Fantasy NBA Daily Notes: Minnesota’s top pick coming of age
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It’s not just scoring that makes Edwards so helpful in fantasy, as he also tallied three blocks and three steals last night. He has now registered at least one steal in 16 straight games. Empowered by his new head coach to close out games and with rare freedom to create his own shot in Minnesota, Edwards could become a fantasy star as early as next season.
Also in the contest, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels was again productive in a starting role next to Karl-Anthony Towns. The young forward scored 18 points and trailed only Towns for minutes played in the win over the Knicks. You can find McDaniels in free agency in more than 90% of ESPN leagues.
Highlights
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: 45 points (17-24 FG), 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks: 28 points (11-16 FG), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
Lowlights
Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers: 7 points (2-12 FG), 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Josh Jackson, Detroit Pistons: 0 points (0-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Booker put up a season-best scoring performance in his sixth career 45-point game — the most in Suns history. Booker also became just the fourth player in Suns history to score 45-plus points on 70% FG efficiency, joining Shaquille O’Neal, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tony Delk.
Oklahoma City’s roster is a very interesting resource for fantasy managers. The team won’t play Al Horford the rest of the way, allowing Moses Brown (who produced 20 points and 12 boards last night) to start and play a large role for the Thunder. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined by injury, it’s time to add Theo Maledon from free agency. In the win over the Raptors last night, Maledon produced 13 combined assists and rebounds.
Playing opposite of Maledon last night was Gary Trent Jr., who tallied a career-high 31 points in the loss. The sharpshooter was acquired from Portland in the Norman Powell trade and should have some value as a shooting specialist to finish out the season.
Andre Drummond made his Lakers debut on Wednesday, but registered just four points and a single rebound in 14 minutes of play. Drummond left the game in the third quarter due to a toe injury, but it isn’t considered serious. It would be nice to see a larger role for Drummond over the next few games.
Toronto’s Kyle Lowry is expected to miss roughly 10 days of action due to a foot injury.
Charlotte’s Malik Monk is listed as probable to play tonight. Monk has been an electrifying bench scorer in the wake of LaMelo Ball’s injury.
Washington’s Bradley Beal is questionable to play against the Pistons in Detroit tonight due to a hip contusion.
Joel Embiid will miss Philadelphia’s game in Cleveland tonight, but it looks like a return to action this Saturday at home against Minnesota is possible.
Atlanta has ruled out John Collins for tonight’s game in San Antonio. Danilo Gallinari should see plenty of minutes and touches as a result.
Patrick Beverley, Paul George, and Serge Ibaka of the Clippers will all miss tonight’s matchup with the visiting Nuggets. With this veteran trio off the floor this season, combo guard Reggie Jackson has enjoyed the largest leap in usage — a spike of 7.7%. In addition to streaming shares of Jackson, take a look at Terance Mann. The guard has become a bankable bench scorer in recent games. For the season, he has averaged 8.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists (per 36 minutes) with those three teammates off the court.
The Miami Heat expect Victor Oladipo to make his debut tonight against the Warriors. It will be riveting to see how coach Erik Spoelstra leverages Oladipo and manages his new-look rotation.