On Thursday, several of us discussed what the Phoenix Suns might look like with Devin Booker (groin) out. On Thursday, we got to see the first game action to help answer our speculation.
As expected, TJ Warren was the clear scoring focal point. He led the team with 23 points and took 20 shots (9-20 FG, 5-7 FT), while no other Sun took more than nine. Warren is somewhat shockingly available in 19.4 percent of leagues, and while he should have already been universally owned, he certainly deserves a roster spot while Booker is out.
Next up in the scoring pecking order was Greg Monroe (available in 63.9 percent of leagues), who started at center and scored 15 points (6-7 FG, 3-5 FT) with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal in 27 minutes. I postulated that the Suns would lean more heavily on Monroe in Booker's absence, because Monroe is their most natural scorer. That played out on Thursday, but keep in mind that the Suns have been changing their starting power forward and center on a regular basis for the past few weeks, and Tyson Chandler missed the game for personal reasons, so this may or may not be the start of a trend.
Third up was Tyler Ulis (available in 93.9 percent of leagues), who scored 13 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 FT) with 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 3-pointers but 5 TO in 34 minutes of action. Point guard was another point of contention in our discussion, as some believed Ulis would see the bump in production sans Booker while others thought it'd be Mike James who benefited. James did get his contract extension on Thursday, which was a personal win, but the Suns clearly gave Ulis the first opportunity, and he played reasonably well.
The final player of interest from Thursday was Josh Jackson (available in 83.1 percent of leagues), who replaced Booker in the starting lineup. Jackson produced 10 points (3-8 FG, 3-6 FT) with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a 3-pointer in 24 minutes before fouling out. Troy Daniels (available in 99.3 percent of leagues) actually got more minutes, scoring 10 points (2-6 FG, 4-4 FT) with 4 rebounds, 2 3-pointers and a steal in 28 minutes of action. They're likely to split time pretty evenly with Booker out, with the hot hand getting more run.
All told, while Warren is the Sun most likely to put up superstar numbers in Booker's absence, the Suns do have plenty of value players who could make solid stream or DFS options in the next few weeks.
Thursday recap
Box scores
Highlights:
Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers: 10 points (5-11 FG), 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals, 0 TO
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 33 points (11-17 FG, 9-10 FT), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks, 2 3-pointers, 1 steal, 4 TO
Markieff Morris, Washington Wizards: 21 points (8-12 FG, 3-3 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 3-pointers, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 TO
Chris Paul, Houston Rockets: 18 points (7-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 3-pointers, 1 block, 2 TO
Lowlights:
Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City Thunder: 11 points (5-20 FG, 1-4 FT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets: 5 points (2-6 FG, 0-1 FT), 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 TO, 5 PF, 19 minutes
Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz: 6 points (2-5 FG, 2-2 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5 TO, 28 minutes
Thursday takeaways
Ball's broken shot (and his loud father) gets him a lot of national criticism, but his all-around game is sick for a rookie. If you combined blocks/steals into one category, he would have flirted with a quadruple-double on Thursday, and his eight assists against zero turnovers were a big reason why the Lakers' offense looked so good and why Ball was a team-high +7 on a night the Lakers won by only three points. He set up Brandon Ingram (21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block) for the game-winning shot but was playing very well long before that play.
Once again, the line of the night in Philadelphia was a battle between Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid's volume scoring, near-triple-double and blocks edged out Simmons' actual triple-double -- 12 points (6-14 FG, 0-2 FT), 15 assists, 13 rebounds, 1 block, 4 TO -- but it was close. JJ Redick (available in 46.3 percent of leagues) and Jerryd Bayless (available in 98.3 percent of leagues) were also solid with double-digit scoring and multiple 3-pointers, though Bayless could lose value when Dario Saric (eye) returns and T.J. McConnell gets back up to speed.
Bradley Beal had another big scoring night with 34 points to lead the Wizards, but Morris (available in 63.2 percent of leagues) earned the highlight with a strong all-around effort as the secondary piece for the Wizards on Thursday. This was Morris' second game with 20-plus points and 10-plus combined rebounds/assists/blocks/steals in the last week, which is significant, as he has struggled overall in his slow return from the core muscle injury that delayed his start to the season.
I cautioned against using Paul on Thursday, with the rationale that the Jazz have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing point guards, and that their biggest weakness (do-everything/high-volume lead guards like Russell Westbrook and James Harden) didn't apply to Paul in his current role in Houston. However, what actually played out was that the Rockets' offense was so overpowering against even a strong Jazz unit that Harden and Paul were able to take turns leading their squad. Paul was active the entire game but earned a lot of his production in the second half as the game became a blowout and Harden took his foot off the accelerator.
Anthony had an awful shooting night on Thursday, which was compounded because the absence of Paul George allowed Anthony to shoot a lot without making many. Down the stretch of the game, it was Anthony and Steven Adams who seemed to take most of the shots, which left Westbrook quiet in the fourth. This could be a big reason why the Nets were able to outscore them by 10 points in the fourth and claim the five-point win.
Dinwiddie's volume was down on Thursday in large part because he was in foul trouble all game, managing only 19 minutes and five fouls on the night. His short night opened things up for Caris LeVert (available in 85.1 percent of leagues) to have a big game off the bench: 21 points (6-10 FG, 8-9 FT), 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 3-pointer, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 0 TO. LeVert has been playing well of late, averaging 14 points, 6 assists, 3.6 boards, 1.6 steals and 1.2 3-pointers in his past five games.
The Jazz lowlight could have gone to either of their bigs, with Derrick Favors -- 5 points (2-4 FG, 1-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist -- playing almost as poorly as Gobert. Gobert is still playing himself back into shape after his injury absence, and a game against the fast-paced Rockets wasn't ideal for him, but his 28 minutes were a good sign that he is improving physically. For Favors, this was his third straight weak game since Gobert returned, continuing his trend of struggling from the power forward slot next to Gobert after thriving as the substitute center while Gobert was out.
Injuries of note
Chandler missed Thursday's game for personal reasons. The Suns have been rotating their starting big man rotation for weeks anyway, but this absence may help Monroe (available in 64.8 percent of leagues) solidify a short-term hold on the spot. The Suns are lacking scoring with Booker on the shelf, and Monroe is the best scoring center on the roster. He had 15 points and five assists on Thursday, second on the team in both categories, and should continue to take advantage of any time that Chandler misses.
Analytics advantage for Friday
The Orlando Magic have allowed their opponents to generate the second-most assists per game and the 11th-most steals in the NBA this season. The Denver Nuggets have given up the fourth-most assists per game and the tenth-most steals, while also giving up the fifth-most 3-pointers on the third-highest 3-point percentage in the league. Thus, it shouldn't be surprising that they are both top six in the NBA in allowing the most fantasy points to opposing point guards, and since they are playing each other on Friday, all of the perimeter players on both teams make solid streaming/value play options.
Top players to watch tonight
DeMarcus Cousins is fresh off his second 40/20 game of the season, and on Friday he welcomes his former team, the Sacramento Kings, into town. Cousins' first 40/20 game of the season came on October 26, the last time that he faced the Kings. Anthony Davis didn't play in either of those 40/20 games, and he is questionable on Friday after missing the last three games with a left adductor strain.
Zach Randolph (available in 36.4 percent of leagues) has averaged 21.7 points, 10 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a steal in his past three games. With Willie Cauley-Stein expected to sit again with a back injury, Randolph should have free reign again on Friday.
