Top Rookie of the Year candidates Luka Doncic and Trae Young both proved dazzling in their respective matchups on Tuesday evening. Doncic delivered yet another triple-double in keeping the Mavericks competitive in a loss to the Kings, while Young scorched the nets with 33 points and 12 dimes in a win over New Orleans.
Doncic produced his seventh triple-double of the season and is now tied with Magic Johnson for third most all-time by a rookie and for the most ever by a player before his 21st birthday, per Elias. Even as the Mavericks have been among the weakest NBA teams since they began a busy trading season back in early February, Doncic is cementing his case for one of the better statistical rookie seasons ever.
Young delivered his sixth performance of the season with at least 30 points and 10 assists, breaking a tie with Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan for the second most by a rookie in NBA history. The only rookie with more 30-and-10 games in NBA history is Oscar Robertson, who had 25 such games in 1960-61, again per Elias. Unlike the Mavs, the Hawks are enjoying increased success on the court since the break and are riding a season-high three-game winning streak.
Doncic and Young highlight a brilliant rookie class, and Cleveland's Collin Sexton is also getting in on the playmaking fun. He scored 24 points in a loss to Boston on Tuesday has now scored at least 20 points in nine of his past 10 games. Even Doncic's teammate and fellow rookie guard Jalen Brunson is enjoying an ascendant run in the starting lineup for Dallas. The Villanova product is rostered in roughly one-fifth of ESPN leagues and yet has scored in double figures in a dozen straight games, all starts, while slashing for 16.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 4.5 APG in 30.8 minutes during this stretch.
Tuesday recap
Highlights
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks: 28 points (9-20 FG), 12 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 TO
Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons: 29 points (12-32 FG), 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 TO
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets: 38 points (14-31 FG), 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 TO
Lowlights
Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets: 3 points (1-5 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 TO
Kelly Olynyk, Miami Heat: 4 points (1-7 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs: 4 points (0-10 FG), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 TO
Tuesday takeaways
• Walker's 38 points mark the most in a game by a player with at least 10 assists in Hornets history. Seemingly on fire in the clutch ever since last week's rousing comeback win over Boston, Walker netted 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime in a big win over the Spurs, securing the franchise's first sweep of San Antonio since 1996-97. Even though he didn't play, we can imagine Tony Parker smiling from the bench.
• LeBron James netted 23 points and 14 dimes in a win over Washington, earning his 200th career game with at least 20 points and 10 assists (only Chris Paul has more since James entered league). The Lakers secured back-to-back wins for the first time since Jan. 15-17 and next test their mettle against the Jazz tonight in Salt Lake City (on ESPN).
• The Nuggets earned their 50th win of the season in holding off a resilient Pistons crew on Tuesday. This marks the franchise's first 50-win season since 2012-13 when they won 57 games. Jamal Murray delivered his seventh 30-point game this season, matching his total from last season. The Nuggets are 7-0 in those games this season.
• Detroit's Griffin was brilliant in the loss to the Nuggets and helped the Pistons make a dramatic late charge in a game they trailed by as many as 27 points. The Pistons outscored the Nuggets 53-29 in the second half, thanks in part to Griffin's ninth career game with at least 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists -- his first such line since December 2014.
• The Pelicans rested Anthony Davis once again last night and have now lost nine of 10 games. One positive angle from New Orleans is the rise of Christian Wood, who impressively tallied 23 points, nine rebounds, three steals and a whopping six blocks against Young's Hawks on Tuesday evening. Wood was recently released by the Bucks and is now benefiting from the bevy of minutes and touches the lottery-bound Pelicans can afford him. You can find Wood for the price of a roster spot in 99.7 percent of ESPN leagues as of Wednesday morning.
• Even though the Heat lost a crucial matchup with the Magic last night, we again witnessed some vintage Dwyane Wade playmaking, as the veteran combo guard notched 22 points with a combined 14 assists and rebounds. Both Wade and Dion Waiters can help fantasy teams in need of scoring down the stretch. Heat legend Chris Bosh had his No. 1 jersey retired last night and gave a great speech at halftime worth watching if you get time.
Injuries of note
• The Bulls will likely be without Zach LaVine (knee) and Otto Porter Jr. (shoulder), as there has been some buzz from the beat about shutting both down for the season with their respective injuries. Wayne Selden and Shaquille Harrison are both earning big minutes in place of the team's duo of ailing stars and can be added in free agency in the majority of leagues.
• CJ McCollum remains sidelined with a knee injury, which helps support streaming value for both Seth Curry and Rodney Hood.
• Mike Conley is considered a game-time decision with a thigh injury for tonight's matchup with the Warriors. If Conley sits, Delon Wright and even Tyler Dorsey become savvy streaming options for Wednesday's somewhat light, five-game slate.
• Trevor Ariza left last night's loss to the Lakers with an ankle injury. If this injury proves serious, I'd guess we've seen the last of Ariza this season. Go ahead and add Tomas Satoransky wherever possible for the final few weeks.
Analytics advantage for Wednesday
The Pacers visit Oklahoma City tonight for the early game on ESPN and have struggled on the road since the All-Star break, losing eight straight away from home. The Pacers haven't lost nine straight road games since December 2010 to January 2011, per ESPN Stats & Info. The Pacers' lineup of Cory Joseph, Doug McDermott, Tyreke Evans, Thaddeus Young and Domantas Sabonis has been the best in the NBA this season among the 63 lineups to play at least 150 minutes together. This Indiana unit has outscored opponents by 25.7 points per 100 possessions in 166 minutes this season, per NBA Advanced Stats. Leveraging this information into affordable DFS shares of Young and Sabonis could prove rewarding.
Even though Darren Collison isn't part of this ultra-productive lineup, he should see plenty of burn trying to slow down Russell Westbrook, who should return value on DraftKings, even at $10,500 tonight. Assuming Westbrook plays the remaining eight games on the schedule, he needs to average seven assists and 1.9 rebounds per game to average a triple-double for the third straight season, per ESPN Stats & Info. Paul George will be playing his fourth game against his former team. In two games against Indiana last season, he averaged just 11 points per game, but the Thunder won both. In their only other matchup this season, he scored 36 points in a two-point loss. I think we'll see "Playoff P" in action, given both the motivation against his former club and the sheer need for the Thunder to get back into the win column.
Top players to watch tonight
With Jusuf Nurkic sidelined by a leg injury, Enes Kanter is a top DFS play, as his price point remains modest on DraftKings. I'm also all about shares of Suns center Deandre Ayton against a Washington Wizards team that has allowed the second-most points in the paint during the past 10 games. The Wizards have allowed at least 120 points 30 times this season, most in a season for the franchise since 1969-70. For those in need of a streaming option at center in redraft leagues, turn to Washington's Thomas Bryant, who should prove busy facing Phoenix's gifted rookie.
