The Big Numbers section in today’s Dose is insane.  Russell Westbrook’s pinball breaking machine line was only the third best line of the night if we ignore the turnovers, because Hassanity rules and Stephen Curry dribbles a basketball like it’s a yo-yo. 

So while there weren’t a bunch of buzzer beaters nobody got hurt and everybody’s stat trackers probably made them feel good about their teams.  We have a lot of ground to cover in the Breakdown, which will be released later today, so we’re going to get right to the highlights here in the Dose. 

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THE BIG NUMBERS

Editor’s Note: Playing FanDuel NBA games tonight? Be sure to incorporate Vegas odds and lines in your research. They’re one of the most underrated daily fantasy tools. Learn more in this RotoGrinders lesson on “How to use Vegas odds to your advantage in daily fantasy NBA.“

BUSTED

INJURIES

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left last night’s game due to a sore right Achilles’ injury but he was seen throughout the game trying to work out whatever the issue is.  This seems like a day-to-day injury right now but it forced Jodie Meeks to join the party, and Meeks showed small signs of life with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting (2-of-7 3PTs), five assists and a steal in 30 minutes of action. 

We talked about Meeks yesterday and I said I was giving him the rest of the week without considering a drop, so this news definitely helps him and probably buys him another dud along the way.  Plainly put, he has flashed mid-round upside in the past and the Pistons are one D.J. Augustin injury away from working him as a combo guard like the Lakers did.  Absent that, his value is completely tied up in his field goal percentage. 

Meeks is hitting just 39.3 percent from the field this season after hitting 46.3 percent in 77 games last year for the Lakers.  Last year represented a relative outlier in his percentage, and it was buoyed by strong 2-point percentages (51.3%).  This year he’s struggling in that area (43.1%) and it’s a sign that whether it’s chicken or egg, the Pistons need him to get some easier looks.  The 32.7 percent 3-point shooting is statistically probable to come around. 

Ian Mahinmi suffered what looked like a bad sprain and left last night’s game in a wheelchair.  Roy Hibbert’s minutes are limited by his own issues, and Mahinmi’s minutes will get spread around without any real beneficiary. 

Knock on wood – we had a really light night for injuries.  So here’s the bigger injury news from throughout the day.

Rajon Rondo is probably looking at surgery on his face, though there was some confusion over the issue yesterday, and it sounds like they’re waiting for the swelling to go down before they make a final assessment.  Devin Harris (8 points, seven assists, two threes, 21 minutes) reportedly came into the game with no limitations after being questionable with a leg/ankle injury, but a few trips to the ground showed he’s just as brittle as ever. 

J.J. Barea started and played 28 minutes, which might have been augmented because his quickness is a good fit against Steph Curry.  Barea scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting (including two threes) with four rebounds, five assists and no defensive stats.  His fantasy stat set is so bad that I wouldn’t be against blacklisting him in standard formats, but I suppose he could rip off a few good shooting nights and bring it all together if Rondo ends up being week-to-week. 

Jordan Hill (strained hip flexor) is not expected to return until mid-February according to the most recent report, which was the same as the report prior to that which had him out for a couple of weeks.  I’ll have plenty to say about the Lakers both here and in the Breakdown later today. 

Ersan Ilyasova (groin) and Zaza Pachulia (calf) did not play last night and the Bucks all of a sudden have a sweet fantasy rotation.  Giannis Antetokounmpo (42 minutes, 25 points, six rebounds, one steal, two blocks, 5-of-5 FTs) and John Henson (38 minutes, nine points, seven rebounds, one steal, four blocks) beat up on the lowly Lakers, and while Alphabet is a must-own player the rest of the way Henson also has that status right now.  Ilyasova and Pachulia will eventually come back and complicate things, and so could Larry Sanders for that matter, but Henson and Antetokounmpo are the guys they want on the floor for development purposes. 

James Johnson (hamstring) did not play last night and the team hasn’t released the results of an MRI, which means we could see more of Terrence Ross after his 23-point, five-triple night.  Johnson’s potential absence won’t ease the pressure on the wing rotation like DeMar DeRozan’s absence did, but it gives guys like Ross a little bit margin for error where they previously had none.  Lou Williams (four points, two assists, 1-of-11 FGs) has been a late-round value all year and he gets helped a bit here, while both Ross and Greivis Vasquez (five points, one assist, 21 minutes) haven’t been worth owning lately. 

For more injury news check out our injury page.

WELCOME BACK

Nick Young returned to action following an ankle injury augmented by some time in Byron Scott’s three-story doghouse.  He scored 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting with two threes and just three rebounds to round out his line, which meant that the 5-of-12 and 4-of-7 shooting from the field and line was enough to make this a dud.  Scott called out Young’s defense and that’s no surprise, but the natives are restless in L.A. and I don’t blame them – having their feet held to the fire when Kobe had the run of the yard probably doesn’t ring true.  And a hard line coach in a rebuilding situation with a bunch of (mediocre) veterans that know management is tanking is a bad mix.  

Brandon Knight missed just one game due to his quad injury but it was a quiet night on the injury front, so we’ll give him a tip of the cap.  He scored 24 points with seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal and four 3-pointers, and as I said in the Big Numbers I wouldn’t be surprised to see him named as an injury replacement for Dwyane Wade in the All Star game.  His return puts a dent in Jerryd Bayless’ (four points, three rebounds, two assists, 22 minutes) value, and I’m moving him down into a 14-16 team valuation in standard leagues. 

PICKUPS

I’ve fallen into the Al-Farouq Aminu trap before but I think we have to be both skeptical of his recent numbers and also respectful of the fact that he’s in a new situation with Dallas.  They need his physical attributes as a dirty work guy, especially now that Brandan Wright is gone.  Aminu scored 12 points with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and a three in 28 minutes of action.  He has been producing at an early round level over the last two weeks and a top-75 level this past month, with averages of 0.5 threes, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks over his last 14 games. 

I should point out that Rajon Rondo’s absence only exasperates the need to have Aminu on the floor, and Chandler Parsons has also missed time during his heater.  There’s certainly risk to making a big bet on Aminu, but one can’t argue with those numbers and he’s a recommended add unless you’re stacked.  He’s 1-2 good games from must-own status in standards. 

Elfrid Payton hit a rough patch shooting the ball and got back on track last night, hitting 6-of-8 shots for 14 points, six rebounds, nine assists and one steal.  I wasn’t on board with a drop and naturally I think he should be added if he was dropped. 

O.J. Mayo scored 21 points with two rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block against the Lakers last night.  Yes, they’re the Lakers, but Mayo now has top 60-70 value over the last month with averages of 13.6 points, 2.1 threes, 3.0 boards, and 3.1 assists on 49 percent shooting.  The shooting will eventually come back to Earth, though anytime he has been ‘good’ in fantasy leagues he has been a 45 percent guy (when ‘bad’ it’s 40 percent).  Players could return and cut into his margin for error.  The hope here is that he lands somewhere in the top 100-125 range in his current role so plan accordingly. 

Mario Chalmers played well last night with 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal while leaving briefly due to a shin injury, which doesn’t appear to be serious.  I made myself clear in yesterday’s Dose that I’m not dropping him and needless to say last night was a small step in the right direction. 

THE MIDDLE

As mentioned, the Lakers are fantasy chaos so I’m going to (try and fail to be) quick here and probably expand a bit in the Dose.  Jeremy Lin should be a valuable asset in any real world but that’s not going to be for sure, and owners probably won’t feel good about their add/drop decision until hindsight has fully kicked in.  Lin scored 11 points on 2-of-12 shooting with three rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block and one three in 30 minutes. 

Jordan Clarkson disappeared with two points on free throws, two boards and three assists in 23 minutes.  He has earned at least one dud as a rookie that should start for the next two weeks or so, at least.  I’m not betting anything significant that Clarkson will be able to navigate this mess if we assume his competition doesn’t get hurt.  He’ll have a chance though and that’s why he’s worth owning. 

Ed Davis should be in the ‘add’ section after his 20-rebound night including seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, three assists and one block.  Davis played 33 minutes and with Jordan Hill out for about two weeks at least the window is there, but even so the chance that Byron Scott messes this up is real.  Davis’ stat set isn’t so great that it can withstand lower minute or utilization totals, either.  More times than not I’m making this add in a competitive 12-team league, though.  

Carlos Boozer went for 28 and nine with four assists in 37 minutes and he’s probably going to be worth owning while Hill is out.  But with little long-term upside and plenty of holes in his fantasy game, owners need to make this add with the expectation the ride will end whenever Hill returns. 

Evan Fournier got a start last night after Aaron Gordon’s foot injury acted up again, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting (including two threes) with two rebounds, six assists and two steals in 32 minutes.  I’ll be blunt – I don’t trust anything in Orlando right now.  Jacque Vaughn looks like he’s in over his head, the rotations are a mess, guys look lost at times, and effort has been a question mark since Christmas.  So you’re adding Fournier at your own risk.  Check the Breakdown later today for the rest of the mess. 

Terrence Jones played just 14 minutes last night with four points, one assist, one steal and two blocks, which is a great per-minute line and in general it’s way too soon to be evaluating him harshly.  With Dwight Howard out for a month or more, each of Jones, Josh Smith and Donatas Motiejunas are must-own guys for the duration. 

Mo Williams went for 10 and 10 with one steal and two threes in 25 minutes off the bench last night.  He’ll be capable of holding down late-round value while he’s healthy but there are enough question marks even before we get to the what-ifs on Zach LaVine, so cutting him for a hot free agent can be done pretty liberally. 

DROPS

I’ll be hanging on to Joe Ingles through this weekend so I don’t drop at a low point, but after a four-point, one rebound, two-assist night in 20 minutes I wouldn’t blame anybody for cutting the relatively unknown quantity.  I like his versatile stat set but as I’ve said for a week now he hasn’t ever produced that way.  I think he can buck that trend as a glue guy for the Jazz, but it wouldn’t be shocking if last week was his high water mark either. 

I’ve been sure to point out the late-roundish valuations for Courtney Lee (two points, five boards, one steal, 29 minutes) and Tony Allen (hamstring, ankle, two points, one steal, one block, 24 minutes) for much of the year.  And especially in the case of Lee, they both have fantasy friendly games that can take off with just a little bit of a hot streak.  But now that Jeff Green (13 points, four assists, one steal, one block, one three, 21 minutes) has arrived I am pretty much ambivalent to the add/drop discussion.  He takes away just enough upside to tarnish the late-round valuations, making the swings in value something for owners to avoid if they’re looking at any viable free agent. 

As for Green, the money counting stats tonight kept him from falling below the cut line in 12-team, 8-cat leagues since arriving in Memphis.  If you see a solid late-round value on the wire go ahead and make the move.  In 9-cat leagues he has been a solid top-100 guy so make sure you will want to be a bit more picky. 

Dion Waiters had one of the worst fantasy lines of the night in 9-cat leagues, scoring 12 points on 6-of-14 shooting (0-for-2 3PTs, 0-for-2 FTs) with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and four turnovers.  When you’re not getting it done in the other eight categories the four TOs can cost you dearly when measure just one night of hoops, but by just about any sample we take he’s hands off in standard leagues.  He’s returning top 200-250 value these days and you might as well start an injured player. 

Nikola Pekovic scored 13 points with four rebounds and said he’s still feeling pain in his ankles.  In a 12-team league, I’m fine with an owner not wanting to deal with that.