The feisty Atlanta Hawks earned a meaningful road win against the Clippers last night and are now 4-6 in their past 10 games with the 10th-most points per game in the NBA during this fun run.
Trae Young scored 26 points on 18 shots while producing 12 combined assists and rebounds to just a single turnover while producing the team's second-best net rating on Monday. The rising rookie is now up to 20.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2.0 3PG, and 0.9 SPG his past 11 games -- during which Atlanta has secured five wins. After a sluggish start to the season, patience is being paid in the form of strong production from Young.
John Collins was a favorite prospect of mine coming out as a uniquely young sophomore from Wake Forest. Collins is averaging a stellar slash of 20.7 PPG and 9.9 RPG with absurdly strong shooting rates (61.9 percent from the floor and 57.9 percent from 3-point range) the past 14 games and has emerged as a potential fantasy star already. Collins produced 22 points on 10 shots last night in Los Angeles.
Diving deeper into the Atlanta rotation, I continue to admire Dewayne Dedmon's rare blend of double-double prowess (he had 13 points and 10 pulls last night) and shooting savvy (hitting 37.2 percent from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts per game this year).
In even deeper formats, it's worth considering Alex Len, a former lottery pick who has flashed some excellent interior defense this season and just posted 19 points and nine rebounds in only 21 minutes last night. If Dedmon is moved before the deadline or eventually bought out, Len would become an intriguing addition even in shallower leagues.
Monday recap
Highlights
Tobias Harris, LA Clippers: 30 points (11-18 FG), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 2 TO
Al Horford, Boston Celtics: 14 points (6-11 FG), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 blocks, 2 TO
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics: 21 points (7-15 FG), 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 2 TO
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks: 26 points (10-18 FG), 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 TO
Lowlights
Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets: 6 points (2-6 FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics: 2 points (1-6 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 TO
Paul Millsap, Denver Nuggets: 4 points (0-5 FG), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
Monday takeaways
Harris has averaged 4.2 dimes the past 10 games and leads the Clippers with 51.7 passes made per game during this sample, compared to just shy of 40 passes per game before this uptick in distribution duties. Patrick Beverley hit only one field goal on five attempts for the Clips in the loss to Atlanta but still turned in 16 combined assists and rebounds to go with three steals. If Doc Rivers keeps trusting Beverley for big minutes (led the Clippers with 38 last night), then he's an absolute must-add (rostered in 12.8 percent of ESPN leagues).
Shabazz Napier might prove helpful for both real and fantasy purposes as an offensive microwave for the Nets now that Spender Dinwiddie is sidelined for the next several weeks. In a 10-game stretch in January last season that saw him earn several starts and increased usage with Portland, Napier slashed for 14.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.6 3PG, 1.7 SPG in 31 MPG. Napier netted 20 points on 16 shots to go with five assists and two steals in 26 minutes last night, signaling real value for a player available in free agency in 95 percent of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday morning.
The Nuggets trailed by 25 points in the second half last night and yet still left Memphis with a victory. Entering Monday, teams were 0-174 when trailing by at least 25 points in the second half. Their comeback was in part fueled by the fact Denver might have the deepest collection of wings in the NBA. Malik Beasley was buried on the depth chart to start the season but has since become a steady contributor even on a roster with Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton ahead of him. During Denver's past nine games, including last night's 18 points on 14 shots, Beasley is averaging 14.8 PPG, thanks to sinking nearly three 3-pointers per game during this successful stretch. Beasley is rostered in just 4.4 percent of ESPN leagues and could be worth streaming in deeper leagues amid this run of production.
Horford's line might not pop at first, but he became the first Celtics player with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks in a game since Robert Parish in 1986. Smart, meanwhile, is on nearly every fantasy roster of mine this season and is just wildly underappreciated (rostered in only 17 percent of ESPN leagues) as an elite source of steals to go with respectable assist, rebound and shooting results.
The public trade request made by the Pelicans' Anthony Davis, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, surely sent shockwaves through the NBA on Monday. There isn't yet much fantasy managers can do to get ahead of this story, especially since patience into the summer might net the Pelicans their best offers. If anything, we could see New Orleans market guys like Nikola Mirotic, Darius Miller and E'Twaun Moore over the next week, but this seems like a situation where managers merely need to react to any news that emerges versus finding any speculative value at the moment.
Injuries of note
LeBron James is expected to miss yet another game with a lingering groin injury, setting up the Lakers' young collective of wings with increased usage and value tonight.
Philly's Jimmy Butler (wrist), Joel Embiid (back/rest) and Wilson Chandler (hamstring), meanwhile, are all expected to return to action tonight to face the LeBron-less Lakers.
The Spurs' DeMar DeRozan will miss his third straight game with a sore left knee. DeRozan has been testing out the knee in pregame warmups the past several outings. Thus, he could be close to a return. Bryn Forbes and Derrick White become solid streaming options, with White worthy of a real shot at sticking on your roster.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
Jrue Holiday suddenly has the weight of the franchise on his shoulders in the wake of the Davis request. Holiday is an elite perimeter defender and has an awesome story of resolve and determination worth reading from Zach Lowe. Not only is Holiday a nice pivot or complement to his opponent James Harden in DFS lineups tonight, but we find Julius Randle consumes the highest spike in usage rate (plus 3.8 percent) with Davis off the floor while Nikola Mirotic averages seven more fantasy points per 36 minutes in such conditions. Despite the drama in New Orleans, this roster is still teeming with fantasy value tonight in a game against Houston that has the highest point total of the slate.
Top players to watch tonight
This is the last game of January for the Rockets in what's been a historic month for Harden, who is somehow averaging 44.1 points per game this month. If Harden scores 43 points in Tuesday's game against Holiday's deft defense, he would average 44 PPG for the month, which would be the most by any player in a calendar month in the last 50 seasons.
The bearded one would join Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to average 44 PPG in a calendar month and would be the most by any player in a calendar month since Wilt averaged 45.8 PPG in March 1963. Harden's 44.1 points per game this month would also be the second most ever in January.
