In this space Thursday, I wrote about how poor teams can pack strong fantasy value, especially when they're playing each other. I then went on to highlight Thursday night's game between the 20-42 Brooklyn Nets and the 18-43 Sacramento Kings as one to watch. As anticipated, that turned out to be a high-scoring game. The Kings won 116-111 in overtime, and there were at least 10 strong box-score lines between the two teams, so I planned to lead off by going into more detail on the game.
But a funny thing happened before I committed to that plan: another "bad" team dropped 131 points on a good defense, with excellent fantasy lines all over the place. And as I look closer, that "bad" team has won four games in a row and eight of their past 11 overall, scoring more than 100 points in all 11 of those games with an average of 115.5 PPG during that stretch.
In fact, if you really look at it, the Los Angeles Lakers aren't your typical "bad" team, and that may be why they're playing so well down the stretch.
The Lakers have traded away their own first-round pick, so they have absolutely no impetus to even think about tanking down the stretch. They also already have a young squad that's heavy with high lottery picks, as seven of their preferred nine-man rotation are aged 25 and under, six are 23 and under, and three are only 20.
Finally, the trade that they pulled off with the Cleveland Cavaliers gave them the potential to put together two max deals this offseason and/or to try out impending free agent Isaiah Thomas for a spot in their future plans and a chunk of that salary-cap space.
Thomas was top-five in the MVP vote last season and has lost a lot of value due to his hip injury and the drama surrounding the Cavs this year, but he needs to play well to earn back as much of what was going to be his "Brinks truck" contract as he can.
If it turns out that he fits well with their young players, the Lakers could try to lock up Thomas at a slight discount and potentially give them an affordable borderline superstar veteran to help accelerate themselves out of the youth movement phase and into the one-superstar-free-agent-signing-from-contending phase.
With 22-year-old Josh Hart out due to finger surgery, the Lakers leaned more on Thomas on Thursday against the Miami Heat, and he responded with 29 points (11-20 FG, 1-2 FT), 6 assists, 6 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 TO in 30 minutes off bench
Thomas wasn't the only Lakers player to seemingly find his level and impact in his current role on Thursday. In fact, he wasn't even the most impressive. For that, look to backcourt-mate Lonzo Ball, who flirted with a quadruple-double in his first start since returning from injury: 8 points (3-5 FG, 0-1 FT), 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 3-pointers, 2 TO
Several other Lakers joined the party too, playing well enough to register and draw some interest if this ends up being the new normal.
Julius Randle led the starting unit in scoring, dropping 25 points (8-13 FG, 9-9 FT) with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Brandon Ingram scored 19 (8-14 FG, 2-2 FT) with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 3-pointer. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 18 points (6-8 FG, 4-6 FT) with 4 rebounds, 2 3-pointers and 1 assist. Kyle Kuzma chipped in 16 points (6-10 FG, 1-2 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 3-pointers, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Even veteran Brook Lopez (10 points, two 3-pointers) and youngster Ivica Zubac (6 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal in 18 minutes off the bench) did enough in the middle to get their names mentioned as potential deep streaming or punting possibilities.
The Lakers are a young team with no reason to tank, a lot of young talent who have been playing all season (so they are comfortable contributing), and a couple of late-20s vets with the motivation to produce. They also have a young head coach in Luke Walton, who, much like Brad Stevens in the East, seems to be getting his players to buy into playing hard. Put it all together, and the Lakers could be a sneaky source of production down the stretch, whether they're playing other "bad" teams or not.
Thursday recap
Box scores
Highlights:
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 34 points (11-19 FG, 11-12 FT), 17 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 3-pointer, 1 TO
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 35 points (9-22 FG, 13-16 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 3-pointers, 1 steal, 1 TO
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: 30 points (12-24 FG, 4-6 FT), 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 3-pointers, 1 steal, 3 TO
Lowlights:
Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat: 6 points (1-4 FG, 4-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 TO
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets: 8 points (3-10 FG, 2-2 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO
George Hill, Cleveland Cavaliers: 7 points (3-10 FG, 1-2 FT), 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 TO
Thursday takeaways
As mentioned in the lede, the Nets at the Kings produced some strong fantasy numbers. The Nets got 22 points (8-12 FG, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 3-pointers and 1 steal from DeMarre Carroll. Jarrett Allen popped for 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-4 FT), 13 rebounds and 3 assists. Allen Crabbe scored 20 points with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while D'Angelo Russell posted 15 points, 11 assists, 5 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
The Kings had even more quality value depth, with Bogdan Bogdanovic scoring 23 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 3-pointers leading the way. De'Aaron Fox scored 21 points with 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Willie Cauley-Stein scored 17 points with 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block. Skal Labissiere scored 11 points with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Off the bench, Buddy Hield scored 16 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 3-pointer. Even Kosta Koufos contributed 6 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 20 minutes of run.
While the Lakers were the story on Thursday, opponent Dwyane Wade turned in his second consecutive throwback game with 25 points (11-18 FG, 2-2 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 3-pointer. The Heat have a need for a frontline scorer with Dion Waiters done for the season, and during the past couple of games, Wade has filled that role. The question is, does he have the energy to maintain this level down the stretch? It seems unlikely, but he is worth looking at.
I mentioned yesterday that LeBron was facing one of his stylistic descendants, Ben Simmons, and that James typically gets the better of those matchups. He did that again on Thursday, but Simmons' team came out on top overall with a balanced effort. Joel Embiid dominated the middle, scoring only 17 points (7-18 FG, 3-8 FT) but adding 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot. Simmons almost notched a triple-double with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. JJ Redick led the team with 22 points and four 3-pointers, while Dario Saric and Robert Covington were right near double-doubles as the support starters. This shows how balanced and difficult to defend the 76ers can be when they work as a unit.
Injuries of note
Taj Gibson left Thursday night's game with a hip contusion and didn't return. He wasn't ruled out from returning, though, as he was given a questionable designation that might suggest that the injury isn't considered serious. If he has to miss time moving forward, it would likely benefit Gorgui Dieng and/or Nemanja Bjelica.
Ingram strained his left hip flexor on Thursday and is questionable for Saturday's game. If he has to sit, that should lead to more run from Kuzma and possibly Caldwell-Pope.
Tyson Chandler is listed as questionable for Friday, but he said on Thursday that his likelihood to play is "probably a long shot, to be honest." Alex Len has been starting and playing well in his absence and should receive the call again if the veteran can't go.
Analytics advantage for Friday
Today's analytic is "39," as in the combined number of wins between the Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls, vs. their combined 84 losses. This game is the "Bad Teams Bowl" for the night, and the "Bad Teams Bowl" has led to great fantasy lines on both sides in each of the past two nights that I've been talking about this. We go for the trifecta on Friday, as the Mavs and Bulls could each put up better-than-expected value as a teams against another squad that's similarly bad with similarly weak defense.
Top players to watch tonight
Giannis Antetokounmpo had to leave Wednesday's game early after he was poked in the eye, and his availability for Friday is unknown. If he has to sit, it opens things up for at least one of Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe and/or even possibly Jabari Parker to have a big night.
There are four heavyweight center matchups on Friday that are worth watching. Embiid squares off with Dwight Howard, Andre Drummond sees Nikola Vucevic, KAT meets up with Stifle Tower Rudy Gobert, and Nikola Jokic bumps heads with Marc Gasol. All are must-see TV.
