DeMar DeRozan got the better of Kawhi Leonard in their first matchup since being traded for one another late this past summer. DeRozan produced his first career triple-double in downing the Raptors, the team that drafted him, joining Guy Rodgers back in October of 1966 as the only other player in NBA history to tally a 20-point triple-double in his first game against his former team. Quite literally, DeRozan captured some historic revenge.
Leonard was efficient in that he scored 21 points on just 13 shots, as he now has 15 straight games with at least 20 points, the second-longest such streak this season (Giannis Antetokounmpo has a run of 16 such games).
The key fantasy takeaway from the game in Texas last night is the Spurs' budding backcourt duo of Derrick White and Bryn Forbes, who combined for 39 points and seven assists on just 21 shots in the victory. White has posted double-digit scoring performances in four straight games with 15.8 PPG, 7.5 combined rebounds and assists per game and three combined steals and blocks during this hot stretch. White currently ranks ninth among point guards on the Player Rater the past 15 days, just ahead of De'Aaron Fox and just behind Jrue Holiday.
Forbes, for his part, has been even more consistent than White, stringing together eight consecutive games with at least 10 points while slashing for 15.5 PPG, 6.5 combined assists and rebounds and elite 3-point efficiency (52.2 percent on 5.8 3-point attempts per game during this sample). Forbes sits at 13th on the Player Rater among point guards the past 15 days. Forbes made a career-high six 3-pointers last night and looked quite confident pulling up from well beyond the line in transition. The Spurs might have done it again.
Both players prove widely available in ESPN leagues as of Friday morning, with White rostered in just 0.1 percent of leagues and Forbes 0.3 percent. With 10-day contracts starting up on Saturday in the NBA, it's a fitting time for fantasy managers to consider a similar approach and audition these promising young San Antonio playmakers.
With an eye on meaningful fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's delve into the night that was in the NBA.
Thursday recap
Highlights
Clint Capela, Houston Rockets: 29 points (12-19 FG), 21 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 44 points (13-32 FG), 10 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 blocks, 7 TO
DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs: 21 points (7-15 FG), 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 3 TO
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets: 36 points (12-24 FG), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 TO
Lowlights
Danny Green, Toronto Raptors: 0 points (0-7 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Iman Shumpert, Sacramento Kings: 0 points (0-7 FG), 1 rebound, 3 assists
PJ Tucker, Houston Rockets: 3 points (1-4 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 TO
Thursday takeaways
- The Warriors entered Thursday's game against Houston 156-1 when leading by 20 points since Steve Kerr became the coach. Harden continued to make history on Thursday evening, hitting a game-winning 3-pointer with a single second left in overtime against the Warriors. This marked his ninth straight game with at least 35 points and five assists, extending the longest such streak in NBA history, per Elias. The only other player in NBA history to reach the same point, assist and rebound thresholds in a game was, well, Harden himself, who had 53 points, 16 rebounds and 17 dimes against the Knicks on Dec. 31, 2016. Harden is the first player ever to hit 10 3-pointers in a triple-double. You guessed it, breaking his own record of nine. This also marked his fifth straight game with at least 40 points, the longest streak since Kobe Bryant in January 2007. Someone apparently told Harden to become late-80s Michael Jordan statistically once Chris Paul injured his hamstring, as the bearded one is scoring 16.2 percent more points per game than Stephen Curry, the league' second-leading scorer, who happened to pour in 35 points on 27 shots last night in the loss. Much like that famous scoring bender Bryant went on that winter, Harden's current binge of production is undeniably historic.
- Denver's Murray has some Harden to his game. This comparison might read as hyperbole, but I'm mostly talking about a player so young having so much scoring and playmaking craft. Did you know Murray was born in February of 1997? The guy turns 22 next month and is already one of the higher-ceiling scoring threats in the league at his position. Murray lifted the Nuggets past a tough Kings team on the road on Thursday night, coming back from a double-digit deficit, thanks to scoring 34 of his 36 points in the second half -- the most by a Nuggets player in a half since Carmelo Anthony had 36 in the second half against the Timberwolves on Dec. 10, 2008. The Nuggets are now 25-11 this season, the best record through 36 games in franchise history.
- Even in the loss, the Kings produced at least 100 points of offense for the 13th straight game, their longest streak since the heyday of the franchise in 2001-2. I continue to endorse Bogdan Bogdanovic as a savvy free-agent acquisition; he's one of the better bench scorers in the league and was carving up the Denver defense at times with a variety of step-backs and pull-ups last night. Rostered in only 24.3 percent on ESPN leagues, Bogdanovic has averaged 18 PPG, 2.7 3PG, and 1.7 SPG and nearly nine combined rebounds and assists the past week. Nemanja Bjelica tallied 17 points, 6 boards, 1 block and 3 3-pointers in the loss last night and is available in free agency in 97 percent of ESPN leagues. Bjelica is a decidedly streaky player, it seems, and this recent run of production appears to be a hot streak for the stretch forward.
Injuries of note
- The Charlotte Hornets revealed center Cody Zeller underwent surgery on his right hand on Thursday and will miss up to six weeks of play. Marvin Williams could see an uptick in rebounding opportunities in the wake of this injury, but I'm most intrigued to see if Willy Hernangomez will finally earn more exposure going forward. This will be a situation to monitor for those in deeper and more competitive leagues.
- Kyrie Irving will miss another game with the eye injury suffered earlier this week against the Spurs. Terry Rozier becomes a savvy streaming option and solid DFS play against Dallas tonight.
Analytics advantage for Friday
Twenty teams are in action tonight, making it a priority to identify the best games to target for streaming players from free agency and for stacking key players from choice rosters tonight. My favorite game of the night for such purposes is the Clippers facing the Suns in Phoenix in a game with the second-highest point total of the slate (232 in some places) with an encouragingly close point spread (Clippers favored by four points). Like we saw last night with Houston against Golden State, games with tons of points that prove competitive throughout will support a great deal of fantasy fun. That could be the case in Phoenix tonight, given the indicators from Vegas.
Both rotations run deep in that we can predictably bank on at least 20 minutes for at least six players on each roster. Danilo Gallinari and Tobias Harris are reasonably priced on major DFS platforms, and yet both have uniquely high scoring ceilings in this context, as the Suns are 28th in defensive rating (112.5 points allowed per 100 possessions). Finding ways to build around the Suns with the likes of Devin Booker, who has the second-most performances with at least 35 points this season, and Deandre Ayton, who has become a fantasy force the past month, could also prove rewarding, as are affordable shares of Mikal Bridges and Josh Jackson, young wings likely to both see more than 24 minutes of exposure tonight.
Top players to watch tonight
The Mavericks visit the Celtics on Friday at 8 ET on ESPN. At 18-19, the Mavs are already approaching last season's win total of 24. Their 19.3 win percentage improvement from last season is the second-best turnaround in the league, trailing only the Grizzlies (21.8), per ESPN Stats & Info.
Rookie sensation Luka Doncic is averaging 19.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 5.0 APG this season. If Doncic raises his scoring average to 20 points and maintains his other averages, he would become just the fifth rookie in NBA history to average 20-5-5, joining Tyreke Evans, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson. Doncic is averaging 24.0 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 6.0 RPG over his past 10 games.
The Celtics' Gordon Hayward, meanwhile, stepped up with Irving out on Wednesday, scoring 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting in Boston's win over Minnesota. This marked Hayward's highest scoring output since April 7, 2017, per ESPN Stats & Info. We've seen Hayward produce some big games earlier this season only to then go so somewhat dormant again in regards to production, so this will be an important window with increased usage and opportunity rates tonight.
