One of the most underrated archetypes in fantasy basketball is the player who can do a little bit of everything. The Portland Trail Blazers‘ Josh Hart is one of these jack of all trades; capable of building out solid rebounding, scoring, passing, and defensive production in any given game.
In last night’s upset win of the Milwaukee Bucks, Hart posted 27 points to go with 12 combined assist and rebounds. Dealt to Portland last week in the CJ McCollum blockbuster, Hart is enjoying a leap as a scorer with his new team, averaging 25 points in his first two games. In a rewarding role in Chauncey Billups’ rotation, Hart is one of the best waiver additions to make this week.
Joining Hart in filling up the hoop last night was Anfernee Simons, who has now scored at least 30 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career. Thriving as the centerpiece of Portland’s offense, rush to make room for Simons in all formats.
Highlights
Bruce Brown, Brooklyn Nets: 19 points (8-12 FG), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks
Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder: 28 points (11-22 FG), 11 rebounds, 12 assists
Lowlights
Gary Trent Jr., Toronto Raptors: 6 points (2-15 FG), 1 rebound, 1 turnover
Monday takeaways
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Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double in consecutive games. Giddey has regularly cruised past props for combined rebounds and assists in recent outings thanks to being tasked with orchestrating Oklahoma City’s offense. Tre Mann joined Giddey in putting on a show in MSG last night, setting a new career high with 30 points. This scoring outburst is likely an outlier, but Mann is now on our radar.
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While unrelated, Terance Mann has been productive for the Clippers lately. The two-way wing posted 25 points in a win over the Warriors last night and now has consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career.
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New York’s Quentin Grimes is one of the rare positive stories for the Knicks this season. The rookie shooting guard produced 19 points and played 40 minutes in the overtime loss to the Thunder. New York’s Mitchell Robinson delivered a huge line in the loss and is likely one of the best widely available centers at the moment.
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Brooklyn debuted Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in stopping the team’s losing streak last night. Curry made 10 shots, tied for his second-most in a game this season, while Drummond finished one board shy of a double-double. With more shooting and scoring coming back to the rotation soon, I’m less intrigued by Curry and more interested in shares of Drummond, who could become an elite rebounding force right away in this new role.
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Seth Curry shows off his vision with a nice dish to Andre Drummond, who finishes with a dunk.
Injuries of note
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Toronto’s Fred VanVleet left last night’s loss to the Pelicans due to a knee injury. We’ll learn more about his status ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Minnesota.
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The 76ers won’t have James Harden in the lineup until after the All-Star break. Tyrese Maxey should continue to thrive as the team’s top perimeter creator until then.
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Atlanta won’t have John Collins in the lineup against the Cavaliers tonight due to a foot strain.
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Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable to play for the Heat against the Mavericks due to a shoulder strain. Tyler Herro has been ruled out due to a knee contusion.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
With Caris LeVert in Cleveland and Chris Duarte injured, there’s a real opportunity for veteran wing Lance Stephenson to provide value as both a streaming option in redraft formats and as a bargain at just $4,000 on DraftKings.
Stephenson has consumed a usage rate of at least 28% in three of his last five outings and has topped 31 minutes in two of his last three, helpful indicators of value. I’m also intrigued by Indiana’s Oshae Brissett, who is rostered in just 9.4% of leagues and yet has posted consecutive double-doubles with helpful defensive rates.
DFS discussion
Clint Capela, Atlanta Hawks: With the Hawks prone to spacing the floor with smaller lineups when possible, Capela has endured fairly sizable dips in shots, rebounds, and blocks compared to last season. Tonight, however, Capela could get extended run facing Cleveland’s oversized frontcourt. With the potential to top 30 minutes and with Collins sidelined, Capela could also be a nice value for rebounding props.
Al Horford, Boston Celtics: Like with Capela, Horford could see more minutes and touches this evening due to the opponent. Even deep into his career, Horford is likely one of the better defenders in the league against Joel Embiid, aiding a projection around 30 DraftKings points this evening.
Source: www.espn.com