Fantasy NBA Daily Notes: Can you rely on Josh Jackson with Derrick Rose out of Detroit?
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Jackson pulled eight rebounds and dished four assists in a loss to the Pacers on Thursday and has averaged nine combined boards and dimes during the last six games for Detroit, all off the bench. With Derrick Rose’s high-usage game in New York, Jackson now claims rewarding freedom to score and create for the Pistons off the pine. Rostered in just 29% of ESPN leagues, go acquire Jackson in all but truly shallow fantasy formats.
It isn’t just Jackson who is flashing value in Motown, as rookie Isaiah Stewart was stellar in his first career start on Thursday. The low-post bruiser produced 17 points on nine shots in 31 minutes of action. Stewart, the 16th pick in this past November’s draft, started due to an injury to Mason Plumlee, but the impressive performance suggests the rookie could become relevant for fantasy purposes whenever his veteran peer is ailing.
Highlights
Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat: 27 points (8-18 FG), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 TO
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 40 points (14-26 FG, 10-19 3FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
Lowlights
Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons: 9 points (4-17 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 TO
Victor Oladipo, Houston Rockets: 6 points (2-6 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Another shooting show from Curry netted him his third 40-point game of the season, tying him with Bradley Beal for the most in the NBA. It was also Curry’s 17th career game with 10 3-pointers, giving him more than the next five players on the list combined (16). Curry has now scored 25 points on 50% shooting in eight straight games, tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the longest streak by a Warriors player in the shot clock era.
Butler was brilliant in recording the sixth triple-double of his Miami career, as he willed his team to victory in Houston. Butler passed Dwyane Wade for the second-most triple-doubles in Heat history, with only LeBron James and his 14 such performances ranking higher. Butler has now recorded at least eight rebounds and eight assists in five straight games, passing James for the longest streak in Heat history. One key flaw in Butler’s fantasy profile is that he’s just one of 17 from 3-point range this season.
Dwayne Bacon is cooking for Orlando of late. The Florida State product has been thrust into a larger role due to a series of injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, and the wing has capably responded. Bacon scored 20 points last night in a loss to the Warriors. Evan Fournier has dealt with back spasms for much of the season and could be a major trade target around the league, given his expiring contract and efficient scoring profile, making Bacon an intriguing target for those in deeper fantasy formats.
The Pacers got another solid game from T.J. McConnell, with the backup guard tallying 13 combined assists and rebounds to go with two steals in 31 minutes of action. McConnell — who is rostered in 25.8% of ESPN leagues — has averaged eight dimes the past seven days and is ranked first in the entire NBA in steal percentage on the season.
Both Mike Conley Jr. and Jrue Holiday will miss tonight’s matchup between the Jazz and Bucks. Donte DiVincenzo could serve a larger creation role for Milwaukee, while Utah’s Joe Ingles makes for a savvy addition given an uptick in distribution duties.
Toronto’s OG Anunoby missed his ninth straight game on Thursday due to a lingering calf injury. One bit of positive news is that the team expects Anunoby back on the court on Sunday.
Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell will miss a second straight game on Friday as he battles a sore leg. Point guard Ricky Rubio becomes a solid streaming source for assists.
Charlotte’s Devonte’ Graham is listed as questionable due to a groin injury. If Graham is active, it will be interesting to see if LaMelo Ball continues to start and just how this Hornets rotation plays out.
Beal will miss tonight’s matchup against the Knicks due to scheduled rest. Missing the league’s leading scorer greatly changes the workload throughout Washington’s rotation. Not only does Russell Westbrook become a DFS building block this evening, given his usage rate spikes by 9.2% with Beal off the floor, but center Alex Len enjoys roughly 20 more DraftKings points per 36 minutes in such scenarios. Len is a low-floor option in daily and redraft fantasy formats but merits some attention, given these rewarding splits.
The Thunder will be without George Hill, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Theo Maledon this evening against the Nuggets. This means Hamidou Diallo should thrive in a large role for Oklahoma City. After all, Diallo has slashed for 16.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.0 APG and 1.8 combined steals and blocks per game the past seven days as a key playmaker for the team.