The Lakers' dramatic descent will understandably be the top NBA talking point on Tuesday, but we should also give the Phoenix Suns some attention for gamely upsetting the Bucks on Monday evening in a compelling victory for the struggling franchise. The Suns shockingly completed their series sweep this season against Milwaukee.
The Bucks and Knicks -- the teams with best and worst records in NBA -- are the only teams that haven't defeated the Suns this season. Phoenix entered as underdogs of at least 13 points in both wins against Milwaukee, becoming the first team to beat a team twice as 13-point underdogs since the 2001-02 Bulls against the Lakers.
Led by Kelly Oubre Jr., the Suns mounted a successful comeback effort, buoyed by beating the Bucks by 15 points in the final quarter. Oubre impressively went to the stripe 17 times, resulting in 27 points on just 14 field goal attempts. Rookie Deandre Ayton helped the cause with his 34th double-double of the season, 13 more than any other rookie. Just as notably for fantasy investors is the fact Oubre netted three blocks in the win and has averaged one swat per game in addition to 1.3 steals per contest with Phoenix.
The productive two-way performance resulted in Oubre earning the top fantasy score on DraftKings among both the shooting guard and small forward markets for Monday's slate. Rostered in fewer than half of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday morning, Oubre is a must-add asset for these final pivotal weeks of the marathon that is the NBA campaign.
Monday recap
Highlights
Kelly Oubre Jr., Phoenix Suns: 27 points (7-14 FG), 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 TO
Julius Randle, New Orleans Pelicans: 30 points (10-23 FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Rajon Rondo, Los Angeles Lakers: 24 points (10-18 FG), 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 TO
Lowlights
Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks: 7 points (3-11 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO
Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks: 6 points (1-13 FG), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO
Ricky Rubio, Utah Jazz: 3 points (1-8 FG), 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 TO
Monday takeaways
The Lakers' third straight loss was particularly brutal, given it came against metro rivals and a team directly ahead of them in the standings, as the Clippers vaulted to the seventh seed in the West with the win over their roommates. The Lakers are now 5.5 games behind the final seed in the Western Conference and entered last night's contest with just a one percent chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN's Basketball Power Index. Despite the loss, it's impressive that Rondo secured his 32nd career triple-double and his first with the Lakers. Per Elias, Rondo became just the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double with five different franchises (along with Mark Jackson). LeBron James is now only 13 points shy of passing Michael Jordan (32,292) for fourth on the all-time scoring list, a milestone sure to come against Denver tomorrow.
In downing the Lakers, Patrick Beverley led the Clippers with five steals, thanks to his consistently physical defensive presence. Beverley secured nine boards and three 3-pointers as the Clippers' glue guy and has quietly been a top-15 fantasy point guard during the past month.
With nine dimes and three blocks, Derrick White was brilliant in the playmaking department on Monday for the Spurs in a crucial win over division foe Nuggets. White remains a free agent in more than 80 percent of leagues.
Allonzo Trier continues to shine for the Knicks with 29 points off the pine on just 16 shots. Aggressive to the rim and fearless in the restricted area, Trier came away with 15 free throw attempts and eight rebounds in the loss to the Kings on Monday night, confirming he merits much more attention from fantasy managers.
Brooklyn drubbed Dallas in a 39-point win last night, the largest margin of victory since the franchise moved to Brooklyn. The Nets shot 56.5 percent from the floor, their second-highest mark in a game this season. DeMarre Carroll tied a season-high with 22 points, his second 20-point game in the past three games after having just four 20-point games in his previous 50 games this season.
Anthony Davis tallied 15 points and 11 boards in just 22 minutes of play in the surprising win over Utah on Monday, marking his eighth straight game with fewer than 23 points, his longest such stretch since his rookie season. New Orleans netted their third consecutive win thanks to the stellar play of Randle and Jrue Holiday, while it's now clear Davis is only going to offer fantasy managers around 60 percent of his statistical potential in this awkward arrangement.
Injuries of note
Golden State's Klay Thompson missed this past weekend's matchup in Philadelphia and is considered questionable for tonight's matchup with the Celtics due to knee soreness. An MRI revealed no structural concerns, so we could see Thompson return to action as early as tonight.
Brandon Ingram missed last night's game against the Clippers with a shoulder ailment and is considered day-to-day. Kyle Kuzma, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury in the loss to the Clippers and is deemed doubtful for Wednesday's matchup with the Nuggets.
Oklahoma City's Paul George is listed as out for tonight's game against the Timberwolves with a shoulder ailment that has sidelined him the past three contests. For the analytics advantage segment below, let's focus on the effect of George's absence in Oklahoma City.
The 76ers' Joel Embiid has been ruled out ahead of tonight's matchup with the Magic, lending Jonah Bolden some interest as a deep-league streamer, while the Sixers' remaining trio of stars all net a bump in usage. Jimmy Butler enjoys the most significant usage bump this season with the big man sidelined.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
George is a legitimate top-three MVP candidate along with James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, thanks to dominant play at both ends of the floor. When he's off the court this season, Dennis Schroder enjoys a team-high six percent leap in usage rate and 5.8 more fantasy points per 36 minutes (on DraftKings' scoring key). Markieff Morris is also a key beneficiary of George's absence and is available as a free agent in more than 80 percent of ESPN leagues.
Top players to watch tonight
Per Second Spectrum, Harden has taken 31,583 dribbles this season. The Raptors' four leading scorers combined (Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, and Kyle Lowry) have taken 31,458 dribbles this season, or 125 fewer than Harden.
We might not get the chance to Kawhi put the clamps on Harden very often in tonight's contest, given they matched up just 10 times in their first meeting back on January 25, per Second Spectrum. Harden went 1-of-2 from the field with Leonard as the closest defender, but the sample size is minute. Leonard rested for Toronto's last game, so this should be a riveting display of two MVP-worthy talents.
A much larger sample is Harden averaging 40.5 PPG over his past 38 games. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the second-most consecutive games averaging 40 PPG in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain's record is just a bit longer at 515 games.
