Gary Trent Jr., Toronto Raptors: One of the hottest scorers in the league at the moment, Trent sank a career-high nine 3-pointers last night and now has four consecutive 30-point performances. Trent could excel against a depleted Miami rotation tonight.