One of the most impressive performances on Tuesday came from Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet, who scored 33 points (including seven 3-pointers), two rebounds, seven assists, and two steals against the San Antonio Spurs. The epic performance has a lot of historical significance.
VanVleet is only the fourth undrafted player in the modern draft era (1966-1967) to score 30 or more points in three consecutive games. He joins Moses Malone, Mike James and Connie Hawkins. VanVleet also joins Stephen Curry as the only player this season to make seven 3-pointers in a game. He is also the first Raptors player to score 30 or more points in three straight games since Kawhi Leonard in January 2019 who had four straight. VanVleet has played well this season after a slow start, providing fantasy managers with first-round value.
Let's explore some of the highlights, lowlights, and takeaways below.
Highlight
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies: 26 points (9-21 FGs), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Julius Randle, New York Knicks: 30 points (12-20 FGs), 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Lowlight
Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers: 15 points (5-9 FGs), 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs: 6 points (3-13 FGs), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Tuesday's Takeaways
In Tuesday's rout of the Spurs, Pascal Siakam recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists for the Raptors. Over the last three games, he averaged 21 PPG, 15 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 34.3 MPG. Siakam has been an excellent play in all fantasy formats this season.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points, dished out three assists, and stole two balls in 32 minutes for the Raptors. As a point scorer, Trent Jr. is great, but is not much of a passer averaging only 2.0 APG. He is available in 31.6% of ESPN leagues.
Chris Boucher played only 19 minutes against the Spurs and finished with four points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Over the last three games, he has averaged only 21 MPG and is difficult to trust in lineups.
The Spurs' Jakob Poeltl has scored 10 or more points in five consecutive games. This was his second straight double-double, as he scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Poeltl is a reliable source of points, rebounds, and blocks. Over the last two games, Devin Vassell has played well for the Spurs. He scored 15 points and had two rebounds and three assists against the Raptors. Vassel provides points, but not much else. Joshua Primo scored a career-high 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, had four assists, and blocked two shots. Unfortunately, he doesn't see enough minutes to be fantasy-relevant consistently.
Despite scoring 22 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. only grabbed three rebounds, had an assist and a steal. Although Jackson Jr.'s shooting has been an issue, he shot 50% from the field against the Cavaliers. Desmond Bane only scored 11 points and collected five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block. This season, he has averaged 17.4 points per game. Steven Adams has hoarded 10 or more rebounds in 10 of his last 17 games. On Tuesday night against the Cavaliers, he had 11. Adams is a nice source of rebounds and field goal percentage.
After missing four games, Darius Garland returned to the Cavaliers from the league protocols. In 36 minutes, he scored 27 points, grabbed four rebounds, and had 10 assists against the Grizzlies. With Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio both out for the season, Garland will continue to receive plenty of opportunities.
Jarrett Allen continues to have a fantastic season. He scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had two assists, a steal, and three blocks against the Grizzlies. Kevin Love's efficient lines continue to impress. In 29 minutes, he had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Love has recorded a double-double in three of his last four games. He's available in 60% of ESPN leagues. Evan Mobley has had a marvelous rookie season so far for the Cavaliers. Against the Grizzlies he had 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
In 42 minutes, RJ Barrett scored 32 points, grabbed eight rebounds, made three assists, and stole a pass for the Knicks. It was his third game with at least 30 points and five rebounds this season. Before the season, Barrett had just one such game. Alec Burks struggled from the field, making only five of 13 shots, but he did finish with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals for the Knicks. He's still available in 83.4% of ESPN leagues.
The Pacers' rookie Keifer Sykes scored a team-high 22 points in his best game of the season along with four rebounds, six assists, and a steal in 38 minutes. Available in all ESPN leagues, he should be added to your watch list.
With 17 points, four assists and a steal against the Knicks, Duane Washington Jr. had a solid game. With Chris Duarte out due to league protocols and Malcolm Brogdon day to day with an Achilles injury, he has been productive the last two games.
The Phoenix Suns had six players who scored 10 or more points against the New Orleans Pelicans that included Jalen Smith (12), Cameron Johnson (18), Mikal Bridges (23), and Bismack Biyombo (16). Devin Booker had a game-high 33 points with nine rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes for the Suns. He has scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games. In 35 minutes against the Pelicans, Chris Paul scored 11 points, had 15 assists, and had five rebounds. His 98th career game with at least 15 assists ties him with Isaiah Thomas for fifth all-time.
In 37 minutes against the Suns, Josh Hart scored 15 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and handed out five assists. With six double-doubles with points and rebounds in the last 12 games, he has also accumulated four or more assists in 12 straight. Jonas Valanciunas scored 25 points and collected 16 rebounds for the Pelicans.
Against the Sacramento Kings, Lebron James had 31 points, five rebounds, five assists and blocked a shot. There have been nine straight 25-point games for him, the second-longest streak behind 16 for Trae Young this season. Russell Westbrook had 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block as well. For the first time this season, he did not commit a turnover. There had never been a longer streak of games with a turnover than Westbrook's 407 straight.
Recently, Malik Monk has been on fire. He had 24 points, four rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal against the Kings on Tuesday. Currently, he can be found in 88% of ESPN leagues. Get him.
Buddy Hield scored 26 points, had five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 33 minutes against the Lakers. De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 30 points. In addition, he had three rebounds and six assists.
Analytics advantage for Wednesday
One question you may have is which teams are the best fantasy matchups? Using your league's scoring system, you should see which teams allow the most fantasy points to their opponents. You could go a step further by examining specific positions, which leads me to my DFS recommendation.
DFS discussion
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons:
Cunningham returned to the floor on Monday against the Bucks after being out for the last few weeks due to the league protocols. Since the beginning of December, he has averaged 17.7 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 5.3 RPG. On Wednesday night, Cunningham faces a Charlotte Hornets team that allows the second most FanDuel and DraftKings points per game defensively. It's likely he'll outperform his DFS salary.
