In a fun moment fitting of the holiday, Derrick Rose dressed as MVP Derrick Rose for Halloween. The Minnesota Timberwolves' guard turned back the clock on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 50 points in the Timberwolves' 128-125 win over the Jazz in what was the fifth 50-point performance in franchise history.
Rose went seven years, 227 days between 40-point games, the fifth-longest span in NBA history, per ESPN Stats & Info. Before Wednesday, Rose last had a 40-point game on March 18, 2011, the season he won MVP.
My favorite random stat from last night's vintage performance is that Rose took 653 dribbles on Wednesday, the most in a game this season. The rest of the Timberwolves players had 353 dribbles combined. While Rose had 653 dribbles in his 50-point game, Klay Thompson took just 56. Per Second Spectrum, 16 of Rose's 19 field goals were unassisted, the second-most unassisted field goals in a game this season behind Blake Griffin's 17 in his 50-point outing against Philly last week.
Regarding the actionable fantasy spin from Rose's renaissance performance, it's becoming apparent he enjoys a massive spike in usage and raw offensive opportunities whenever Jimmy Butler sits. Rose has tallied performances scoring 28 and 50 points, respectively, in the two games Butler has missed this season, while not topping 16 whenever Butler has been active.
We can surely expect to see Rose rostered en masse in ESPN leagues after last night's performance, but with Butler reportedly set to rejoin the team amid this dramatic trade impasse, we can also expect him to resume a more complementary scoring role rather than the Iversonian performance from last night.
This said, Butler could be traded at any moment, which would again vault Rose into a uniquely rewarding role even with the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns on the roster. It's worth stashing Rose, given the increased pressure surrounding the Butler scenario.
With an eye on important fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's dive into the night that was in the NBA.
Wednesday recap
Highlights
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 37 points (12-20 FG), 9 assists, 5 TO
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: 24 points (8-14 FG), 23 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4 TO
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 22 points (9-20 FG), 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks, 6 TO
Derrick Rose, Minnesota Timberwolves: 50 points (19-31), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 TO
Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers: 30 points (12-12 FG), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 TO
Lowlights
Josh Jackson, Phoenix Suns: 4 points (2-7 FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 TO
Jabari Parker, Chicago Bulls: 6 points (3-10 FG), 9 rebounds, 1 TO
Rajon Rondo, Los Angeles Lakers: 5 points (2-7 FG), 3 assists, 2 TO
Ricky Rubio, Utah Jazz: 5 points (2-6 FG), 5 assists, 6 TO
Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas Mavericks: 5 points (2-9 FG), 3 assists, 3 TO
Wednesday takeaways
Move over Lou Will, the Pacers' Domantas Sabonis is the league's newest scoring microwave. Sabonis was lazy last night in that he missed on one free throw, but made all 12 of his field goal attempts and at one point had 26 points in 11 minutes (no really). Sabonis' efficiency tied him for the most field goal attempts without a miss since Vin Baker in 1997. While we can't expect Sabonis to sustain his current 70.7 percent shooting clip from the field, he's unquestionably making a leap in scoring efficiency in that he's sinking 86.1 percent of his shots from within three feet of the rim -- an area he struggled with when with the Thunder (55.1 percent in the restricted area as a rookie with Oklahoma City). Available for the price of a roster spot and a few clicks in more than 40 percent of ESPN leagues, Sabonis is a savvy utility addition or depth forward for the months ahead.
With Sabonis surging and his Pacers peer Myles Turner struggling a bit to start the season, gamers will need to identify other elite sources of blocks, as ESPN Fantasy analyst Joe Kaiser recently noted. Enter JaVale McGee, your current NBA leader in blocks. McGee posted an awesome line of 16 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks last night in a close win over the Mavericks. The Lakers' utter lack of alternatives at center, particularly in the rim protection department, signals McGee's sudden statistical leap at age 31 is somewhat legitimate, given the opportunity rates he's consuming. McGee is taking 91 percent more shots per game than his career clip and is averaging more than a dozen rebounding chances per night, helping support a 56 percent jump in rebounding production compared to his career clip. Available in nearly 40 percent of ESPN leagues, McGee has become a true difference-maker for fantasy purposes.
A much more widely available source of blocks is found in Dallas with Maximilian "Maxi" Kleber tied for 16th in the league with 1.6 swats per game. Kleber, for some context, is rostered in 0.1 percent of ESPN leagues (I might be driving this rate). Since earning 20 minutes of playing time for the first time in Atlanta last week, Kleber has averaged 2.2 BPG and one 3-pointer in 20.4 MPG. With three blocks against the Lakers last night, it appears deep-league managers, particularly in roto leagues, might find some utility in Kleber, given the sheer scarcity of blocks.
Behind 37 points from Curry, the Warriors defeated the Pelicans 131-121 last night. Curry has made at least five 3-pointers in eight of nine games this season. Before this season, no player had ever done this in more than four of their team's first nine games.Curry has 55 3-pointers through the Warriors' first nine games of the season. That is the most through a team's first nine games in NBA history, surpassing his mark of 44 set during his 2015-16 MVP campaign. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Curry's 55 3-point field goals tie him for the eighth most in any nine-game stretch in NBA history. Next up for the Warriors is a home game against the Timberwolves on Friday at 10:30 ET on ESPN. This game will feature three of the four players with a 50-point game this season: Curry, Thompson and Rose. The Warriors are 8-1 and will look to start 9-1 for the third time in franchise history. They started 10-0 in 2015-16 and 9-1 in 1960-61.
The Knicks' Tim Hardaway Jr. dropped 37 in a loss last night and is now 11th in the NBA in scoring. Some shallow leagues might still ignore THJ, as he's available in 20 percent of ESPN leagues. Much like Chicago's Zach LaVine has proved this season -- the shooting guard became the first player for the Bulls since 1991-92 with eight straight 20-point games to start the season -- being the high-usage scorer on a bad team can pay off with prolific statistical results. Another Knick of note is Noah Vonleh, who posted 14 points, 10 boards, and three blocks in 33 minutes of exposure last night.
Injuries of note
Donovan Mitchell missed the final four minutes in a close loss to Rose's Wolves last night due to a hamstring injury to his right leg. We'll want to track this injury closely given Mitchell's high-usage role for the Jazz.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as probable (concussion) ahead of a marquee matchup with the Boston Celtics in a rematch of last season's contentious seven-game playoff series.
Analytics advantage for Thursday
You wouldn't guess it, but the Sacramento Kings visiting the Atlanta Hawks is one of the most compelling fantasy climates of Thursday's six-game slate. For one, start your engines, because the Hawks leads the NBA in pace with 108.6 possessions per 48 minutes this season. Second in the league? Yep, the Kings are running up-tempo (107.1), as well, signaling added possessions and thus offensive opportunities for the key playmakers tonight.
Stacking the Kings' surging young core includes reasonable DFS pricing on Buddy Hield, De'Aaron Fox and sudden fantasy standout Nemanja Bjelica. The Hawks, meanwhile, plan to shoot as many 3-pointers as possible, fueling high scoring ceilings for the likes of Trae Young and Taurean Prince (who is due for a positive correction in the shooting department).
Top players to watch tonight
I'm interested to see how Anthony Davis responds to the second night of a back-to-back on the road in a game after missing multiple games with an elbow injury. There is also a sincere revenge narrative in place, given the Pelicans surprisingly swept the Blazers as the lower seed in the playoffs this past spring. Davis made just six shots last night against the Warriors but will look to revive his dominant output against Portland from the playoffs.
