On a Monday night with 22 NBA teams in action, it's undeniably impressive that Cleveland's Cedi Osman finished fourth among all small forwards in fantasy points thanks to netting 27 points on just 16 shots in a loss to the Blazers. Osman is rostered in precisely a quarter of ESPN leagues and yet has been a positive contributor in several key categories.
Despite facing some minor injuries, the second-year wing has been stellar during the past month with a rich slash of 19.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, while making 3.1 3PG on impressive 50 percent efficiency from beyond the arc. While we can sound the small-sample alarm, it's also fun to consider that only James Harden, Stephen Curry and Paul George have ever sustained at least 19 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 APG and 3 3PG over a full season in league history.
In no way is this saying Osman is a future star, but rather, he's currently playing one on TV. The Cavaliers have scored 124 points per possession with Osman on the court the past month, thanks in part to his rich true shooting rate (a measure of scoring efficiency from all three levels) of 66.5 percent. I just recently made room for Osman in a competitive league with hopes that Cleveland continues to furnish this productive young wing with plenty of touches and shots in the weeks ahead.
Monday recap
Highlights
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks: 28 points (7-12 FG), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 9 TO
Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons: 20 points (6-18 FG), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 TO
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 34 points (13-18 FG), 21 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 4 TO
Lowlights
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings: 2 points (0-4 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 points (3-10 FG), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 TO
Monday takeaways
The Lakers fell to the Grizzlies last night and are now 11th in the Western Conference standings, three games out of a postseason spot with 22 games left to play. Per ESPN's Basketball Power Index, the loss nearly cut the Lakers' playoff chances in half. They now have a 3.1 percent chance to make the postseason, down from 5.8 percent entering Monday. Over the past 14 games, the Lakers are allowing 122.4 PPG, worst in the NBA. They also have the second-worst average scoring margin in the league. LeBron James secured a triple-double and became the only player to rank in the top 10 in assists and points in league history, but those personal accomplishments are seemingly in the background, given the team's struggles. The news doesn't get any better for Los Angeles going forward; they have the fourth-toughest remaining schedule in the league, per BPI.
From BPI to B.I., we at least find Brandon Ingram thriving amid the Lakers' woes. Ingram produced 32 points last night in Memphis and joined Kobe Bryant as the only Lakers players with at least three games of at least 25 points before the age of 22. It's easy to forget how young Ingram is, and despite some real issues with his shot quality (lack of 3-point reliability), he's been efficient as a scorer of late.
Montrezl Harrell delivered a career-best 32 points while missing just three of 17 field goal attempts in bullying the Mavericks on Monday, giving the Clippers a fifth straight home win against the Mavs, the second-longest such streak against Dallas in franchise history.
Harden scored 28 points in a win against the Hawks on Monday, snapping his 32-game streak of scoring 30 points, which is the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 65-game streak in 1961-62. There are now only two active 30-point streaks in the league: Russell Westbrook at three straight games and Bradley Beal with two straight. During the streak, Harden led the NBA in points (1,316), field goals (384), 3-point field goals (181), free throws (367) and turnovers (168). He also had more games with at last 40 points (18) than games with 30-39 (14). Harden won't need to carry such a big load going forward, as teammate Chris Paul is back in top form, averaging 17.5 PPG, 8.9 APG and 5.2 RPG since returning from injury.
In the loss to Houston, Trae Young scored a career-high 36 points, tied for the most points for any rookie this season. Young is the first rookie to outscore Harden since Towns in March of 2016. With Young's excellent assist rate fueling a high fantasy floor, he's yet another potential breakout candidate for next season.
As is obligatory, we follow Young's impressive update with news of Doncic's fourth triple-double of the season (and nearly a quad with turnovers). The dynamic playmaker already has the sixth-most triple-doubles in league history for a rookie. The Mavericks, however, have lost five straight, one shy of the team's longest losing streak this season.
The Bulls fell to a Giannis-less Bucks team, snapping a three-game winning streak. The impressive part from the loss was Lauri Markkanen posting another big double-double line. The second-year stretch big has produced at least 20 points in all nine games this month and is averaging 26.5 PPG in February. This guy could become a full-fledged fantasy star next season.
Injuries of note
Philadelphia's key backup big Boban Marjanovic was injured late in Monday's win over the Pelicans after getting his leg rolled on in what looked like an offensive lineman getting rolled over at the line in football. Marjanovic could barely put weight on his right leg as he was helped off the floor in New Orleans. With an MRI due on Tuesday, we'll wait for discovery, but I think it's appropriate to plan on Jonah Bolden being the primary backup in Philly and the de facto starter until Joel Embiid is back in action.
The Pacers' Domantas Sabonis left the floor early in the loss to the Pistons last night, and it appears to be a sprained left ankle. Sabonis was seen walking on his own power, but we'll want to wait for more information from the team today.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
The marquee matchup might appear to be the Celtics and Raptors tonight in Toronto, as two clear contenders from the Eastern Conference meet, but I'm sold on Tuesday's tilt between the Thunder and Nuggets in Denver as my favorite fantasy climate of the three-game slate. The Thunder are third in points per game and the Nuggets claim the third-best offensive rating. Thus, there is a healthy opening total of 237 points in place for this contest, 11 more than the opening number for the game in Toronto.
Paying up for George or Westbrook, or stacking from both deep rosters, could prove prudent, though I'm particularly intrigued by affordable shares of Will Barton, Malik Beasley and Jamal Murray on Denver to build around Nikola Jokic, who has a realistic projection for 50 fantasy points tonight (on DraftKings).
Top players to watch tonight
Mitchell Robinson is quickly becoming the block baron of the NBA and yet is rostered in just a third of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday morning. With an expectation for more minutes as the Knicks feature youth down the stretch, Robinson is a strong streaming option and savvy DFS play tonight.
For the Magic, Evan Fournier has topped 30 fantasy points in four of his past five using DraftKings' scoring key and is a good bet to near or surpass 10 combined assists and rebounds against a porous New York defense (save for Robinson's rim protection). As for Gordon's upside, the Magic's lack of a traditional point guard has fueled a strong assist rate for this combo forward, as he's averaged 4.6 dimes his past nine starts and could deliver a full floor game in the Garden tonight.
