The Denver Nuggets are one of the most fantasy-friendly teams in the NBA right now when it comes to streaming players from and streaming players against. The Nuggets are currently one game in the loss column out of the playoffs in the West, so they are playing hard every night. On the other hand, they play a fast-paced game with a lot of offense and very little defense. On the season, the Nuggets have averaged 110.2 PPG (sixth in the NBA), but they have allowed 109.0 PPG (24th in the NBA). Barbecued chicken for everyone.
This held true on Sunday, once again, as they faced off with their counterpart in the Eastern Conference that is almost as fantasy friendly, the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks, too, are a team that is more offense than defense and is fighting for playoff positioning. Thus, Sunday was fun to be had by all. Let's look through some of the biggest contributors from both teams in this points-fest that the Nuggets eventually won 128-125 in overtime.
The Nuggets were led, as usual, by Nikola Jokic, who dropped 35 points (14-24 FG, 5-5 FT) with 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 3-pointers and 4 TO in 44 minutes. His brand of offensive dominance, which includes excellent passing and floor spacing, naturally opens things up for his teammates to thrive as well. With Paul Millsap finally healthy and utilizing a lot of similar tools on offense, he was able to take advantage on Sunday with a mini-Jokic game to the tune of 26 points (10-20 FG, 4-6 FT), 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 3-pointers, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 TO.
On the perimeter, Jamal Murray actually had the game of the night for the Nuggets, as his +26 on/off for the game was almost 20 points better than any of the other Nuggets starters and indicated that the team performed extremely well when he was in the game. He scored 27 points (7-15 FG, 10-10 FT) with 7 assists, 3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 TO as the perfect shooter foil to the dominant bigs. Finally, Will Barton chimed in with a workmanlike double-double of 11 points (2-8 FG, 7-9 FT), 10 rebounds and 4 assists in his 39 minutes of action.
On the other side of the ball, Jabari Parker (50.1 percent available) gave notice that he is all the way back from his knee injury with a massive effort off the bench: 35 points (14-23 FG), 10 rebounds, 5 3-pointers, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 TO. This meshed well with a big effort by Eric Bledsoe, who turned in 31 points (11-22 FG, 5-5 FT), 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 3-pointers, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 TO.
Star Giannis Antetokounmpo actually had a pedestrian effort by his standards, scoring 18 points (7-13 FG, 3-6 FT) with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 3-pointer and 4 TO before fouling out in only 33 minutes. Khris Middleton was solid with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 3-pointer though he shot a horrific 4-for-18 from the field. There was even a Tyler Zeller sighting, with 15 points (5-8 FG, 5-5 FT), 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 22 minutes off the bench.
The moral to the story: the Nuggets giveth and the Nuggets don't taketh away, which makes them a fantasy target for streamers and DFS pickups on both sides of the ball down the stretch.
Sunday recap
Box scores
Highlights:
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: 26 points (9-17 FG, 8-11 FT), 15 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, 7 TO
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers: 30 points (11-17 FG, 5-6 FT), 12 assists, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 3 3-pointers, 1 block, 2 TO
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors: 29 points (12-19 FG, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 3-pointers, 2 blocks, 1 TO
Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks: 30 points (10-19 FG, 5-5 FT), 5 assists, 5 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 TO
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons: 29 points (9-22 FG, 11-13 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5 TO
Lowlights:
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: 7 points (3-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 3-pointer, 1 TO
Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets: 8 points (3-9 FG, 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 4 TO
Nikola Mirotic, New Orleans Pelicans: 4 points (2-9 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 block
Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets: 7 points (2-7 FG, 2-4 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 3-pointer, 1 steal
Sunday takeaways
The Utah Jazz thumped the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in a game between playoff hopefuls. The Jazz are like the anti-Nuggets, in that they defensiely hold their opponents down (97 points for the powerful Timberwolves offense) while not having stellar production from their own best players. The Jazz had six players in double-figure scoring on Sunday but none over 23 points, and that list did not include Rudy Gobert, who managed only six points while dominating on defense.
LeBron James posted a triple-double to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the lowly Mavericks, but it was still a close game late and James' triple-double came with an inefficient 5-for-21 shooting effort from the field to draw some criticism. James likely benefited from Monday's day off, as he's been carrying a heavy load all season, and he may have been slightly burned out against the lesser competition.
Danilo Gallinari is back again from his latest injury but is still knocking the rust off with 7 points (1-9 FG, 5-5 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks in 32 minutes on Sunday. Meanwhile, Montrezl Harrell stayed hot off the bench with 19 points (9-12 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 3-pointer in 21 minutes of action.
Injuries of note
Lonzo Ball has missed two straight games with a knee injury and is listed as doubtful to play on Tuesday. Alex Caruso (99.9 percent available), Josh Hart (93.6 percent available) and maybe Tyler Ennis (99.4 percent available) are the most likely to fill in for him on Tuesday.
Elfrid Payton (knee) and Alex Len (ankle) both missed Sunday's game, their third absence in a row each. Star Devin Booker has missed eight straight games with a sprained right hand, and TJ Warren has missed seven straight with a swollen knee. This has allowed Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss (73.4 percent available), Dragan Bender (99.2 percent available) and Tyler Ulis (82.1 percent available) to shine in their absences. Booker, Payton and Len are questionable to play on Tuesday while Warren is listed as doubtful, and if they sit again, then this could allow another big game from the younger understudies.
Dario Saric missed Sunday's game with an elbow injury, joining Joel Embiid on the bench and allowing Ersan Ilyasova (89.5 percent available) to pick up the start and score 16 pints with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 27 minutes of action. Saric has already been ruled out for Tuesday. Ben Simmons continued to pick up the slack through the injuries, scoring 20 points with 15 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to another win.
Jeff Teague was unable to play on Sunday due to a sore knee out, allowing Tyus Jones (99.4 percent available) to step in with a solid game. The Timberwolves don't play again until Thursday, and Teague should be considered questionable to return then.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
There are 13 games on Tuesday, which means that 26 of the 30 NBA teams are playing. There's no need to take any risks at all on players who may or may not play, or may not get full minutes, or may not go all out. If streaming or playing DFS, I'm shopping almost entirely from these games:
Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers: Pride is on the line, and the Cavaliers can not afford to lose with the Philadelphia 76ers directly on their backs for the third seed. The Raptors, meanwhile, are still trying to hold off the Boston Celtics, who loom at only two games back.
Warriors at Thunder: The Warriors are locked into their seeding, but with all of the injuries, they are trying to work their main guys back into things and pick up some rhythm. The Thunder, meanwhile, always get fire in their eyes when they see the Warriors, and they are still fighting for possible home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Celtics at Bucks: The Celtics still have a chance to catch the Raptors for the top seed, and the Bucks are fighting for seeding and momentum heading into the playoffs.
Pacers at Nuggets: The Pacers are fighting for potential home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while the Nuggets are fighting for the playoffs, period. As laid out above, Nuggets games are very fantasy friendly these days.
Top players to watch tonight
The last time the Cavaliers faced the Raptors, LeBron James popped for 35 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds and a steal with zero turnovers in a Cavaliers win. Can he repeat that? Can the Cavs win if he doesn't?
