Dwyane Wade hit his fifth career game-winning buzzer-beater in shocking the Warriors on Wednesday night. This marked his first successful buzzer-beat since March 9, 2009, against the Bulls, which happened from the same spot on the floor atop the arc. Wade's five successful buzzer-beaters are tied for the second-most in the NBA since he debuted in 2003-04, as only Joe Johnson has more with seven.
Wade had missed 21 straight potential go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of games before downing Golden State with a one-legged bank floater last night in Miami. Wade is the third player over the past 15 seasons (regular season or playoffs) to hit a buzzer-beater at 37 years old or older, joining Vince Carter in the 2014 playoffs and Paul Pierce in the 2015 playoffs, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Rostered in just 30.8 percent of ESPN leagues as of Thursday morning, "Flash" is slashing for 14.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.4 combined blocks and steals with a rich 28.7 percent usage rate his past 16 games. Even amid his retirement tour, Wade is ranked 29th in the league with a 28 percent usage rate for the season, just ahead of Mike Conley and just behind Bradley Beal in this estimate of offensive consumption.
We spend so much energy searching for the next great fantasy prospect that productive vets like Wade -- and even Joakim Noah, who had another strong line for Memphis last night and is available in 90 percent of leagues -- tend to fly under the radar.
Wednesday recap
Highlights
Eric Bledsoe, Milwaukee Bucks: 26 points (11-20 FG), 12 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 TO
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings: 28 points (10-22 FG), 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 37 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 TO
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks: 36 points (9-22 FG), 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 TO
Lowlights
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets: 6 points (3-10 FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 steals
Caris LeVert, Brooklyn Nets: 0 points (0-5 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 TO
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks: 5 points (2-9 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Dario Saric, Minnesota Timberwolves: 6 points (1-11 FG), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO
Wednesday takeaways
In an overtime win over the Timberwolves, Atlanta's dynamic Young became the first rookie with consecutive 35-point games since Allen Iverson in 1997. Young notched his third game with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season, tying LeBron James for fourth most by a rookie in NBA history. The only rookies with more such performances are Oscar Robertson, Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan. Young is the also the third rookie since the merger with at least 35 points and five assists in back-to-back games, joining Iverson in 1996-97 and Jordan in 1984-85. John Collins scored 34 in the win over the Wolves, meaning he and Young are the first pair of teammates both 21 or younger with 30 points in the same game since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in March of 2010.
Bledsoe produced his fifth career triple-double and his first since early last April in a riveting overtime win over the Kings. The Bucks secured 14 blocks, the team's most in a game this season this season (previous high was 11). Malcolm Brogdon continued his role as one of the most efficient guards in the league with 25 points on only 11 shots in the close win over the Kings. As evidence of his clean scoring pattern, Brogdon leads the NBA with a 93.6 percent free throw rate and is firmly in the 50/40/90 club. Brogdon's restricted free agency will prove compelling come July for a team faced with impending free agents in Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Nikola Mirotic and Brogdon.
In the loss to Milwaukee, Buddy Hield netted 32 points on a career-high 29 field goal attempts, securing his sixth 30-point game of the season after entering the year with just one such performance in his career. Former sleeper turned fantasy gem Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-high 28 points and is yet rostered in only around half of ESPN leagues. The playoff race for the final two spots in the West should prove compelling, especially with the likes of the Kings and Lakers in the mix.
With a rousing win over the Celtics on ESPN last night, the Portland Trail Blazers improved to 18-4 facing the Eastern Conference this season, good for the best record in the NBA against the East this season. The Trail Blazers secured their season-best fifth consecutive win with thanks to not only Damian Lillard out-dueling Kyrie Irving, but a stellar game from Maurice Harkless, as well. Moe produced 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the victory and now has scored in double-figures in four of his past five. Harkless and backup wing Jake Layman make for viable streaming options in deeper leagues.
Dallas downed a depleted Indiana team missing Domantas Sabonis with an ankle injury. Luka Doncic scored 26 and finished three dimes shy of yet another triple-double in securing his fourth game this season with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists -- tied for the second most such performances by a rookie over the past 20 seasons (only Blake Griffin had more with 11 in 2010-11). In his final game as a teenager -- he turns 20 today -- it's fun to note Doncic finished with 1,194 points as a teenager, sixth most in NBA history.
The Lakers needed all of James' 33 points and 10 assists in beating the Pelicans last night. Rajon Rondo stormed back into the starting lineup with 16 dimes while tying for second most on the team behind James with 15 field goal attempts in the win. Rondo had played fewer than 20 minutes in three of his past five, thus seeing 37 minutes with rich usage against his former team is an encouraging sign. Rondo is a free agent in more than half of ESPN leagues.
The Pelicans' Julius Randle pounded his former team in the paint en route to 35 points, his second most this season. The performance marked Randle's fifth 30-point game this season after having two in his career entering this campaign. Set with a player option this summer, Randle is due to cash either in New Orleans or elsewhere and could become an even stronger fantasy force in the right context.
James Harden managed to score 30 points despite going 10-of-29 from the field including 1-of-11 from 3. Harden has gone 1-of-21 on 3-pointers in his past two games. Per Elias, that is the third-worst 3-point percentage over a two-game span in NBA history (minimum 15 3-point attempts). In a bit of more positive news, ESPN's Kirk Goldsberry shared this awesome info graphic revealing yet another historic offensive accomplishment for the bearded one.
At 29, James Harden is already the all-time leader in unassisted 3s in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/TugdcLdzaZ
- Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) February 27, 2019
Injuries of note
The Kings' loss to the Bucks could prove additionally tough, given Marvin Bagley III left the locker room with a brace on his left leg last night with an MRI scheduled for today. Bagley clutched his left knee late in the third quarter before leaving the floor, so there is real concern over the gifted rookie's status going forward.
Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic are both ruled out with respective knee ailments for tonight's matchup with the Thunder, a contest discussed in greater detail below.
Analytics advantage for Thursday
The Thunder have won 19 straight games against the 76ers. That's the longest active win streak for any team against a single opponent, per the Elias Sports Bureau, one game better than the Warriors' 18-game streak over the Suns.
The last time the Sixers beat the Thunder was back on Nov. 15, 2008. That was just the Thunder's 10th game since moving to Oklahoma City and it was during a 3-29 start to the season. Westbrook came off the bench to score 13 points for the Thunder, while current general manager Elton Brand scored 15 points for the Sixers. Future Warriors Finals MVPs Durant and Andre Iguodala both started at guard in this game, per the official box score.
Fast forward to today, and we find this game with the highest opening total of the slate at a healthy 239 points, evidence this is a fun fantasy matchup despite Embiid missing from the lineup. The Sixers simply haven't protected the rim sans Embiid and even struggled to do so with him in the lineup recently, as Philly has allowed the most points in the paint per game to opponents during the past 10 games.
This signals a strong floor for Steven Adams and a uniquely high ceiling for Westbrook, especially as the Sixers have been porous against guards all season, ceding the most games of at least 30 points to guards. It's reasonable to project 60 fantasy points on DraftKings' model for Westbrook. Building around him and fellow triple-double savant Ben Simmons is a savvy investing angle to consider.
I'm also partial to shares of Jimmy Butler, given he leads the team with a 5.6 percent boost in usage rate with Embiid off the floor this season and subsequently the largest leap in fantasy points per 36 minutes (7.5 more) in such scenarios. For a punt play, Mike Scott will likely see 25 minutes and around 10 shots off the pine for Philly.
Those in truly deep leagues might want to consider Aussie import Jonah Bolden tonight, as the bouncy backup big should start at center for Philly.
Top players to watch tonight
In a matchup of two tanking teams, there could be some real fantasy fun found with the Knicks poised as three-point favorites against the visiting Cavaliers tonight. Any chance to write about the Knicks being solid favorites is so rare, you must take it.
I like the spot Kevin Love is in for the Cavs, especially given his modest price on DraftKings, facing a Knicks team that still proves quite exploitable on defense despite the rise of Mitchell Robinson, who is a nice addition to consider ahead of tonight's game.
If you are hunting cheap scoring tonight, Emmanuel Mudiay could top 25 minutes with a usage rate around 25 percent for the Knicks. In that same mold, Cedi Osman has been a playmaking revelation for the Cavs of late and merits much more attention in both daily fantasy and redraft competition ahead of tonight's visit to the Garden.
