A hand injury had kept Dillon Brooks from playing for the Memphis Grizzlies until last week, but the famously confident shooting guard appears to be ready to roll after scoring 23 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday evening.
It could be a boon (both to Memphis and fantasy managers) to have Brooks' aggressive offensive game back on the court. After just two appearances, he's already ranked second on the Grizzlies (behind only Ja Morant) in drives per game. As you may recall, Brooks registered 1.6 combined steals and blocks per game last season and, as the team's playoff hero last summer, he added an awesome 25.8 points per game while shooting over 50% from the floor.
Back in the starting lineup and always ready to hunt his own shot, Brooks (rostered in just 27.4% of ESPN leagues) is a potentially helpful 3-and-D contributor for fantasy managers to considering adding to their rosters.
Weekend recap
SATURDAY
Highlights
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies: 22 points (8-17 FG), 9 rebounds, 10 assists
Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors: 26 points (9-14 FG), 12 rebounds, 7 assists
Lowlights
Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz: 4 points (1-5 FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies: 4 points (1-8 FG), 3 rebounds
SUNDAY
Highlights
Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers: 34 points (14-24 FG), 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks: 42 points (16-26 FG), 8 rebounds, 10 assists
Lowlights
Darius Bazley, Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 points (2-13 FG), 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Jalen Green, Houston Rockets: 12 points (4-14 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 TO
Weekend takeaways
In Sunday's win over the Bucks, Atlanta's Young produced his eighth career 40-point, 10-assist game, more than all other players in Hawks history combined. Young also broke a tie with Luka Doncic for the most such performances by any player in his first four seasons.
Brooklyn's Patty Mills was the "ultimate microwave" on Sunday, tallying 29 points on just 16 shots in 31 minutes in a blowout win over the Thunder. Mills' nine 3-pointers are the most off the bench in Nets history and the third-most in any game behind just Deron Williams (11) and Joe Johnson (10). It's tough to ride with Mills as a fantasy starter, but he's proving to be a slate-shifting scorer for DFS purposes.
Detroit's Killian Hayes posted his best game as a pro on Saturday in a win over Toronto. The second-year point guard finished three boards shy of a triple-double, but posted his first career double-double and finished with the best net rating of Detroit's starters. I'm not ready to buy into Hayes as a positive fantasy contributor just yet, but this was at least some positive momentum.
Injuries of note
Fred VanVleet, Toronto's leading scorer, missed the team's last game and is now questionable to play against the Trail Blazers. This opens up real value for Goran Dragic as a fine fantasy streamer.
Boston's Jaylen Brown remains sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Kevin Love, Lauri Markkanen, and Collin Sexton will all miss Cleveland's game against Boston. Given the depleted rotation, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all make for solid DFS buys.
Bradley Beal will miss Washington's matchup against New Orleans, with Spencer Dinwiddie due for a featured role.
Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable to play for the Heat against the Thunder this evening.
Analytics advantage for Monday
Atlanta's De'Andre Hunter will miss roughly two months as he recovers from wrist surgery. This is a brutal blow for the third-year wing, who had been making an offensive leap last season before suffering a knee injury. The fantasy fallout points directly at Cam Reddish, who has averaged 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 2.6 3-pointers per 36 minutes of play with Hunter off the floor this season. It's time to add Reddish, who is rostered in just 11.3% of ESPN leagues, ahead of tonight's choice matchup with Orlando.
DFS discussion
Talen Horton-Tucker, Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers secured a win over San Antonio on Sunday, thanks in part to the debut of Horton-Tucker. The young wing started for the Lakers and posted the team's best net rating while finishing second in field goal attempts. There's a lot to like about this newcomer's profile going forward.
Josh Jackson, Detroit Pistons: Some injuries in the Pistons lineup have led to Jackson getting increased opportunity rates of late. He's consumed a usage rate of at least 25% in both of the last two games and will face a soft Sacramento defense tonight.
