The Daily Dose: Dose: Smoove Rising
Game Played Week 14
4 Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIN, NYK, ORL, PHX, SAC, WAS
3 Games: BRK, CHI, IND, MEM, MIL, NOP, OKC, PHI, POR, SAS, TOR, UTA
Sunday Stars
Chandler Parsons scored a season-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting (6-of-9 from the line) during Sunday’s loss to the Rockets, adding six rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, five 3-pointers and just one turnover through 36 minutes of action. Parsons has shown steady signs of improvement all season long, with January’s averages of 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 three-pointers, 0.8 steals and 1.4 turnovers per game being his best month thus far. He’s been a mid-round guy during that span, and he has the potential to finish his post-break run as a top-30 asset. Congrats if you bought low during his painfully slow start.
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Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 29 points during Sunday’s comeback victory over the Mavs, to go with three boards, two assists, three steals and six 3-pointers (also a season-high). He’s been thriving as the starting power forward for the Rockets with Dwight Howard (ankle) on the sidelines, but in general, Ariza has been awesome through January with averages of 13.6 points, 2.7 three-pointers, 1.8 steals and just 0.7 turnovers per game, which has been good enough for third-round in 9-cat leagues. Ariza tends to be a slow starter, but he was a top-30 player after the All-Star break last season, and that looks to be where he’s headed yet again.
James Harden notched his second triple-double on Sunday, tallying 23 points (7-of-18 FGs, 6-of-6 FTs), 10 assists, 15 rebounds, three 3-pointers, two blocks and just two turnovers through 36 minutes of floor time. The two turnovers were an unexpected reward for 9-cat owners, as Harden currently leads the league in turnovers with 207 on the season, but that’s kind of something you just have to accept for a guy that is so involved in the offense. Not only does Harden lead the league in isolation plays, but his usage rate of 32.8 ranks third only behind Russell Westbrook (32.9) and DeMarcus Cousins (35.1).
Speaking of Russell Westbrook, he went to work against the Nets on Sunday, nearly earning a triple-double of his own with 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, one 3-pointer and three turnovers through 40 minutes of play. Kevin Durant joined the party, putting up 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, two treys, one block and an unfortunate five turnovers through 41 minutes of action, however the Herculean effort from the guys in OKC ultimately wasn’t enough to secure a win over the Nets. Luckily, in fantasy hoops, team wins are irrelevant and Mr. Durant and Mr. Westbrook sit amongst the top-5 in any setting.
Brook Lopez was one of the main reasons the Nets were able to pullout an upset over the Thunder Sunday night, as he produced a team-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting (9-of-10 from the line) to go with 10 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and just one turnover in 32 minutes. Big Brook is currently producing top-30 value on the year behind solid averages of 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 2.3 turnovers per game on 49.4 percent shooting from the field and 78.9 percent from the charity stripe. The coaching change in Brooklyn has had zero affect upon BroLo’s fantasy value, and as long as he can stay healthy, there are no indications that he won’t be able to continue to produce at this level. The Nets also don’t even have a draft pick next season, so while they’re well out of the playoff equation in the East with their 12-33 record, there really isn’t much incentive for them to “rest” Brook down the stretch in order to lose games. Lopez was one of the more annoying guys to own during his three-year stint of dealing with significant foot injuries, but he played in 72 games last year, and he’s only sat out one game this season. I feel like the injury-prone narrative has been a bit overblown with Brook, as the foot operation he underwent prior to the 2014-15 season has a very high success rate, and a lot of people forget that he didn’t miss a single game through the first three years of his career.
Chris Paul continued to his stat sheet stuffing ways during the Clippers loss to the Raptors on Sunday, tallying a team-high 23 points (9-of-17 FGs, 2-of-3 FTs), 11 assists, four rebounds, three 3-pointers, two steals, one block and four turnovers in 31 minutes. CP3 has been playing like a man possessed since Blake Griffin (quad) went down, owning a usage rate of 30.4 and an assist percentage of 55.1, and he’s been fantasy basketball’s No. 2 overall player through the month of January with averages of 21.3 points, 11.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 2.3 three-pointers and 3.2 turnovers per game on 48.1 percent shooting from the field and 82.9 percent from the line. Paul’s numbers will take a slight hit upon Griffin’s return,
Kyle Lowry led the Raptors to their eighth consecutive win on Sunday, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with six assists, four rebounds, three trey-bombs and three turnovers through 36 minutes of action. There’s not much left to say about Skinny K. Low who is having himself a career-year and has yet to dip below his top-6 ranking in fantasy hoops. With a draft day ADP of 26.1, he’s easily exceeding expectations, and those that took a risk on Lowry on draft day are probably doing very well in their league standings.
Robert Covington was a lone bright spot for the 76ers on Sunday, busting loose for 25 points on 6-of-15 shooting (6-of-13 from beyond the arc), to go with eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and four turnovers in 34 minutes. Covington runs hot-and-cold, but when he’s hot he produces statistics worthy of early-round status (and when he’s not, he’s basically a late-round asset). He’s hot right now, and should be considered a must-start player until he inevitably cools off.
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