Dose: Melo Time
Friday night’s 13-game slate provided fantasy owners with one of the most action-packed evenings of the season. In addition to Anthony’s scoring barrage, fans were treated to a stellar line from Kevin Love and a triple-double from Kyle Lowry.
Anthony sets new record
Madison Square Garden was jumping on Friday night as Carmelo Anthony broke Bernard King’s franchise and MSG record by scoring 62 points on 23-35 shooting. King set the mark in 1984 so Melo’s feat was quite a boost for a team currently struggling to find consistency. The All-Star chipped in 13 rebounds, six triples, and was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Despite a rough year for the Knicks, Anthony is rolling from a fantasy perspective and has maintained top-10 value all season.
Love and Curry fill it up
In a battle of first-round fantasy picks, both Kevin Love and Stephen Curry put up stellar lines in Golden State last night. Love’s squad got the victory behind his 26 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. He turned his ankle during the affair but is expected to suit up on Saturday night against the Blazers. Curry posted a tasty line of 33 points and 15 assists; adding six three-pointers for good measure. Curry has now tallied double digit assists in 18 games this season and his facilitating has helped the Warriors remain in the playoff picture.
Lowry notches a triple-double
Kyle Lowry led the Raptors to victory on Friday by notching a sweet triple-double against Philadelphia. His 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists certainly helped fantasy owners across the board and with the team actually atop the Atlantic Division, the Lowry trade rumors may calm down. The point guard’s big game was also a nice saving grace coming off his disappointing 0-10 effort on Wednesday. After a rough November, Lowry has been rolling over the past two months, averaging over 17 points, eight assists, and nearly 2.5 triples per contest.
Kings of the court
Both Isiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton set career-highs in scoring Friday night as Sacramento fell in overtime to Indiana. Thornton came out of nowhere to score 42 points with seven three-pointers while Thomas added 38 points and six assists. The fact that the Kings took the Pacers to overtime is impressive in itself but even more astounding is that they did it without both Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Thornton’s big night comes with a grain of salt in that both Cousins and Gay should be back sooner rather than later so his value clock is certainly ticking. However, he’s worth adding in the short term if you need three-pointers. Thomas has been scorching for quite some time now so his career-high is just another notch on his belt in what has been a breakout campaign.
Parsons three-point party
Chandler Parsons dropped in 10 three-pointers in the second half of Friday’s game against Memphis, finishing with 34 points, but the Rockets still lost thanks to a subpar effort from the rest of the starting unit. Parson’s shooting display set a franchise record for triples in a game and NBA record for three-pointers in a half. The 34 point mark was also a career-high for Parsons, who notched a season-high 31 points on Monday. He’s officially rolling with averages of 28 points and eight rebounds over his last three games.
Durant and Teague banged up
Kevin Durant missed Friday’s game with a sprained right shoulder which marked the first time in team history that both Durant and Russell Westbrook were out of the lineup at the same time. He tweaked the shoulder during Wednesday’s contest and didn’t participate in Friday’s shootaround so while the injury looks minor, it’s certainly not insignificant. The Thunder play on Saturday so if Durant misses that one, then it’s time to worry. In Atlanta, Jeff Teague played just 13 minutes before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle. The Hawks ruled him out pretty quickly and he’ll miss both Saturday and Monday’s games. Shelvin Mack and Lou Williams are the immediate beneficiaries of this injury and both should be given consideration in most leagues.
The 20/20 report
Friday night brought not one but two 20/20 performances. First, Tobias Harris exploded for the Magic, notching 28 points and 20 rebounds against the Lakers. Later, Andre Drummond went for 21 points and 20 boards with two blocks against the Pelicans. Drummond’s breakout season has been a delight for fantasy owners and Friday night’s performance gives him 32double-doubles on the season. As for Harris, the forward has turned it on in January posting averages of 15 points and nine rebounds. He’s heating up so if you want to trade for him the buy-low window is closing fast.
Big time reserves
Both Boris Diaw and Anthony Morrow came up big off the bench for their respective clubs on Friday night, scoring 21 points apiece. One of these lines is not like the other as Morrow’s line came out of nowhere while Diaw has been gaining steam as of late. From a fantasy perspective the Pelican’s haven’t really used Morrow much all season so while this performance is encouraging, do not rush to pick him. Diaw on the other hand is a player that could certainly be used in deeper leagues. Over his last four he’s averaging over 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal per game. Those numbers don’t jump off the page but Diaw is entrenched in the Spurs rotation and is a viable option at the end of your fantasy bench.
Teletovic time
Nets reserve Mirza Teletovic got hot in the second quarter of Friday night’s game against Dallas, scoring 24 points en route to a career-high of 34. The sharpshooting big man hit seven triples during the contest and helped the Nets get another victory. We’ve seen these explosions by Teletovic before only to be followed up with meager lines so take that into account before making a run at the waiver wire. However, Teletovic has played over 20 minutes in seven of his last eight contests and did have 14 points on Tuesday so it’s not crazy to think that he may sustain some low end value in the short term.
Butler’s shooting woes continue
Jimmy Butler stunk up the joint on Friday, hitting just 3-15 shots for nine points. Butler played a team-high 41 minutes and has been a key cog for the club since the departure of Luol Deng but the young buck just can’t seem to find a shooting groove. He’s shooting just 36% from the field this season which is a 10% dip from last year. It’s not all bad however as he’s seen a bump in numbers across the board from last year due to his increased role on the team. Fantasy owners who gambled on him in the middle rounds aren’t exactly getting terrific returnsbut as long as he’s plugging away and playing big minutes, his shot should start to come around.
