The rebirth of Emmanuel Mudiay continues in New York, as the Knicks' commendable approach to the "second draft" continues to prove fruitful. Mudiay scored 32 points in a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns, his second 30-point performance in his past three games. Mudiay had two 30-point games in his first 208 career NBA games.
By the "second draft," I mean the approach that teams can take in canvassing the league for former lottery picks who might have struggled in their original destination. New York has also taken this approach with the likes of Noah Vonleh and Mario Hezonja this season, with the former proving to be a valuable stretch forward.
The Knicks acquired Mudiay last February in a three-team deal that sent off Doug McDermott. Mudiay struggled in parts of 22 games with the Knicks last spring, shooting just 36.8 percent from the field with 8.8 PPG on an abysmal 19.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. Empowered by joining the starting lineup back in mid-November, Mudiay, who is available as a free agent in more than 95 percent of ESPN leagues, has slashed for 20.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.8 APG and 1.6 3PG in 31.7 MPG during his past nine games, all starts. For some context, during his first 16 appearances for New York this season, Mudiay averaged just 10.4 PPG in 21.4 MPG with modest peripheral production.
This could merely be an outlier surge of shooting and scoring success for Mudiay driven by a few big nights, but as these impressive performances mount, it's incumbent on savvy managers to recognize the potential ascension of a 22-year-old former top pick.
With an eye on meaningful fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's delve into the night that was in the NBA.
Monday recap
Highlights
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: 38 points (11-23 FG, 14-15 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 47 points (14-31 FG, 15-16 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 5 TO
Tobias Harris, LA Clippers: 39 points (15-22 FG), 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 39 points (11-20 FG), 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 TO
Emmanuel Mudiay, New York Knicks: 32 points (12-21 FG), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 TO
Lowlights
Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia 76ers: 6 points (3-13 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Justin Holiday, Chicago Bulls: 9 points (3-10 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies: 3 points (1-6 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Monday takeaways
Don't be alarmed by De'Aaron Fox playing just six minutes last night, as coach Dave Joerger rested several key players in a unique way; having Fox and several other regulars log just a few minutes instead of outright sitting out. On the second night of a back-to-back, it appears Joerger was satisfied with a split for the two games, opting to rest much of the top rotation players. We should see the young Kings in full force against the Thunder on Wednesday, setting up a riveting showdown between Fox and Westbrook.
With the Kings essentially conceding the game to the Timberwolves early on, it was an interesting stage for Derrick Rose to flash his point guard skills, with the veteran earning the start in place of an injured Jeff Teague (ankle). Rose delivered 11 dimes to just two turnovers in 24 minutes as the Timberwolves tallied 132 points -- their most in a home game in their past three seasons -- signaling he could become even more valuable as a fantasy contributor if Teague is to miss any more time.
The Suns were apparently appropriately patient with Booker's hamstring, as the gifted combo guard has averaged 33 PPG in his past two games after missing two weeks due to the injury. The Suns have now won three straight games for the first time since March 2017 and for just the third time in the past four seasons (since Booker's rookie season). Regression is going to hit T.J. Warren's amazing shooting rates this season, but it's clear he's a far-improved shooter overall this season. Warren entered the season with a 28.3 percent career 3-point rate and yet is hitting 45.2 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. This unforeseen leap reminds me of the shooting improvements we've seen from Rose for Minnesota this season.
One final Phoenix note is the team and Austin Rivers have mutually agreed to part ways before he even puts on a jersey after being part of the Trevor Ariza swap over the weekend, per Adrian Wojnarowski. It's unclear where Rivers might land, but the effect on Phoenix is rookie De'Anthony Melton retaining relevance in 12-team formats. It will be interesting to see how Kelly Oubre Jr.'s role plays out on a roster already somewhat deep at the wing.
Harden highlighted Monday's NBA action with his third career game with 40 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Per Elias, this gives Harden the third most such games in NBA history, behind only Michael Jordan (10) and Clyde Drexler (4). Harden is averaging 39.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 7.5 APG during the team's four-game win streak. The only other Rockets player to average that many points during a four-game win streak was Moses Malone, who did it several times in 1981-82. This bearded dude might be good.
You'd guess Brook Lopez might have made the lowlights section after making just one of four shot attempts in a sluggish offensive showing last night in Detroit, but the stretch center also delivered five blocks in the win over the Pistons. Lopez is currently tied for seventh in the NBA with Joel Embiid in total blocks (56), while he's also tied for 14th in the NBA in 3-pointers with Josh Richardson. That's just a remarkable embodiment of Lopez's unique skill set, one that continues to make him an atypically valuable fantasy source despite being a center with 4.2 RPG.
Detroit's Reggie Bullock enjoyed a career high in scoring last night with 24 points and is now averaging 19.5 PPG, thanks to 8.5 3-point attempts per game the past two outings. I'm not sure we should buy this recent run from Bullock, as the larger sample suggests this success could be short-lived. Blake Griffin earned a triple-double for Detroit, which often would earn a spot in the highlights section, but a productive Monday slate and the fact he also turned the ball over 10 times in the loss makes him just the ninth player with 10 turnovers in a triple-double in NBA history, per Elias.
It was milestone night in Oakland. With 23 points on Monday night, Warriors superstar Kevin Durant passed Larry Bird on the NBA's all-time scoring list and now sits in 33rd place. Stephen Curry crossed the 15,000-point barrier for his career in the win. Curry is the 28th NBA player to reach 15,000 career points before his 650th game played (645th career game). He's also the fifth player to reach that mark in a Warriors jersey, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Ricky Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin. Klay Thompson also crossed the 11,000-point barrier, becoming the first member of the 2011 NBA Draft class to hit that mark.
Injuries of note
A hamstring ailment kept Malcolm Brogdon from seeing the floor last night for the second straight game. I'd hold onto shares of Brogdon even as he heals up, as he's 18th on the Player Rater among shooting guards for the season.
Mike Conley sat out Monday's tilt against the Warriors with a hamstring injury, one that he's been dealing with for several games now. It's an interesting time to rest Conley, given the caliber of opponent, but it's unlikely to hold out the veteran leader for very long.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
The Hawks and Wizards are porous enough on defense to consider both as key targets for stacking with daily fantasy rosters as well as streaming with multiple players in redraft formats. This game claims awesome Vegas ingredients -- the point total opened at a robust 235 and Washington enters Atlanta as just 4.5-point favorites, suggesting a competitive and high-scoring game is within reason. Atlanta has allowed 111.5 points per 100 possessions to opponents, fourth most in the league, with the Wizards one spot worse at 28th (112.2). On a four-game slate without many true superstars in action, paying up for John Wall, fresh from his best game of the season, could prove rewarding.
Top players to watch tonight
D'Angelo Russell is found just behind Thompson in 3-pointers this season, as he's made a sizable leap as a scorer for Brooklyn with a career-high 18 PPG. Returning to his original NBA home tonight to face a Lakers team that ranks third in the NBA in pace, it will be compelling to see Russell face Lonzo Ball tonight. Ball, fresh from a triple-double performance over the weekend, has been effective on defense this season, setting up a unique challenge with Russell sure to consume a healthy usage rate tonight.
