The Trail Blazers' Evan Turner has surprisingly stepped up in the wake of major injuries to Portland's core with consecutive triple-double performances, securing the fifth triple-double of his career on Wednesday evening off the pine in a win over Memphis. Per Elias, Turner is the first player since starts became officially recorded in 1970-71 with back-to-back triple-doubles off the bench and the first Trail Blazers player with consecutive triple-doubles since Clyde Drexler in February of 1989.
Turner helped fuel the Blazers' fifth victory of at least 25 points this season, their most in a season since 2008-09 (eight). The Ohio State product is available in free agency in roughly 96 percent of ESPN leagues and yet is enjoying more playmaking equity sans CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic from the lineup. The final days of the NBA marathon can prove wacky and wonky, demanding we pay attention to surging rotation contributors such as Turner.
Wednesday recap
Highlights
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: 28 points (11-16 FG), 19 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 4 TO
Julius Randle, New Orleans Pelicans: 34 points (12-19 FG), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 TO
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks: 33 points (12-18 FG), 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 TO
Lowlights
Elfrid Payton, New Orleans Pelicans: 2 points (1-8 FG), 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 TO
DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio Spurs: 11 points (4-7 FG), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 TO
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs: 5 points (2-7 FG), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Wednesday takeaways
Randle notched his fifth performance this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds after posting just one such outing in his career with the Lakers. Empowered by a player option this summer, it will be riveting to see Randle's free-agent market materialize after a quietly strong debut season in New Orleans.
The Washington Wizards' Thomas Bryant is one of the key difference-makers for fantasy managers during these final few weeks of the season. Bryant finished seventh among centers and fourth among power forwards in fantasy scoring on DraftKings during a robust 12-game slate on Wednesday evening. Bryant has averaged 13.5 PPG and 10 RPG during his past 10 games and yet is rostered in just shy of a quarter of ESPN leagues.
Walt Lemon Jr. is yet another new name from the Chicago backcourt worthy of our attention down the stretch. Lemon delivered career-highs in scoring (24) and assists (eight) last night and should continue to see steady minutes on the Bulls' patchwork roster.
D'Angelo Russell tallied 27 points in a loss to the Raptors last night, marking his 28th 25-point game this season, the most in a season by a Nets player since Vince Carter in 2008-09 (30). The Nets are still battling for a playoff berth down the wire, but it's become clear at least that they've acquired and developed a rising star in Russell.
Young produced his seventh game with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season, the second most by a rookie in NBA history, trailing only Oscar Robertson. This also marked his ninth 30-point game this season, putting him in a tie with John Drew (1974-75) for the third most by a rookie in team history (only Pete Maravich & Bob Pettit had more).
In the loss to the Hawks, JJ Redick tallied his fourth 30-point game this season and finished the game with 231 3-pointers for the season, a new 76ers single-season record (previously held by Kyle Korver in 2004-05).
Injuries of note
The Suns' Devin Booker suffered an ankle injury that forced him off the floor in last night's loss to the Jazz after playing just eight minutes. Initial X-rays came back negative, and the team will conduct further testing today, but it's safe to wonder if the remainder of Booker's season is in jeopardy. Booker's 11-game streak of scoring at least 25 points came to an end last night, leaving him tied with Amar'e Stoudemire for the longest such streak in franchise history. Second-year wing Josh Jackson becomes an intriguing streaming option going forward.
Analytics advantage for Thursday
It's unclear if Joel Embiid will be active for tonight's tilt with the visiting Bucks, but it's obvious we should pay up for shares of "The Process" in DFS play tonight if he does suit up. The 76ers are trying to prepare Embiid to handle a full workload in the playoffs. Thus he's rested often in the past several weeks, including the past three games.
Since the All-Star break, Embiid has played in eight games and has averaged an absurd slash of 29.3 PPG, 15 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.5 3PG while going 6-2 in the record book. Embiid consumed a Westbrookian usage rate of 37 percent last time against Milwaukee in a win in March, suggesting he could be a solid pivot in tournament lineups from tonight's superstar foe, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Top players to watch tonight
There is intriguing fantasy value found in tonight's matchup at the center position pitting the Warriors' DeMarcus Cousins against the Lakers' JaVale McGee. The Lakers' bouncy big man has averaged 17.3 PPG, 13.1 RPG, and 2.8 BPG the past eight games, thriving statistically, even as LeBron James is off the floor. Boogie, meanwhile, is rounding into All-Star form of late and yet is found at reasonable pricing on DraftKings this evening for what is a shallow three-game slate.
