Anthony Davis is one of the most electric players in the NBA when he's healthy, and he is an absolute fantasy feast on a nightly basis. On Tuesday, Davis turned in another monster stat line with 37 points (11-21 FG, 14-15 FT), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 3-pointer, 1 steal and only two turnovers. However, these numbers came in a 10-point loss.
This has been one of the problems in Davis' career, that his individual brilliance hasn't led to much team success for the Pelicans. ESPN just ran an article about how Davis is a prime trade target for this reason, as Davis is reportedly holding the Pelicans accountable for putting a cast around him that's good enough to win.
The question here, though, is whether the Pelicans lack talent or if it's more of a case that Davis and his supporting cast may just not mesh well together.
On Tuesday, the Pelicans were outscored by 13 points while Davis was on the court, which was worse than any other Pelicans starter, despite the fact that his own numbers looked stellar.
This question has definite fantasy ramifications, so let's take a quick look at what his cast has looked like with and without him of late. Davis has played in three straight games after returning from an adductor injury, and he missed three straight games with that injury earlier in the month. His teammates in those situations:
DeMarcus Cousins ' last three games with Davis: 27 points (9.0-16.7 FG, 6.3-8.3 FT), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 0.7 blocks, 0.3 steals, 6.7 TO
Cousins during Davis' absence (Dec. 2-6): 32.3 points (11.0-22.7 FG, 8.0-12.7 FT), 13.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.7 blocks, 1.7 steals, 5.0 TO
Jrue Holiday's last three games with Davis: 18 points (6.7-15.3 FG, 2-2.7 FT), 6.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 3.0 TO
Holiday during Davis' absence: 26 points (11-19.7 FG, 2-2.7 FT), 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.0 blocks, 2.0 TO
Rajon Rondo's last three games with Davis: 4.7 points (2-4.3 FG, 0-0 FT), 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, 2.0 TO
Rondo during Davis' absence: 11.0 points (4.7-8.3 FG, 0-0 FT), 9.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 1.3 blocks
E'Twaun Moore's last three games with Davis: 12.3 points (5.3-10.3 FG, 0.3-0.7 FT), 2.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 1.3 TO
Moore during Davis' absence: 20.0 points (7.3-11.7 FG, 1.0-1.7 FT), 1.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 2.3 TO
For these particular three-game stretches, the other Pelicans starters saw their offensive numbers fall across the board with Davis in the lineup, as opposed to when he was out. Obviously, there would be an expectation that Davis would absorb a lot of box score stats when he's on the court, but the reduction in teammate individual box score stats also appears to have come with a dropoff in team performance, as the Pelicans went 2-1 in those three games without Davis (including a win over the Denver Nuggets) while they've gone 1-2 during their past three games with him (including a loss to the Nuggets).
This is a tiny sample size -- too small for any real statistical analysis -- and it's also no indictment on Davis, as his +/- numbers this season are stellar, which indicates that he has a strong positive impact on the team.
However, it is worth noting that perhaps the Pelicans' supporting cast isn't lacking in talent, it may just be lacking in talent that meshes well with Davis. And if that's the case, the upcoming NBA trade season could be a very interesting one for the Pelicans and, by extension, fantasy managers with Pelicans on their teams.
Tuesday recap
Box scores
Highlights:
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: 39 points (14-22 FG, 5-5 FT), 7 assists, 6 3-pointers, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 7 TO
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 27 points (8-14 FG, 11-12 FT), 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 TO
Zach Randolph, Sacramento Kings: 27 points (12-19 FG, 2-4 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 3-pointer, 1 block, 3 TO
Mike Scott, Washington Wizards: 24 points (11-15 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 3-pointers, 1 assist, 1 TO
Lowlights:
Rajon Rondo, New Orleans Pelicans: 0 points (0-3 FG), 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 TO, 14 minutes
Bojan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings: 4 points (1-6 FG, 2-2 FT), 3 assists, 1 rebound, 2 TO
Tuesday takeaways
Tuesday's marquee matchup was another opportunity to watch two titans go heads up, with LeBron and Antetokounmpo arguably representing the best of their overlapping generations. The interesting dynamic on Tuesday night, though, was that the other Cavaliers had relatively tame stat lines (outside of a solid 21-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist effort from Kevin Love) while the Bucks got strong performances from several players, including usual suspects Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe but also role players Malcolm Brogdon (16 points, 4 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, available in 41.1 percent of leagues) and John Henson (15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, available in 90.9 percent of leagues). For one night only, Giannis was able to maximize himself and still leave room for his team to maximize, while LeBron had to carry the load more alone. Of course, we should revisit this once the Cavaliers get Isaiah Thomas back, which should be happening in the coming weeks.
Randolph just keeps scoring and producing in his expanded role on an otherwise poor Kings team. Randolph's quality play of late has led to speculation that he would make a good trade target for a better team that needs interior scoring. This could be worth keeping in mind, because if the veteran is sent to a better team, it would almost definitely decrease his fantasy potential.
The Wizards had a team full of strong performances on Tuesday, including six players in double-figure scoring and two players with double-doubles in Marcin Gortat (10 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists) and John Wall (18 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 3-pointers). Scott (available in 91.5 percent of leagues) earned the highlight spot because this marks three straight strong games with Otto Porter Jr. out. He has averaged 21.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 27 minutes off the bench during that stretch.
As described above, Rondo has been struggling since Davis returned. Tuesday marked the second time in his past three games that Rondo has played less than 20 minutes, which came immediately after a run of five double-doubles in six games. This inconsistency is what keeps Rondo from being a player who fantasy managers can rely upon.
Bogdanovic (available in 91.7 percent of leagues) entered Tuesday on a stretch of solid basketball, having averaged 13 points (51.4 FG%, 75 FT%), 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 3-pointers in his past four games. He got the start on Tuesday with George Hill out (strep throat) but completely laid an egg in that opportunity. Hill is expected to return on Wednesday, but De'Aaron Fox got injured on Tuesday, which could give Bogdanovic another expanded opportunity on Wednesday.
Injuries of note
Joel Embiid sat for the second straight game on Tuesday, still nursing a back injury. This was the second time in a row that Embiid sat out the first half of a back-to-back, only to then sit the second game as well. The injury is still not being treated as major, so consider Embiid day-to-day until more information comes out.
Fox left Tuesday's game in the first half with a quad injury, the same injury that caused him to miss Sunday's game. While it hasn't been officially announced, Fox would seem to be unlikely to play on Wednesday (of course, keep an eye out for his official status).
Analytics advantage for Wednesday
The two worst defenses in the NBA, according to team defensive rating, are in action on Wednesday. The Phoenix Suns have allowed a league-worst 111.4 points per 100 possessions, while the Kings have allowed 111.2 points per 100 possessions.
The Suns and the Brooklyn Nets, (Sacramento's Wednesday opponent) are currently tied for the second-fastest pace in the NBA at 101.5 possessions per game.
Extremely poor defenses playing at a high pace leads to a lot of opportunity to produce, which makes the Nets and Phoenix's opponents, the Clippers, very good places to look for streaming options on Wednesday.
Guys like Milos Teodosic (available in 82.8 percent of leagues) or Austin Rivers (available in 70 percent of leagues) of the Clippers, or Caris LeVert (available in 72.5 percent of leagues) of the Nets are a few names to keep in mind for these purposes.
Top players to watch tonight
In the five games since Stephen Curry went down with an ankle injury, most of which have also been played without Draymond Green, Kevin Durant has gone nuts to the tune of 34.2 points (12.2-24.8 FG, 6.6-7.0 FT), 10.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 3.2 3-pointers, 3.0 blocks and 3.2 TO per game. His Wednesday opponents, the Memphis Grizzlies, have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to small forwards during their past five games. On the whole, though, Durant still seems likely to get his.
Nikola Vucevic is quietly a monster whenever Aaron Gordon is out, and Gordon has already been declared out for Wednesday. In his past six games, Vucevic is averaging 23 points (10.2-18.7 FG, 0.5-0.5 FT), 14.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.7 steals and 2.2 3-pointers per game. He's facing a Bulls defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing centers during their past 10 games.
The Atlanta Hawks have been horrible defensively against opposing centers, struggling in the middle and allowing (by far) the most fantasy points to opposing centers in the NBA in their past 10 games. This could bode well for both Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis on Wednesday, as they could dominate the middle between them.
