Despite Detroit blowing a double-digit lead this past Saturday against the visiting 76ers, Pistons faithful had to be impressed by a vintage Derrick Rose performance. Rose tied a career high with 31 points off the bench and now has 76 points through the first three games of the season -- his second most through three games, trailing only that epic 2010-11 MVP campaign.
It's early enough in the season that surging scoring forces such as Rose are still widely available. Simply put, the fantasy hoops market has slept on Rose to this point, with the Memphis product floating in free agency in more than 40% of ESPN leagues as of Monday morning despite carrying such an impressive scoring load for a Detroit team that will be without Blake Griffin for at least the next several games.
We also find Toronto's Fred VanVleet rostered in 54% of ESPN leagues as of Monday morning all while being ranked 17th overall on the Player Rater -- which is impressive, no matter how unripe the model proves this early in the campaign. Proactive roster management early in the season, such as adding FVV or Rose as depth scorers, could prove rewarding for fantasy managers in the weeks ahead.
Weekend recap
Highlights
Saturday
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks: 39 points (16-25 FG), 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 5 TO
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans: 35 points (14-22 FG), 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 TO
Sunday
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets: 37 points (11-27 FG), 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 TO
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks: 32 points (8-22 FG), 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 TO
Lowlights
Saturday
Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings: 3 points (1-7 FG), 2 rebounds, 1 TO
Otto Porter Jr., Chicago Bulls: 9 points (2-7 FG), 4 rebounds, 1 TO
Sunday
Danny Green, Los Angeles Lakers: 5 points (2-10 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
D'Angelo Russell, Golden State Warriors: 6 points (3-10 FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 TO
Weekend takeaways
Other than Rose's inspired scoring renaissance, the key statistical story of the weekend is Kendrick Nunn, an undrafted player who played in the G League last season only to surprisingly earn a key role in Miami's rotation this season. Nunn's 67 points through three games are the most ever by an undrafted player in his first three appearances. Nunn will cede minute and touches to Jimmy Butler once the All-Star is back from personal leave, but it appears he's going to play a significant scoring role for this club going forward. Sticking in Miami, Justise Winslow continues to flirt with triple-doubles as a point-forward of sorts and should also sustain strong statistical stock once Butler takes the helm of the offense.
The sample is decidedly small, but it's impressive nonetheless that the Pelicans' Brandon Ingram is found at sixth overall in the NBA on our Player Rater, which is a simple standard deviation index of several key statistical categories. Ingram's big Saturday night performance saw him become just the fourth player in franchise history with at least 35 points and 15 pulls in a game, joining Anthony Davis (27 times), DeMarcus Cousins (five) and David West (twice). Still available in free agency in nearly a quarter of leagues (likely the shallower formats), Ingram's usage and offensive opportunity rates should prove elite with Zion Williamson sidelined.
Rookie RJ Barrett is off to a strong start as a fantasy contributor in becoming just the third player in Knicks franchise history to score at least 60 points within his first three career games (Patrick Ewing in 1985-86, Bill Cartwright in 1979-80). Surprisingly, it's Elfrid Payton as the lone Knick in the top 50 on the Player Rater early on, thanks largely to a stellar steal rate.
On Saturday evening against his former team, smooth shooting specialist Davis Bertans became the first Wizards player to score 20 points and not miss a field goal since Ben Wallace in 1999. We all needed a Bertans and Ben comparison. But really, Bertans is going to play tons of minutes for Washington as the team's top spacing threat aside from Bradley Beal.
Fantasy managers are starting to appreciate the defensive potential polished rookie Brandon Clarke brings to the floor for Memphis; the Gonzaga product has five blocks and two steals already on the young season and is amongst the most-added players in ESPN leagues during the past week.
Injuries of note
Griffin remains sidelined for the Pistons, which leads to more exposure for Markieff Morris. The versatile forward tallied three stocks (steals plus blocks) this past Saturday in addition to an efficient 17 points, signaling strong streaming value ahead of tonight's meeting with the Pacers.
Joel Embiid is questionable with an ankle ailment that held him out of this past Saturday's matchup with Detroit. The Hawks don't have a defensive big capable of handling Embiid if he's active, thus this is a fairly crucial injury designation ahead of tonight's rich 11-game slate. Al Horford becomes a fun DFS play if Embiid sits, given the full line he flashed against the Pistons over the weekend.
Jrue Holiday is day-to-day with a knee sprain, per ESPN's Andrew Lopez. Holiday didn't play this past Saturday against Houston and is questionable for tonight.
Analytics advantage for Monday
Do the Warriors have the league's worst defense? Golden State has been a sieve on defense so far, becoming the fourth team in NBA history to allow at least 65 points in three consecutive halves to start a season and the first since the Nuggets in 1990. The Warriors trailed the Thunder by 33 points at halftime on Sunday, marking the team's largest halftime deficit since Mar. 25, 1997 against the SuperSonics. Suddenly, Golden State is an ideal matchup to target for fantasy purposes.
The Pelicans then become a strong team to stack (selecting multiple members from one team) in DFS play tonight, given the Warriors' nearly historic defensive woes. If Holiday sits, Josh Hart becomes a must-add streaming play who should be able to sustain value going forward, given his fun defensive and shooting metrics.
Hart is currently ranked 21st on the Player Rater, thanks to his atypically awesome rebounding production as a guard (7.3 RPG) while sinking 3.0 3PG with two stocks per game in the early going. Given his size and athleticism, Hart is an ideal matchup for the Warriors' smaller backcourt. The point total for this game should hover around 230 once it posts, supporting lineups that host Ingram, Hart, and even Lonzo Ball, considering the friendly fantasy ingredients ahead of this contest.
Top players to watch tonight
Chris Paul making his return to Houston is a compelling narrative to consider for tonight's busy schedule that includes 22 teams in action, but I'm most intrigued by Monday's meeting of Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker in Phoenix. Mitchell is currently 14th on the Player Rater, while Booker sits at 28th. These are two emergent offensive engines who will spend a good bit of tonight directly matched up.
The Suns have been surprisingly competitive to begin the season, including a rousing win over the Clippers over the weekend sans the suspended Deandre Ayton. I'm all about adding the Suns' Kelly Oubre Jr. to rosters ahead of this contest, given the versatile two-way forward is eighth overall on the Player Rater.
