Fantasy NBA Daily Notes: Eric Gordon lights it up
Gordon impressively needed only 22 shots from the floor to become the first player in NBA history to go more than a decade between 40-point performances, as his last such outing came on January 23, 2009. Gordon also became the only Rockets player not named Hakeem Olajuwon or James Harden to ever score 50 for the franchise.
I’ve been championing Gordon as a top fantasy free-agent acquisition since his return from injury earlier this month, and even as he’s grown increasingly popular with each strong scoring performance, it’s funny that he scored more points last night than the percentage of ESPN leagues that he’s currently rostered (41.1%).
Whenever Harden or Westbrook are sidelined, Gordon is a top scoring option, but even with his superstar peers on the floor, he’s still one of the top shooting specialists in all of fantasy hoops.
Highlights
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets: 50 points (14-22 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO
Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings: 42 points (14-24 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 TO
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves: 36 points (13-21 FG), 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 TO
Lowlights
Jarrett Culver, Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 points (2-7 FG), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1TO
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs: 2 points (1-4 FG), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO
Terrence Ross, Orlando Magic: 11 points (4-14 FG), 3 rebounds
The Kings trailed by as many as 27 points to the Wolves on Monday evening and were down by 17 points with 2:49 left in the final quarter. Since 1996-97, the first year of play-by-play data, NBA teams entered the day 0-8,378 when trailing by 17 or more in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime. Hield’s 42 points off the bench helped the Kings mount the historic comeback win for the Kings, as his 20 points on perfect shooting in the fourth quarter made him just the second player in the past 20 seasons with a 20-point fourth quarter while shooting 100% from the field in a game his team overcame a 25-point deficit. The other is Kobe Bryant, who had 21 points while making all eight of his shots from the floor in the fourth quarter on Dec. 6, 2002. The Lakers overcame a 30-point deficit against the Mavericks that night, with Bryant hitting the game-winner with 8.4 seconds left.
It wasn’t just Hield going off for the Kings, as stretch forward Nemanja Bjelica tallied an awesome line that included 20 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in the historic comeback for Sacramento. Bjelica is still a free agent in nearly a quarter of ESPN leagues.
The Bulls’ depleted frontcourt means veteran Thaddeus Young will see plenty of run in the weeks ahead. Last night saw Young net 13 points and nine rebounds in an impressive showing against the Spurs. Sticking in Chicago, Kris Dunn produced a strong line that included 10 points and 14 combined rebounds and assists to go with three swipes, as he remains the league leader in steal percentage. Dunn is eligible at both point guard and small forward in ESPN leagues.
The 76ers’ Joel Embiid is listed as questionable for tonight’s home tilt against the Warriors. It’s unclear if the team will clear Embiid against a subpar opponent, given a difficult looming road trip, but it’s a good sign either way that we’ll be seeing the big man back in the lineup soon. If Embiid remains out, Matisse Thybulle can be expected to start and continue to flex his amazing defensive rates.
It’s worth seeing if Bruno Fernando can go tonight for the Hawks, as the rookie big man is questionable with a calf strain, while fellow center Alex Len has already been ruled out. Jabari Parker will miss the game for the Hawks, leaving Cam Reddish with increased fantasy utility as the team’s scoring microwave off the pine.
Enes Kanter is out for the Celtics tonight in Miami, while Jayson Tatum is considered doubtful.
Denver has listed both Jamal Murray and Paul Millsap as out with respective injuries for tonight’s game in Memphis, making Malik Beasley and Jerami Grant strong streaming options.
With Tatum and Kanter both likely out of the Celtics’ rotation tonight, we can dig into what the analytics tell us about reading the team’s rotation. For one, Marcus Smart becomes a great streaming and DFS target, given an uptick of nearly two percent in usage rate sans both from the floor. We can also build lineups around Kemba Walker, as he enjoys a team-high five percent surge in usage rate sans these two teammates from the rotation.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo impressively recorded his third career triple-double on Monday, all of which have come this season. The key fantasy takeaway from the Heat’s victory over the Magic, however, is the continued strong play of Duncan Robinson, as the second-year wing out of Michigan tallied 21 points, thanks to sinking six 3-pointers, extending his streak of making at least four 3-pointers to six games, the longest streak in franchise history and the longest streak by a first- or second-year player in NBA history.
It’s worth noting Robinson is a free agent in nearly 80% of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday morning and gets a meeting tonight with a depleted Boston roster missing Tatum’s perimeter defense from the fold.