The New York Knicks snapped a franchise-record 18-game home losing streak and won all four quarters for the first time this season in a rousing win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Sunday afternoon. The win stopped the Knicks from dubiously tying the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks for the longest home losing streak in NBA history.
Several widely available fantasy assets contributed to New York's impressive showing in the Garden, with Damyean Dotson leading the way with a season-high 27 points, thanks to hitting a career-best eight 3-pointers. Dotson now has 47 points the past two games, thanks largely to sinking nearly 60 percent of his 3-point attempts. Afforded a starting gig and with unfettered freedom to create his shot for a retooling franchise, Dotson, who is rostered in fewer than five percent of ESPN leagues, is an intriguing flier, given this recent surge in success.
If Dotson was the surprising standout for New York, top prospect Kevin Knox's emergence as a productive scorer in the wake of the break is a bit more expected. Knox finished second among players eligible at power forward on Sunday's light slate in DraftKings points thanks to his second career double-double. A rising usage rate and potential for solid raw scoring and rebounding results, if sometimes ugly percentages, blend to support strong streaming value for this rookie forward.
Dennis Smith Jr. is now slashing for 16.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 6.9 APG, and 2.2 combined steals and blocks in 30 MPG in nine games, all starts, for the Knicks thus far. Last night saw DSJ produce a blend of poster-worthy dunks and highlight dimes (13 of them!), as he joined Trey Burke as the only players to tally at least 10 assists in a game for the Knicks this season.
Mitchell Robinson exploded for 15 points and 14 boards with five swats, moving him into ninth place in the NBA in total blocks as a rookie playing just 18 MPG. Robinson hasn't played enough minutes to qualify for the league lead in block percentage (rate of 2-point field goals blocked while on the court), but for some context as to how special his rim protection proves, Myles Turner leads the NBA with an 8.9 percent block percentage. Robinson, meanwhile, currently sports a 10.4 percent block rate.
A lack of meaningful minutes and a troubling foul rate, undoubtedly tethered trends, seem to the be the only thing in the way of statistical stardom for Robinson, who appears to have league-winning block upside in his future. If the coaching staff in New York continues to trust Robinson -- he played 30 minutes yesterday for just the second time in his pro career -- he's a savvy addition to consider in the twothirds of ESPN leagues where he's still a free agent.
Saturday and Sunday recap
Highlights
D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets: 40 points (14-31 FG), 1 rebound, 7 assists, 2 steals, 4 TO
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls: 42 points (17-29 FG), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 TO
Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls: 35 points (12-20 FG), 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: 41 points (15-30 FG), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 TO
Lowlights
Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns: 6 points (2-10 FG), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 TO
Otto Porter Jr., Chicago Bulls: 0 points (0-4 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Terry Rozier, Boston Celtics: 3 points (1-9 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Weekend takeaways
In a surprisingly convincing win over the Celtics on Saturday, LaVine and Markkanen became the first pair of Bulls teammates to each tally at least 35 points in a game since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen back on Nov. 20, 1996. LaVine established a new career high and was just relentless in driving and creating throughout the game, while Markkanen also set a new career best in scoring. Porter left the contest scoreless with a reported calf strain and should be considered questionable for tonight. Adding to this impressive win is the fact the Bulls lost their first two meetings against the Celtics by a combined 85 points, including a 56-point loss in their last meeting.
In the loss, Boston's Kyrie Irving tallied 37 points and 10 assists, his fifth game with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season, good for the most by a Celtics player in a season since Larry Bird in 1989-99.
Building on his first All-Star bid, Russell netted his second 40-point performance of the season, becoming the first Net to have multiple 40-point outings in a season since Devin Harris in 2008-09. Russell made his final five shots for 12 points over the final 2:26 in a comeback victory, outscoring the Hornets, who had just four points in that pivotal stretch. Joe Harris is also building on a strong All-Star weekend, as the 3-point champion scored 19 points on just seven shots on Saturday and is one of the top fantasy free agents to target for the stretch run.
Kevin Love enjoyed a resurgent weekend with 32 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Grizzlies on Saturday, marking his first game with at least 30 points and 10 pulls since Christmas 2017. Love also played in consecutive games for the first time since October, signaling some positive momentum is building. A sore left foot continues to sideline Tristan Thompson, meaning Ante Zizic, who had 18 points and seven boards on Saturday, should continue to play center aside Love.
Speaking of resurgent vets, Houston's Chris Paul was brilliant in leading the Rockets to victory over the Warriors in a game without MVP candidate James Harden in the lineup (semblance of rest and minor injuries). CP3 was back in full force with 23 points and 17 dimes, his most assists as a member of the Rockets.
Speaking of dimes, LeBron James sits only one shy of passing Andre Miller for 10th on the all-time list. When James nets this milestone, likely in the first quarter in Memphis tonight, he will be the only player in the top 10 of the all-time scoring and assists lists. Brandon Ingram could be a fun DFS target, given he's netted back-to-back 25-point games for the first time in his career.
Back on February 25, 1977, "Pistol" Pete Maravich scored a career-high 68 points as the New Orleans Jazz defeated New York, 124-107. Just imagine if Pistol had the 3-point line during his prime.
Injuries of note
Dallas' Luka Doncic has now missed consecutive games with an ankle ailment. The Mavericks are 1-3 without Doncic this season, and with tonight's matchup against the Clippers still off the board, it appears his status is truly questionable. If Doncic sits again, it's worth noting new teammate Tim Hardaway Jr. enjoys a team-high 5.1 percent surge in usage rate with the playmaking rookie off the floor.
Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns has missed a few games due to a concussion but is listed as probable tonight in an exciting matchup with Marvin Bagley III and the Kings.
The Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as doubtful for tonight's matchup in Chicago, which appears to be routine rest (listed as his knee).
Joel Embiid will sit again with a sore knee for tonight's tilt in New Orleans, a game discussed in detail below.
Analytics advantage for Monday
A robust 11-game slate for Monday means we'll want to identify a few games that stand out as particularly friendly for fantasy purposes. One key matchup is the 76ers visiting New Orleans to face the Pelicans. The first ingredient of interest is that the game has a lofty projected total of 238 points, the highest of the entire slate. The Pelicans opened as one-point favorites, signaling this could be a competitive and high-scoring game, helping fuel stability for key rotation players on both sides.
There is clearly real confusion over how many minutes and how meaningful the roles will prove for both Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis, as both vets are on minute restrictions since the team will almost surely trade them come summer. This doesn't disqualify the Pelicans as a fun fantasy roster, however, as widely available streaming shares of Kenrich Williams prove truly intriguing and there is real DFS interest in Elfrid Payton against a Philly defense that has been porous to playmaking guards all season.
For the Sixers, no Embiid means we can target Jimmy Butler, who even in a lower-usage role with Philly has been brilliantly efficient and claims a team-high boost in DFS production per 36 minutes with Embiid off the floor. Second to Butler in added DFS value is JJ Redick, who has averaged 11 more fantasy points per 36 minutes in such scenarios. Boban Marjanovic is also a somewhat obvious target for those stacking the Sixers tonight. Ben Simmons might be worth paying up for in his return to Louisiana, as he's enjoyed the highest surge in usage rate with Embiid off the floor this season (five percent).
Top players to watch tonight
On/off splits can be quite helpful when evaluating rosters missing key superstars. When Antetokounmpo is off the floor for the Bucks, for instance, we find Eric Bledsoe enjoys a seismic uptick in DFS upside, confirmed by averaging 13 more fantasy points per 36 minutes on DraftKings scoring key. Khris Middleton is just behind Bledsoe in netting a fantasy boon with Antetokounmpo sidelined, making these two a fun duo of building blocks for this huge Monday slate.
