On a night with superstars such as James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic all delivering dominant statistical performances, the most riveting game of Wednesday's slate was found in a triple-overtime thriller in Cleveland.
The Nets and Cavaliers combined for 287 points in a drama-filled epic in what surprisingly became the signature game of the night. The fantasy takeaways from this one are plentiful, as several key rotation players on each roster enjoyed big games on Wednesday that aren't necessarily outliers or random big games. The fantasy hoops market tends to overlook the weaker teams around the league.
Some reluctance is understandable given that these teams don't get much national television exposure or attention from pundits, thus it's incumbent on savvy fantasy managers to proactively seek out the value on teams such as Phoenix, Cleveland, and Atlanta, to name a few of the lottery-bound rosters in mind.
I've been hyping Joe Harris as an ideal shooting specialist to target, especially in rotisserie formats where his clean scoring percentages and 3-point volume help build a strong foundation in such categories. Harris missed only one of five attempts from beyond the arc last night, aiding the Nets' victory. The bearded sharpshooter has made an absurd 65.4 percent of his 3-point attempts the past four games and is among the league leaders for the season with a comparably silly 47.1 clip on 5.2 attempts per game. Harris is available in free agency in more than 80 percent of ESPN leagues.
Fellow Brooklyn wing DeMarre Carroll is available for the price of a roster spot in over 90 percent of ESPN leagues and yet has slashed for 14.3 PPG, seven RPG, four APG, 1.7 SPG, and 2.0 3PG the past three games, including finishing with a team-best net rating in 45 minutes of action on Wednesday. Last night's trusted role in a competitive game confirms Carroll is back in the good graces of coach Kenny Atkinson after struggling to find consistent minutes earlier this season.
For Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr. extended his awesome run on the glass with at least 10 boards in seven straight appearances after pulling down 14 boards on Wednesday. Nance is averaging 12 PPG, 13.2 RPG, three assists and 1.9 combined blocks and steals during this seven-game run of rebounding excellence. Nance is rostered in just shy of half of ESPN leagues.
The Cavs' Jordan Clarkson became the first Cavalier with more than 30 points in a game this season thanks to tallying a career-high 42 points and a career-high seven 3-pointers in the close loss to the Nets. Clarkson is only available in a quarter of ESPN leagues, but his teammate Cedi Osman, who just returned from injury last night to play nearly 25 minutes, was averaging 24.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 3.8 3PG and with strong defensive rates in his four games prior to getting injured earlier this month. I believe Osman could be the Cavaliers' best perimeter playmaker (more distribution ability than Clarkson) going forward, which makes it quite compelling to consider he's a fantasy free agent in 85 percent of leagues
Wednesday recap
Highlights
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 33 points (12-22 FG), 19 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO
Jordan Clarkson, Cleveland Cavaliers: 42 points (16-34 FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 TO
Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors: 44 points (15-25 FG), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 4 TO
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 20 points (7-17 FG), 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 TO
Lowlights
Justin Holiday, Memphis Grizzlies: 3 points (1-4 FG), 2 assists, 2 steals
Tyler Johnson, Miami Heat: 3 points (1-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets: 10 points (3-8 FG), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 TO
Wednesday takeaways
Chicago's Otto Porter Jr. just missed the cut in a competitive highlights section with a career-high 37 Pts (16-20 FG), becoming the first Bulls player to shoot 80 percent or better on at least 20 field goal attempts since Michael Jordan in November 1988 (Jordan did it twice in that month). Porter also became the first Bulls player with a least 35 points and 10 boards since Jimmy Butler back in March of 2017. I've been talking Porter up as a huge winner from the trade deadline given a likely surge in usage and upside in the move from Washington to Chicago and this trend is already surfacing with stellar numbers for Porter. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a top-30 fantasy player going forward.
The Phoenix Suns extended their losing streak to 15 games, tying a dubious franchise record set last spring. Sticking with the theme of mining for value on the league's weaker teams, we saw Kelly Oubre Jr. set a career-high with 28 points in the loss to the Clippers on Wednesday. I'll admit that I didn't think Oubre's arrival in Phoenix earlier this season would shift his statistical value much, but he's proven me wrong with 2.1 combined blocks and steals per game and nearly a 20 percent leap in scoring output despite playing just two more minutes per game. Like with Porter, it might just be that leaving a Washington roster with a heavy-usage backcourt (even in the wake of John Wall's injury) did the trick.
With Tobias Harris spacing the floor and shooting social media videos with Boban in Philly these days, the Clippers' offense once again revolves around Lou Williams, as he produced 30 points and 10 dimes last night and now has at least 30 points in consecutive games for the first time since last January. Williams' usage rate the past three games sans Harris -- an estimate of the team plays an individual consumes while on the floor -- is a ridiculous 40.8 percent. Even Russell Westbrook is jealous. While early, it appears Williams' fantasy stock quietly enjoyed a sizable surge with Harris off the floor.
The Raptors improved to 13-3 without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup this season thanks in part to another huge performance from Pascal Siakam. The emergent forward produced a career-high 44 points, 30 coming in the second half. Siakam is averaging 38.5 PPG and 12.0 RPG in last two games without Leonard in the lineup, both wins. Siakam is the sixth player with a 40-point double-double in Raptors history. OG Anunoby joined the fun with a career-high 22 points off the pine, albeit this one reads more like an outlier than a trend. For those in keeper and dynasty leagues, Siakam is already presenting as a potential star no matter what Leonard decides in free agency come July, yet his fantasy ceiling becomes incredibly high if Leonard chooses a different team.
Fresh from a buyout by the Knicks, center Enes Kanter signed with the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. There isn't much fantasy impact to discuss save for the potential for this move to diminish Al-Farouq Aminu's rebounding profile going forward.
Harden basically gets his own daily section given his endless assault on the record books. It was just another night and another 30-point performance by Harden. In fact, he scored 42 in the Rockets' loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday, marking Harden's 31st consecutive game with at least 30 points, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in NBA history. The 30-point streak started on Dec 13, which means Harden has now gone two full months without scoring below 30. The Rockets were 12-14 entering Dec 13, the second-worst record in the Western Conference. They currently sit fifth in the conference (21-10 during streak). During the streak, Harden has averaged 41.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 7.4 APG. No really. Harden has averaged 40 PPG over the last 34 games, breaking a tie with Elgin Baylor for the second-longest streak in NBA history. However, he is unlikely to catch Chamberlain who averaged 40 PPG over the course of 515 games (no really).
Injuries of note
The Nuggets' Isaiah Thomas made his season debut on Wednesday and compiled eight points in 13 minutes in the close win over the Kings, the team that drafted him with the last pick of the second-round years ago. Thomas will likely be on a minute restriction for some time given his long history of hip issues, thus he's not worth rostering just yet.
Analytics advantage for Thursday
Sticking with the premise of finding fantasy value on poor teams, let's target tonight's tilt between the Knicks and Hawks. The Knicks endured their 18th straight loss on Wednesday, which is now the second-longest losing streak in franchise history and the longest single-season streak in the team's eight decades of competition. That said, this game in Atlanta should prove fun for fantasy purposes given a healthy opening total of 224 points.
I'm endorsing shares of the Knicks' Kadeem Allen, who has netted a usage rate above 25 percent in consecutive outings and can be found in free agency in almost every ESPN league and for punt pricing in DFS competition tonight. For the Hawks, shares of Trae Young are intriguing given the Knicks' utter lack of backcourt defense. The same proves accurate for Kevin Huerter, who should near 25 fantasy points in DFS competition and is rostered in roughly 11 percent of ESPN leagues.
Top players to watch tonight
On a three-game slate like tonight, it's nearly impossible to fade the superstars from the Thunder. Russell Westbrook is quite costly in DFS play but should feast on a Pelicans team struggling to defend the rim with Anthony Davis playing inconsistent and often lackluster minutes of late. Steven Adams is a nice bargain to consider to offset Westbrook's lofty price, as he could comparably feast in the paint facing Jahlil Okafor.
In order to afford a stack that includes Westbrook and Paul George, making room for the Pelicans' Kenrich Williams is a savvy angle given he's consumed a nice blend of minutes, touches and rebounding opportunities the past several weeks. You can even target Williams as a streaming option ahead of the All-Star break, as he's rostered in just 14 percent of ESPN leagues as of Thursday morning.
