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Stew: MCW in Milwaukee

Matt Stroup weighs the value of Michael Carter-Williams and looks at a recent surge from Joakim Noah in the latest edition of Roundball Stew

On the off chance that your basketball brain went a bit mushy during six days with no games on the schedule over the All-Star break, chances are you were fully re-awakened by the giant Sasquatch of a trade deadline that smashed through the wall on Thursday. But in case you need an added jolt – and we all probably do with 27 games on the schedule this weekend – here are some important fantasy hoops-related reminders as we get ready for the final stretch of the regular season:

Michael Carter-Williams + Jason Kidd = Jason Kidd 2.0 a better version of Michael Carter-Williams.

It’s still a little perplexing that Milwaukee would deal Brandon Knight when things seemed to be going so well for him and Kidd, but let’s not waste time on perplexing when the reality of the situation is this: For all his shooting woes (38.0 percent from the field, 64.3 from the line this season), Carter-Williams is a dynamic all-around player – a PG who can rack up points, rebounds, assists and steals in potentially large quantities. And now, he gets the chance to develop under one of the most dynamic all-around point guards in NBA history. Jason Kidd of all people probably can’t fix Carter-Williams’ shooting woes, and this whole thing could take some time as MCW recovers from a toe injury, but I love this coach/player pairing from a fantasy perspective. Remember, this same offense had Brandon Knight posting career-best numbers in rebounds (4.3), assists (5.4), steals (1.6) and 3s (2.0) while averaging 17.8 ppg. Even if MCW only gets a small boost from running Kidd’s offense this season, the potential for next year and beyond is pretty exciting.



It may not happen this week, and it may not happen next week, but at some point in the not-too-distant future, Jusuf Nurkic is likely to explode.

Nurkic’s playing time has continued to fluctuate wildly on a game-to-game basis (the foul-prone rookie has played anywhere from 13 to 34 minutes in his last 10 games), but he’s still producing through the inconsistency. In his last four games, Nurkic has posted 10.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.3 spg and 2.3 bpg in 25 minutes per game. And in his last 12 games, he’s at 8.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 0.9 spg and 1.6 bpg (in an average of 23 minutes per game). All he needs to do to really take off is get into the 30-minute range, which shouldn’t be too much to ask for a Denver team going nowhere this season at 20-33. I still expect him to continue being somewhat of a headache for the time being, but if he can get his fouling issues in check, Nurkic has a chance to make a big impact down the stretch. With that in mind, even though his next foul-plagued 15-minute game might infuriate you, dropping him out of frustration at this point would not be a wise idea.

You know you won the lottery with Reggie Jackson. So how big is the payout?

In a word: enormous. When Jackson was starting for OKC earlier this season, he averaged 20.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, 0.9 spg and 1.3 3s in 13 games. The man whose job he now takes over in Detroit (D.J. Augustin) averaged 20.3 ppg and 8.2 apg in his 10-game run as the Pistons starter. Notice a theme here? That theme is 20 and 8. And with only Spencer Dinwiddie and John Lucas backing him up, Jackson is headed for 35-plus minutes per game – and potential top-10 fantasy PG status.

Editor's Note: Rotoworld's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $300,000 Fantasy Basketball league for Friday's NBA games. It's $25 to join and first prize is $30,000. Starts at 7pm ET on Friday. Here's the FanDuel link.

After all the trade deadline madness, let’s not forget about Randy Foye.

For a minute on Thursday, before squawking chickens and reams of paper started flying around Rotoworld HQ, it looked like the Arron Afflalo-to-Portland deal could be the most notable trade of the day. Then of course things got insane, so Foye may have gotten slightly overlooked. Here’s your official reminder: Last year, after a slow first couple of months, Foye went on a pretty glorious run, posting 15.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 0.9 spg and 2.8 3s from Jan. 1 onward (51 games). He also showed a lot of explosiveness while doing so, with 16 games of 20 or more points, and 10 games of five or more 3s. Now a secondary reminder: While Foye is the obvious beneficiary in the wake of the Afflalo trade, don’t forget about Gary Harris. The No. 19 overall pick is potentially just one Foye injury away from significant value.

In non-trade-related matters, here comes Joakim Noah…

I mentioned Noah in last week’s Stew, but it bears repeating here: Over his last eight games, he has averaged 8.6 ppg, 11.8 rpg and 4.5 apg. The steals and blocks haven’t been there lately (0.6 spg, 0.6 bpg during that stretch), but as fresh as Noah looks, I would expect those to be on the way. If there’s still a lingering sense of frustration out there after his somewhat disappointing start to the season, I would absolutely try to trade for Noah right now.

Also arriving at an intriguing juncture of his season: Ben McLemore.

Things were actually going pretty well for McLemore during the final days of the Tyrone Corbin regime (13.8 ppg, 1.3 spg, 1.0 bpg, 2.8 3s in his last four games), and now George Karl arrives in town. This is where I admit I have no idea what Karl’s arrival will mean, but my hope is that the new coach can push the obscenely talented McLemore to raise his production a notch higher. And whatever ends up happening, I certainly want McLemore on as many rosters as possible while we see how this plays out.

Your table is ready, Mr. Antetokounmpo…

In case you’ve overlooked it the last few weeks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has raised his production to somewhat monstrous levels lately (last nine games: 15.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.2 spg and 1.4 bpg). And his last five games look even more impressive: 18.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.4 spg and 1.2 bpg – on 60.3 percent from the field and 80.8 from the line. Really, the only thing missing from the equation is 3s, but he hasn’t hit one since Jan. 4, so let’s not expect any of those anytime soon. And more importantly, let’s not complain. At just 20 years old – and frankly, at least a year faster than I would’ve guessed – Antetokounmpo is already realizing his absurd upside.

Kyle Korver: real life vs. fantasy

Let me preface this by saying what we all know: Korver is a ridiculously great shooter. He’s also a pretty useful asset in fantasy leagues as one of just four players (along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Wesley Matthews) averaging 3.0 treys or more. But I think it’s important as you evaluate your fantasy team(s) to keep in mind that Korver really isn’t a major plus in any other category. Over the last month (12 games), he has averaged 11.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.5 bpg and 2.8 3s. That’s just not making a dent anywhere outside of 3s, and the other area where he can potentially help – percentages – he doesn’t typically get enough volume to leave a big impact (he shoots 51.2 percent from the field and 91.1 from the line, but gets just 8.0 FG attempts and 1.7 FT attempts per game). Again, this is not to say that I don’t like Korver in fantasy leagues (the 3s alone are plenty helpful). Instead, it’s just a reminder that if you can get 3s somewhere else, it’s not a bad idea to shop Korver’s real-life value for a player with the potential to help your team in more areas.

Other Random Thoughts: Time off the court due to his hand injury appears to have rejuvenated Robin Lopez. In his last 10 games before getting hurt, he averaged just 6.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 1.2 bpg. In five games since returning, he’s at 11.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 2.0 bpg. … Monta Ellis has almost as many steals (12) as points (14) over his last two games. He’s also shooting just 3-of-19 over his last two. Now is a nice time to buy low. … Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan’s last three games look like this: 24.0 ppg, 21.7 rpg, 2.3 spg and 2.0 bpg, including a completely absurd 28-of-63 from the free throw line. … For more on Jusuf Nurkic, Tony Snell and Paul George, check out the video below, in which I sit down to discuss some fantasy hoops-related matters with Jenna Corrado.