The NBA's admirable commitment to daily drama continued Thursday in a big way, with the New York Knicks making a significant franchise pivot by dealing Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs also acquired veteran guards Trey Burke, Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. in a move that clears the Knicks' cap sheet to leverage multiple maximum contract offers this coming July. It's unclear what roles Burke and Lee will serve, especially with the former on an expiring deal. The move affords the likes of Maximilian Kleber, Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith increased opportunities as deep-league additions from Dallas.
Hardaway Jr. is under contract for multiple seasons past this spring; thus he could assume a workload like that of Wesley Matthews, the veteran shooter sent to the Knicks along with DeAndre Jordan to match salaries. Both former Mavs are expected to negotiate buyouts with New York in the coming days.
The Knicks also netted Dennis Smith Jr., fresh from becoming the second-youngest opponent in NBA history to record a triple-double at Madison Square Garden per Elias. Only Magic Johnson was younger. Smith should enjoy an impressive leap in offensive usage to conclude the campaign for a Knicks team eyeing lottery luck. Hardaway Jr. and Burke combined to take 26.6 shots per game, 9.9 coming from beyond the arc. Smith, along with rookie Kevin Knox, should earn unfettered usage in the coming weeks.
It's unclear if Porzingis will play for the Mavericks this season as he works back from a serious knee injury suffered last winter with New York, but it is clear the team made a bold and decisive decision to pair him with fellow elite European talent and surefire Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic. I'd wager that Porzingis' dynasty stock just went up by joining a franchise with far more coaching and roster stability than in New York.
For context as to his rare statistical promise, Porzingis and Patrick Ewing are the only players in Knicks history to average 20 PPG and 2.0 BPG over a single season, and the 7-foot-3, Porzingis is the tallest player in NBA history to make at least 100 3-pointers in a season (112 in 2016-17). Porzingis is also one of three players age 22 or younger with at least 100 3-pointers and 100 blocks in a season, joining Dirk Nowitzki and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Thursday recap
Highlights
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 41 points (14-27 FG), 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 TO
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: 24 points (11-13 FG), 20 rebounds, 2 TO
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 26 points (8-24 FG), 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 8 TO
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: 24 points (9-22 FG), 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 TO
Lowlights
Reggie Bullock, Detroit Pistons: 4 points (1-8 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia 76ers: 7 points (0-5 FG), 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO
Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers: 4 points (1-9 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO
Thursday takeaways
James impressively played 40 minutes in his return from a career-long absence due to a groin injury, which is tied for his third most in a game this season James. As a solid sign of his endurance, James scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, securing a needed win over the Clippers. Because of James' heavy usage, we saw Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram combine for just 20 shots, albeit with the latter turning in a solid 19-point effort. This next week will be riveting to see what the Lakers can accomplish at the deadline.
For the Clippers, Patrick Beverley again turned in a productive night with 17 points and 12 combined dimes and boards. He is rostered in shy of 20 percent of ESPN leagues despite slashing for 11.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.8 combined blocks and steals and 2.3 3PG in 37 MPG in his past even starts. I was all about rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an essential speculative addition earlier this season, but it's become clear that Doc Rivers prefers Beverley's veteran savvy.
The Spurs don't have many proven vets in the backcourt, so they've deployed Derrick White as a key combo guard with an increasingly important role on offense. White produced a career-high 26 points in a win over Brooklyn last night and now has averaged 16.8 PPG in his previous five games. San Antonio Spurs: fourth straight win (125.3 PPG in previous four games)
The Sixers survived Curry's seventh 40-point effort of the season to end the Warriors' season-high and league-best 11-game winning streak on Thursday night. It helped Philly's case that while Curry made 10 of his 18 3-point attempts, his teammates missed 20 of their combined attempts. Ben Simmons was a force on both sides of the floor with 26 points on 13 shots and four combined blocks and steals, while Embiid became the first Sixers player since Charles Barkley in 1991 to deliver as many as 20 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists in a game. With Embiid's back proving balky of late, don't be surprised if he catches a game off in Sacramento on Saturday.
Terrence Ross netted 30 points on 18 shots off the bench and has averaged 19.3 PPG and an impressive 3.8 3PG in his past four games. Even with his name in trade rumors, Ross is a fine shooting specialist to consider. Second-year forward Jonathan Isaac delivered his second career double-double last night in the win over the Pacers and could be an intriguing target in deeper and keeper formats.
Injuries of note
Chris Paul was added to the injury report for tonight's matchup with the Nuggets due to lower back soreness. Austin Rivers would likely start if Paul were sidelined.
Mike Conley is considered questionable with left knee soreness for tonight's tilt with the Hornets. If Conley were to sit, Garrett Temple has enjoyed team-high leaps in usage rate and fantasy points per 36 minutes whenever the star point guard is off the floor.
Analytics advantage for Friday
The best fantasy climate of Friday's surprisingly light five-game slate might just be found in Denver, as the Nuggets host James Harden's historic scoring production with Paul proving questionable. If Paul sits, it's an obvious window to build around Harden and his Iversonian scoring usage, while stacking the elite Denver frontcourt against a patchwork Houston frontcourt could comparably pay off. With a robust opening total of 227 points, this should be a fun game to target for both streaming and DFS purposes.
Top players to watch tonight
Kyrie Irving isn't on the injury report for tonight's meeting with the Knicks, a team rumored to pursue him in free agency this coming summer. Irving has missed three of the past four games but has been elite when on the court of late, averaging 25.7 PPG and 8.1 APG in January. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first Celtics player to average at least 25 PPG and 8 APG in a calendar month since Larry Bird in April 1990.
Irving has also been efficient, shooting 54 percent from the floor and 43 percent from 3-point range on heavy volume, joining only Curry and Kevin Durant as the only other players in January averaging at least 25 PPG while shooting 50 percent on field goals and 40 percent on 3s. Irving has averaged 27.7 PPG in nine career games at Madison Square Garden. Since Irving entered the NBA in 2011-12, that ranks fifth among visitors to play at least five games at MSG.
For a depleted post-trade Knicks, Smith Jr. becomes a must-start in redraft formats and a key DFS target along with Irving, if he's active in time for tip. This will be a helpful window into how the post-trade Knicks will look.
