As Chris Bernucca said in his must-read column yesterday, the best team flying under the radar is the Golden State Warriors. What Mark Jackson’s team is doing in the real NBA is amazing; our job is to interpret their value in fantasy hoops.
A healthy Stephen Curry (27 PTS, 7 AST, 7 REB) has become one of the very best players in that game-within-a-game. Depending on your league’s settings, Steph ranks as high as sixth overall. David Lee (25 PTS, 11 REB) has been very good all year, unbelievable for the past couple of weeks. The overachieving Road Warriors made it four straight on their long Eastern trip with an easy win in Charlotte, though they tired a little in the final quarter.
Carl Landry (16 PTS, 6 REB) and Jarrett Jack (10 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB, 5 STL) are consistent off the bench and have more fantasy value than nominal starters Festus Ezeli and Harrison Barnes. It’s an unusual rotation, but it works. For the Bobcats, Kemba Walker (24 PTS, 6 AST) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (17 PTS, 7 REB) led the way. 20-year-old Bismack Biyombo started at C (5 PTS, 11 REB, 3 BLK) and Byron Mullens was back at PF in an all-out commitment to youth. If you’re the last person who owns Brendan Haywood, it’s time to bail.
Other December 10 Games
DET @ PHI despite another big scoring game from Brandon Knight (22) and great work by Greg Monroe (22 PTS, 7 REB) the Pistons were no match in the second half. Jrue Holiday (25 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB) finished strong and Evan Turner (18 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST) had another great line. Thaddeus Young (20 PTS, 4 REB, 5 STL) continues to perform, and there was a Spencer Hawes sighting — after averaging a mere 6 points in his previous ten games, the big man played a season-high 31:36, scored 15, grabbed 8 boards and blocked three shots. Nick Young (toe) returned after missing four games but wasn’t particularly Swaggy. For Detroit, Rodney Stuckey (19 PTS, 5 AST) has become a reliable spark as the sixth man and is a better fantasy play than rookie SG Kyle Singler, who has cooled off recently.
ATL @ MIA: Sometimes, the anticipated ‘game of the night’ lives up to even the highest expectations. LeBron James (27 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) led a Heat flurry in the third quarter to gain a lead they never relinquished, and Dwyane Wade hit 11 of 13 shots for 26 points. Al Horford (20 PTS, 11 REB) and Josh Smith (22 PTS, 6 AST) did all they could to keep the Hawks close. Chris Bosh (14 PTS, 10 REB) held his own against Horford and in such a furious defensive battle, neither team’s sixth man really got rolling, Louis Williams finished with 11 points in 31 minutes, while Ray Allen missed seven of eight FG attempts in a season-low 3-point outing.