The New Orleans Pelicans lost to Denver last night, but the team's depth continues to shine in the wake of Anthony Davis' trade request. Who needs Davis when you have Kenrich Williams?
Williams, an undrafted rookie out of TCU, had played more than 10 minutes just three times this season before being vaulted into 29 minutes this past Tuesday in a win over Houston. The bouncy combo forward is suddenly a key rotation piece for the Pelicans, as Williams totaled 29 points and 24 rebounds his past two games and unsurprisingly is available in fantasy free agency in all but a handful of ESPN leagues.
We could see an ugly standoff unfold between Davis and the franchise in the coming weeks if he's not granted his trade request, signaling great risk of a stalemate for his fantasy investors. I have Davis in one key league, and there's not much recourse for me other than pitching sale offers for steep discounts. Maybe one savvy way to hedge this situation for Davis' investors is to afford an audition to Williams and the likes of Jahlil Okafor, who has suddenly become a valuable double-double force.
Even sharpshooter Darius Miller is getting a piece of the sizable offensive pie with Davis out; averaging 15.3 PPG with a whopping 3.5 3PG on 9.8 shots from 3-point range per game the past four outings. There is no single way to replace Davis' absence, especially if this saga lingers past the deadline in New Orleans, but proactive management can at least secure some productive alternatives in the meantime.
Wednesday recap
Highlights
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 20 points (9-16 FG), 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 TO
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 36 points (12-21 FG), 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 3 TO
Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas Mavericks: 13 points (6-11 FG), 10 rebounds, 15 assists, 5 TO
Lowlights
Tim Hardaway Jr., New York Knicks: 6 points (2-11 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Justin Holiday, Memphis Grizzlies: 0 points (0-10 FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 TO
James Johnson, Miami Heat: 2 points (1-6 FG), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO
Wednesday takeaways
Smith Jr.'s return to good grace with Dallas has been somewhat remarkable, as he just netted his second career triple-double in a win over the Knicks last night and was persona non grata a few weeks back. At 21 years, 66 days on Wednesday, Smith became the second-youngest opponent to ever record a triple-double at Madison Square Garden, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Luka Doncic, meanwhile, scored 16 points, had some flashy dimes and now has 999 career points. With one more, Doncic will be the seventh-youngest player to score 1,000 points, again per Elias.
Jerryd Bayless' 12 assists are the most in a game in his career, and he's now somehow slashing for 15.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 7.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 3.0 3PG in 35.7 MPG his past five games with the team missing three point guards ahead of him on the depth chart due to injury in Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose and Tyus Jones. Ignore his middling reputation and instead ride the hot hand until Bayless is pushed back into a quiet bench role. In the overtime win over Memphis, Karl-Anthony Towns became the first Timberwolves player with a successful buzzer-beater in overtime since Kevin Garnett back on Jan. 5, 2007 against the 76ers.
The Sacramento Kings have scored a least 135 points three times this season, with two of them coming against Atlanta. The Kings' 140.5 PPG against the Hawks is the most versus a single opponent in a season series in franchise history. Harry Giles netted a career-high 20 points, with 12 coming in the third quarter that saw him hit all six of his field goal attempts. Marvin Bagley III produced his seventh double-double this season, tied for fourth most among rookies. The Kings have now won five straight home games for the first time since February 2008.
Bobby Portis exploded for 26 points in a surprising blowout of the Heat. Portis will likely prove inconsistent until or unless the team opens more work for him, such as buying out or trading Robin Lopez. With that in mind, Portis isn't the worst stash in deeper leagues, given the likelihood Lopez is off the roster in the coming weeks. Wayne Selden has been getting some solid burn for the Bulls after being acquired from Memphis in the Holiday trade. With the freedom to shoot from beyond (has made seven 3-pointers during his past three games), Selden is a worthy target in deep and daily formats.
Injuries of note
LeBron James continues to work in practice but is officially listed as out for Thursday's game against the LA Clippers with his lingering groin injury, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. Teammate Kyle Kuzma is considered questionable with a hip strain for tonight. If both sit, Brandon Ingram, fresh from a career-best scoring performance, is again an essential building block to consider.
DeMar DeRozan (knee soreness) is considered probable for tonight's game against the Nets.
Analytics advantage for Thursday
Golden State is currently enjoying a season-long 11-game winning streak, which is fitting, given the Warriors have won 10 straight meetings against the 76ers, with their last loss coming March 2, 2013, in Philadelphia.
This game in the Bay claims strong Vegas indicators in that the opening total was set at a robust 240 points for this Warriors game, while the Raptors and Bucks opened at 229. While seemingly minor, it's at least an indicator that there is about five percent more offense expected in Oakland than in Toronto tonight.
Stacking with different combinations from both the Warriors and 76ers appears prudent, given this rich offensive climate, while I'm particularly high on the value Draymond Green presents on DraftKings tonight. Green could wield a consistent advantage on both sides of the ball against Wilson Chandler, exploiting Philly's void at power forward.
Top players to watch tonight
On tap Thursday is the potential Eastern Conference finals preview between the Bucks and Raptors. Per ESPN's BPI (basketball power index), there's a 40 percent chance these teams will meet in the conference finals, the highest of any two teams.
The Bucks have won two of three meetings between the teams this season, though the Raptors won the last one earlier this month. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 18 rebounds in defeat that day, his first career 40-point, 15-rebound game. Most of Giannis' damage that day came against Serge Ibaka; Antetokounmpo missed only two of nine shots with 17 points when Ibaka was the closest defender, per Second Spectrum.
Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, will net coverage from a variety of Milwaukee defenders, namely Khris Middleton, who ranks 37th among small forwards in real defensive plus-minus, signaling the "Klaw" could shine at home tonight.
