An especially dramatic final day of trading in the NBA ended in fittingly theatrical fashion with Rajon Rondo's first career buzzer-beater in a needed victory over Boston. Not only was it Rondo's first career buzzer-beater, but it was also his first career go-ahead field goal in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime -- he was previously 0-11 on such shots.
Rondo has averaged 10.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.0 APG, and 1.7 3PG this past week and is still available in free agency in nearly a third of ESPN leagues and is often uniquely affordable for most DFS slates. The Lakers fueled their comeback victory with a franchise-record 22 3-pointers, with Rondo hitting three in the win over his former team. Per Second Spectrum, the Lakers' 19 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers made are tied for the second most by any team this season.
By Sunday's game in South Philly, the Lakers should have newly acquired sharpshooter Reggie Bullock in the fold, signaling he could be a fantasy-relevant shooting specialist if the team affords him enough looks on the heels of last night's rousing success from beyond the arc.
For a comprehensive appraisal of the statistical winners and losers from this endlessly active deadline, ESPN's Andre Snellings deftly canvasses the league with an eye on fantasy ramifications.
Thursday recap
Highlights
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: 28 points (11-21 FG), 12 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 3 TO
Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors: 33 points (12-20 FG), 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: 15 points (5-16 FG), 13 rebounds, 15 assists, 4 steals, 1 TO
Lowlights
Jerryd Bayless, Minnesota Timberwolves: 0 points (0-6 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Justin Holiday, Memphis Grizzlies: 6 points (2-11 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 TO
Marcus Morris, Boston Celtics: 3 points (1-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
Thursday takeaways
With the team unable to find an offer that met their rightfully lofty demands, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis will return to the team and play out the rest of the season. This is great news for Davis' fantasy managers, as he's one of the two or three best fantasy options in the game. The team also avoids an ugly and prolonged stalemate with one of the best players in franchise history. Davis ranks second in the NBA with a player efficiency rating of 31.0 this season (PER is a rating of a player's per-minute productivity), and his career PER of 27.4 is third best in NBA history (min. 20 games), trailing only Michael Jordan and LeBron. It will prove interesting to see how the team handles Jahlil Okafor's role as a backup big.
Speaking of James, he tallied the 77th triple-double of his career on Thursday in Boston and now is just one shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain for fifth on the all-time list. It was James' fourth triple-double this season, the most in a season by a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2004-05 (five). The only other players with four triple-doubles from their 16th season on are Jason Kidd and Bryant (both had four total, but not in a single season).
The Thunder have won all but three of their past 12 games, thanks largely to their tandem of superstars. Westbrook notched his eighth-straight triple-double in drubbing the Grizzlies, securing the second-longest triple-double streak in NBA history. Paul George produced 27 points and has averaged 32.6 PPG during this recent 12-game surge. Thursday marks the 15th time Westbrook and LeBron have recorded a triple-double on the same day in their careers, the most by any duo in NBA history, per Elias.
Even in a big loss, there were some key positives for Memphis, with Jaren Jackson Jr. tallying 27 points, 20 coming in the first half, a new career high for any half. With Marc Gasol shipped to Toronto, "JJJ" could become a full-fledged fantasy star in the coming weeks. For a widely available asset from the Grizzlies, consider forward Ivan Rabb, who has been a legitimate double-double threat with Gasol off the floor and is a free agent in 95 percent of ESPN leagues.
Siakam established a new career-high in scoring, while teammate Fred VanVleet also notched a new high with 30 points, his fifth career game with at least 20 points. I'm not sure I'm buying shares of VanVleet's breakout performance, especially now that a ball-dominant distributor in Gasol joins the fold. Kawhi Leonard did not play due to rest, while the Raptors impressively improved to 12-3 without him this season.
Rodney Hood missed just one of seven shots in a strong debut with the Blazers, but the lack of shooting volume in 25 minutes isn't ideal. With Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless and Jake Layman all competing alongside Hood for wing minutes, this might be a messy rotation for fantasy.
Reports suggest Terrence Ross was nearly dealt for Markelle Fultz on Thursday afternoon, but the team instead spent a first-round pick and sent Jonathon Simmons to South Philly instead. Ross responded with 32 points last night in a win over the Timberwolves, the most by a Magic player off the bench since Jameer Nelson on Jan. 11, 2006 against the SuperSonics (also 32 points). The Magic scored 71 points in the first half, their most in any half this season. Minnesota has now lost three straight and five of their past six and next play at 9:30 ET on Friday against the Pelicans on ESPN in a game that should see Karl-Anthony Towns face "The Brow."
Injuries of note
The 76ers' Joel Embiid is listed as questionable for tonight's tilt with the Nuggets with an illness. I'm guessing we see Embiid active, as he rested in Denver two weeks ago and likely wants to battle fellow MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. If Embiid were inactive, it only adds to the appeal of stacking with their remaining collective of stars.
Rookie sensation Luka Doncic is questionable with a right thigh contusion, but I'd be surprised if he sits against the Bucks unless the team plans to punt the game, as the Mavericks' roster is decidedly thin in the wake of dealing several vital veterans at the deadline. If Doncic were to rest, Tim Hardaway Jr. becomes an attractive DFS investment.
Devin Booker is questionable for tonight's matchup with the Warriors with a hamstring injury. Booker missed Wednesday's matchup with the Jazz, suggesting there is some real risk he sits this one out, given his recurrence of hamstring ailments this season. If Booker sits, newly acquired Tyler Johnson, available in 92 percent of ESPN leagues, becomes a strong streaming target tonight.
Analytics advantage for Friday
Khris Middleton is set to sit out tonight's meeting with the Mavericks for rest. The Bucks' stacked roster will look to incorporate recently acquired stretch forward Nikola Mirotic into the rotation if he's available in time, but the real key for fantasy managers is the fact guard Eric Bledsoe enjoys a team-high 5.2 percent spike in usage rate with Middleton off the floor this season.
Malcolm Brogdon trails Bledsoe for the second-highest (3.7 percent) surge with Middleton sidelined and the team's highest bump in fantasy points on a prorated basis. This means Brogdon has averaged 4.7 more fantasy points per 36 minutes, making him and Bledsoe ideal targets in DFS for tonight's meeting with a stripped-down Dallas roster.
Top players to watch tonight
In their first game since acquiring Tobias Harris, the 76ers will host the Nuggets. The 76ers traded for Harris, along with Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott. By just about any measure, Harris is having a career campaign -- he's shooting 49.6 percent, 43.4 percent from 3-point range and 87.7 percent from the foul line, joining Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving as the only other players in the NBA this season averaging 20 PPG while shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the foul line. Harris also leads the NBA by making 49 percent of his 3-pointers off the dribble (minimum 60 such attempts), just ahead of Curry. Last season, Harris was second in the league in efficiency on off-the-dribble 3-pointers.
Even before adding Harris, the 76ers were the only team in the NBA with four players averaging at least 17.0 PPG this season. Harris gives them a fifth. It will be riveting to see how coach Brett Brown staggers his foursome of All-Star-caliber players for Philly, but given that Harris has the lowest usage rate of any 20 PPG scorer this season, the fit might just work.
Oh yeah, and Marjanovic should make his debut with Philadelphia tonight. You can never discount the Boban.
