Stephen Curry headlines fantasy hoops studs after historic week

We’re officially in the home stretch of fantasy basketball’s regular season, which means every matchup is magnified with only a couple weeks remaining.

PointAfter visualizations illustrate the performances of guys who thrilled and frustrated last week, the first full slate of games following the All-Star break.

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Note: The statistics in this article cover games played between Feb. 22-28. Players who missed portions of games due to injury were not considered.

Stud Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors

Key stats: 43.8 points, 60.8 field goal percentage, 8.3 three-pointers, 7.3 assists in four games

Curry isn’t usually considered for this space, since his status as a fantasy stud goes without saying. However, his historic week deserves a closer look.

Note: You can hover over different shooting zones to see Curry’s statistics in the corresponding area.

Stephen Curry's Shots in the Last Seven Days | PointAfter

Chef Curry closed out Golden State’s seven-game road stretch like he was cookin’ from downtown in front of a rabid home crowd at Oracle Arena. He broke and extended the record for most consecutive games with a three-pointer (129), surpassed his own benchmark for threes in a season (288) and tied the single-game record with 12 three-pointers in Saturday’s exhilarating overtime win over the Thunder.

Forget a 50-40-90 season, which Curry should wrap up for the first time this season. The reigning MVP boasted a line of 60.8/61.1/87.5 last week. Even if Curry didn’t play another minute for the rest of the season, he’d likely win his second straight MVP after helping Golden State clinch a playoff spot earlier than any other team in NBA history.

Even after rolling his ankle against the Thunder, Curry is expected to lead the Warriors into their first home game since Feb. 9 on Tuesday against the Hawks, whose own sharpshooter has been struggling to find his stroke lately.

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Dud Guard: Kyle Korver, Hawks

Key stats: 3.7 points, 31.3 field goal percentage, 0.3 three-pointers in three games

Maybe Korver was bummed last week over Curry eclipsing the record for most consecutive games with a three-pointer, which Korver held for over two years. Or perhaps the All-Star break threw him off his groove after he maintained a 51.7 percent clip from deep in Atlanta’s first six contests in February.

No matter the reason, Korver has lost his mojo recently. Just as his former record was thrust back into the spotlight due to Curry’s heroics, Korver failed to convert a trey in two of the Hawks’ three games last week.

It’s overall been a frustrating campaign for Korver, who turns 35 next month. After earning an All-Star nod for the first time in his career last season, he’s been reduced to role-player status both for the Hawks and in fantasy.

Korver’s still money from the corners, but there’s been a stark difference in his efficiency above the break, where he shot nearly 47 percent last year but is under 35 percent in 2015-16. Since he launches over half of his attempts from that zone, it’s a major issue.

Kyle Korver 2015-16 Shot Chart | PointAfter

Kyle Korver 2014-15 Shot Chart | PointAfter

Stud Forward: Al Horford, Hawks

Key stats: 18.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.3 blocks in three games

Al Horford plays the vast majority of his minutes at the five for Atlanta, but he retains forward eligibility in fantasy. Last week, the pending free agent logged his three best performances of February in standard Yahoo leagues, showing off the versatile skill set that’ll sway several teams into bidding for his services this summer as either a power forward or center.

Horford dragged the Hawks back into their contest against Golden State last Monday with a team-high 23 points, setting season-highs with six blocks and three steals and collecting double-digit boards (16) for the first time in a month. The game scored a whopping 74 points in standard Yahoo leagues, the high-water mark of a quietly impressive campaign that’s gained steam recently.

Al Horford Stats in February 2016 | PointAfter

Dud Forward: Nicolas Batum, Hornets

Key stats: 5.7 points, 33.3 field goal percentage, 3.0 turnovers

Batum is a great guy to have on your roster – a crafty, consistent swingman who does all the little things and contributes in a variety of categories, accordingly improving Charlotte’s cause on offense.

Hornets Stats With/Without Nicolas Batum in 2015-16 | PointAfter

That’s what’s made last week so surprising, as the Frenchman was off in almost every facet of the game.

He never reached double-digit scoring, hitting just one of every three shots, and was especially poor (1-of-11) from beyond the arc. His averages of 3.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists were below his season averages despite steady playing time.

It’s possible Batum’s move to small forward in the wake of Courtney Lee’s arrival to the Queen City has affected Batum’s value. He’s averaging just 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists in the five games since. However, Batum played at the three throughout his time in Portland, and it seems likely he’ll adjust to his new position with the Hornets in the coming weeks.

Stud Center: Pau Gasol, Bulls

Key stats: 16.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists in three games

With Derrick Rose (hamstring) missing time last week to add to Chicago’s myriad injury woes, Gasol often assumed the role of distributor in Chicago’s offense to surprising success – even if the rest of the Bulls couldn’t pick up the slack, as they lost two of three games.

Gasol recorded the seventh triple-double of his career – his first as a Bull – on Saturday against Portland, and boy, was it a big one. He tallied 22 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists, becoming just the fourth player to reach those benchmarks this season. The Spaniard nearly eked out another triple-double earlier in the week against the Wizards, falling one dime short.

The 35-year-old continues to age gracefully, demonstrating why he’ll be highly sought after on the free agent market this summer if he decides to opt out of his contract as expected.

Dud Center: Rudy Gobert, Jazz

Key stats: 7.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 turnovers, 42.1 field goal percentage in three games

Everyone loves to root for the Stifle Tower, but Gobert has endured a pretty rough start to the second half. He hasn’t made half of his shots from the field or the free-throw line in six games since the All-Star break.

The 24-year-old can thank Brooklyn’s depleted frontcourt for saving an otherwise dismal week in fantasy. He totaled just 10 points and nine rebounds against the Rockets and Spurs before recovering to post 12 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks against the hapless Nets.

Gobert has deservedly earned plaudits for his defensive work, but he’s still extremely raw on offense. More playing time has boosted Gobert’s per-game numbers, but that’s masked his scoring, rebound and turnover rates all trending in the wrong direction from last year.

Rudy Gobert 2014-15 vs. 2015-16 Stats | PointAfter

Dwight Howard essentially rendered him useless on Tuesday, limiting Gobert to two points and three rebounds in 26 minutes. Though he’s a consistent contributor at center in fantasy, his upside is limited until he develops some semblance of a post game.

Will Laws is a writer for PointAfter, a sports data aggregation and visualization website that's part of the Graphiq network. PointAfter is a platform for shot charts, scatter plots and other data visualizations about NBA players, NFL teams and dozens of other topics.