Friday was sure to be an interesting evening after a topsy-turvy Thursday in which a boatload of trades were completed. While he fantasy impact has yet to fully sink in, there were a few interesting performances surrounding the trade deadline fallout. Alex Len and Langston Galloway made their names well known while LeBron James and James Harden reminded everyone who the top dogs are. But DeMarcus Cousins may have had the most talked about performance of the night. Let’s dive right in.  

The King of Sac-town

DeMarcus Cousins turned the ball over nine times on Friday. It was a classic Cousins maneuver as he’s averaging over four per game this season. But he also did some other classic Cousins things like score 31 points and pull down 15 rebounds. He shot a fantastic 12-18 from the field and had two steals and one block. Cousins wasn’t the only King to make an impact. Teammate Rudy Gay notched 28 points with five boards, four assists, and three steals. He added a pair of triples and was a huge factor in the victory over Boston.

Speaking of Boston, Avery Bradley and Tyler Zeller combined for 50 points and 12 dimes. Isaiah Thomas was inactive and it will be interesting to see how he factors into the Celtics rotation. If he comes off the bench, Bradley and Marcus Smart will continue to start but if Thomas supplanted either in the starting lineup that will certainly takes some getting used to.  

Galloway plays well in Anthony’s absence

With Carmelo Anthony done for the remainder of the season, Langston Galloway likely has a starting gig locked up. He played well on Friday against the Heat, scoring a team-high 19 points with three triples. The forward had a string of nice games in January and should be a nice low end option the rest of the way. For Miami, Udonis Haslem started in place of Chris Bosh and had 13 points and five boards. Bosh is likely out the rest of the way as well so Haslem could be a low end option for boards.

Cavs route Wiz behind LeBron and Kyrie

All three of the Cavaliers standouts played just around 30 minutes on Friday as they easily handled Washington. LeBron James led the way with 28 points, five boards, six assists, and three triples. Kyrie Irving had 25 points and seven assists and made it look effortless. Kevin Love was a bit of a letdown, scoring just eight points with six boards and three steals. Unfortunately, Love seems to be the odd man out for often than not from a fantasy perspective and that likely won’t change much the rest of the way.

Harden and Curry do their thing

The Mavericks bested the Rockets on Friday thanks to an overall team effort which saw eight players scored in double figures. However, the fantasy story of the game was James Harden, who scored 26 points with seven boards, five assists, two steals, and three triples. Yes, he turned it over six times but overall that’s a top flight fantasy line from one of the best in the game. Plus, on a night where so many players were inactive due to the swirling trade activity on Thursday, it was nice to see a normal line like Harden’s.

Further out west, Stephen Curry scored 25 points with 11 assists and four steals. He added four triples in what was a standard great line from Curry. Teammate Klay Thompson chipped in 20 of his own.

Davis returns with a mediocre performance

Anthony Davis returned after a two week absence and had an okay game, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds. The good news is that he looked healthy and played over 38 minutes. The bad news is that he shot just 5-15 from the field. Having said that, this is Anthony Davis and he should be back to his dominating ways sooner rather than later.

Friday was sure to be an interesting evening after a topsy-turvy Thursday in which a boatload of trades were completed. While he fantasy impact has yet to fully sink in, there were a few interesting performances surrounding the trade deadline fallout. Alex Len and Langston Galloway made their names well known while LeBron James and James Harden reminded everyone who the top dogs are. But DeMarcus Cousins may have had the most talked about performance of the night. Let’s dive right in.  

The King of Sac-town

DeMarcus Cousins turned the ball over nine times on Friday. It was a classic Cousins maneuver as he’s averaging over four per game this season. But he also did some other classic Cousins things like score 31 points and pull down 15 rebounds. He shot a fantastic 12-18 from the field and had two steals and one block. Cousins wasn’t the only King to make an impact. Teammate Rudy Gay notched 28 points with five boards, four assists, and three steals. He added a pair of triples and was a huge factor in the victory over Boston.

Speaking of Boston, Avery Bradley and Tyler Zeller combined for 50 points and 12 dimes. Isaiah Thomas was inactive and it will be interesting to see how he factors into the Celtics rotation. If he comes off the bench, Bradley and Marcus Smart will continue to start but if Thomas supplanted either in the starting lineup that will certainly takes some getting used to.  

Galloway plays well in Anthony’s absence

With Carmelo Anthony done for the remainder of the season, Langston Galloway likely has a starting gig locked up. He played well on Friday against the Heat, scoring a team-high 19 points with three triples. The forward had a string of nice games in January and should be a nice low end option the rest of the way. For Miami, Udonis Haslem started in place of Chris Bosh and had 13 points and five boards. Bosh is likely out the rest of the way as well so Haslem could be a low end option for boards.

Cavs route Wiz behind LeBron and Kyrie

All three of the Cavaliers standouts played just around 30 minutes on Friday as they easily handled Washington. LeBron James led the way with 28 points, five boards, six assists, and three triples. Kyrie Irving had 25 points and seven assists and made it look effortless. Kevin Love was a bit of a letdown, scoring just eight points with six boards and three steals. Unfortunately, Love seems to be the odd man out for often than not from a fantasy perspective and that likely won’t change much the rest of the way.

Harden and Curry do their thing

The Mavericks bested the Rockets on Friday thanks to an overall team effort which saw eight players scored in double figures. However, the fantasy story of the game was James Harden, who scored 26 points with seven boards, five assists, two steals, and three triples. Yes, he turned it over six times but overall that’s a top flight fantasy line from one of the best in the game. Plus, on a night where so many players were inactive due to the swirling trade activity on Thursday, it was nice to see a normal line like Harden’s.

Further out west, Stephen Curry scored 25 points with 11 assists and four steals. He added four triples in what was a standard great line from Curry. Teammate Klay Thompson chipped in 20 of his own.

Davis returns with a mediocre performance

Anthony Davis returned after a two week absence and had an okay game, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds. The good news is that he looked healthy and played over 38 minutes. The bad news is that he shot just 5-15 from the field. Having said that, this is Anthony Davis and he should be back to his dominating ways sooner rather than later.

Stuckey goes big and then gets hurt

Rodney Stuckey came off the bench for a season-high 30 points on Friday, shooting 10-16 from the field with two triples before exiting with an ankle injury. Stuckey was unstoppable until he came down awkwardly and hurt his left ankle. He had to be helped off the court and he’ll likely miss some time. On the other side of the floor Nerlens Noel had a tremendous game, scoring 12 points with nine boards and nine blocks. Noel was on fire and was dominant against Roy Hibbert, who only scored eight points and seven boards in just over 20 minutes of action. Tim Frazier, the point guard who the Sixers recently inked to a 10-day contract, started and scored 13 points and seven assists in over 32 minutes. The departure of Michael Carter-Williams has left a gaping hole at point guard and Frazier might be a sneaky option going forward however, Isaiah Canaan is probably the favorite to win the starting job.

Williams starts and looks great

With Jarrett Jack out, Deron Williams drew the start on Friday and was quite productive, scoring 12 points with 15 assists. It was his first double-double in over two months, which is a real indication on how far Williams has fallen this season. Jack was the subject of trade rumors but was ultimately kept by the Nets. It will be interesting to see who plays the majority of minutes at point guard once he returns.

The Butler did it

Jimmy Butler exploded for 30 points on Friday against Detroit. He added five boards, five assists, and three triples to round out a fantastic fantasy line. It was a business as usual from Butler, who continued his breakout campaign. However, his great performance wasn’t the only one of the night. Andre Drummond put up 18 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Pistons to the win. It was Drummond’s sixth 20 rebound effort this season and for fantasy owners, he’s certainly been an anchor in that category. Caron Butler actually started for the Pistons and put up 20 points but it’s a bit murky as to if he’ll stick in the starting lineup. Tayshaun Prince could take his spot and neither makes for a great fantasy option.   

Wolves backcourt gets hot

Ricky Rubio nearly notched a triple-double and Kevin Martin was on fire as the T-Wolves held off the Suns on Friday. Rubio put up 10 points, 14 assists, and eight boards. Despite shooting just 2-10 from the field, the point guard’s line was still top notch. Add that to the fact that he only turned the ball over three times and this was a nice outing. Many of his dimes went to Martin, who shot a blistering 10-16 from the field on his way to 28 points and six boards. Martin’s hot streak carried over from the All-Star break and he’s now notched over 20 points in five of his last six games.

Len and Markieff step up

Despite the loss, Suns big man Alex Len had a breakout game. He played a season-high 35 minutes on Friday, notching a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The center added six blocks to complete his best line of the season. Len’s upside is for real so he should be owned across the board. Frontcourt mate Markieff Morris blew up for 31 points with a smattering of additional stats. It was Morris’ highest scoring output since early January so this was a nice treat for owners.