Will Gary Trent Jr. score fewer than 30 points ever again? Well, he didn’t stop his streak on Tuesday, and he’s been playing as well as just about anyone in the league lately. I’ll discuss him, the Timberwolves looking like the most well-oiled machine in the league and much more. But first, All-Star stuff!
All-Star Weekend Updates
All-Star Weekend is just around the corner and will take place from February 18-February 20, and we got some news about some participants over the past 24 hours. The Dunk Contest will feature Obi Toppin (NYK), Jalen Green (HOU), Cole Anthony (ORL) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (GWS), and while it’s a shame that guys like Miles Bridges and Ja Morant won’t be included this season, they’ll have plenty of opportunities down the line. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweeted out the Rising Stars rosters, which can be found here, and of course people are quick to notice the snubs. Some notable Rising Stars rejects include Bones Hyland, Onyeka Okongwu, Devin Vassell, Cory Kispert and I’d like to even argue Austin Reaves. Regardless, these rosters are absolutely loaded and it should be tons of fun.
Pelicans 111, Pistons 110
Brandon Ingram returned on Tuesday evening after missing five straight games with a right ankle sprain, finding his stride immediately with a game-high 26 points (8-of-18 FGs, 9-of-10 FTs) with three rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, one 3-pointer and no turnovers across 32 minutes of action. He was ejected very late in the game after he received his second technical foul for seemingly taunting Frank Jackson after Ingram blocked him, but they’re former teammates and it didn’t look like there was any malice behind it. Jonas Valanciunas was the only other Pels starter in double figures with a 13/13 double-double along with two assists, one steal, one block and four turnovers in 29 minutes, and the other three starters (Devonte’ Graham, Herb Jones and Jaxson Hayes) all scored six points apiece with decent lines. Willy Hernangomez won’t seem to go away as he had 11 points with four boards and a steal in just 16 minutes, but I still don’t trust him with JV active, and Jose Alvarado was nice with a 10-point, six-dime game and could be a lot of fun over the last quarter of the season or so. Trey Murphy III had a career-high 15 points with five boards in just 15 minutes and the Herb/Ingram/Murphy minutes looked pretty good, but this was fluky, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14 points with an alright line but scored in single figures in the two before that and shoots it far too poorly to trust.
The Pistons had control of this game and were up by as many as 15 points, but a 14-point fourth quarter won’t win you many games. Cade Cunningham played just 21 minutes before exiting early with a a right hip injury, finishing with just six points, five rebounds, one assist and two steals, and he’ll have until Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves to see how it responds. Hopefully he can play in that one, but if not, Cory Joseph will have some more opportunity and look to build off of Tuesday’s team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He added just two rebounds, three assists, one triple and two turnovers in 30 minutes and may be a DFS punt-play if Cade does miss time but that’s about it. Jerami Grant (thumb/protocols) made his return after about a month and a half of missed action and looked pretty good with 17 points (6-of-13 FGs) and one trey but not much else. He shot and made the very first shot in the game and was able to play 29 minutes, and I’d expect that number to ramp up pretty shortly. Grant’s return means bad news for a couple guys, most notably Hamidou Diallo, who played just 17 minutes off the bench for 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal, and this wasn’t too bad but if he plays minutes in the teens in another game or two, let him go. Saddiq Bey (7/5/4) was pretty miserable and takes a decent hit with JG back, but hang onto him, and Isaiah Stewart scored eight points with 11 boards and a swat in 25 minutes but is now in jeopardy of losing minutes to Kelly Olynyk (3/2/6 with five turnovers), so be cautious of that as well.
Bucks 112, Wizards 98
The Bucks were dominating until a 33-25 third quarter in favor of the Wizards, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks cleaned it up down the stretch to win by double figures. Giannis tallied his 29th career triple-double to the tune of 33 points (14-of-21 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), 15 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks and two turnovers in 38 minutes, and the most amazing part of this line is that Giannis didn’t score or even take a shot throughout the entire first quarter. He’s the Greek Freak for a reason. Jrue Holiday had a solid 22/5/2 line with two steals, four triples and three turnovers and converted on nine of his 16 field goal attempts, but Khris Middleton did not fare as well with a 13/5/3 line with a steal and two triples on just 4-of-12 shooting. Bobby Portis was good as usual with 17 points, seven boards, two assists and a triple, Grayson Allen posted a 10/6/6 outing and the bench didn’t do a whole lot as Milwaukee remains one of the most predictable teams in the league as far as fantasy goes.
The Wizards would have been lost without Kyle Kuzma, as he kept making plays when down big to keep his team afloat and finished with a team-high 25 points (9-of-19 FGs) and also tallied 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, three blocks and three 3-pointers in 35 minutes. Kuz looks better again and is a fifth-round guy over the past month but still can’t quite get into top-100 on the season but has to be rostered everywhere. Montrezl Harrell came out of nowhere and impressed with 20 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench but had single-digit efforts in two of his three before this, and at this point he’s really the only Washington center I’d trust even a little bit. This is mostly because Thomas Bryant got tangled up with Grayson Allen in the third quarter and suffered a right ankle sprain and ended up not returning, finalizing his night with five points in 16 minutes. He looked better starting this time than he did last time out, but his time was limited and that was a big reason for Trez’s high-scoring night. Daniel Gafford got back into the rotation due to Bryant’s injury but played just six minutes for two points and two boards and can officially be let go if you haven’t pulled the plug yet.
Raptors 110, Heat 106
Toronto basically ran a seven-man rotation if you exclude Justin Champagnie’s and Dalano Banton’s 13 combined minutes, and it was Gary Trent Jr. who further proved that his heater is here to stay. He came out of the victory with a game-high 33 points (11-of-20 FGs, 5-of-8 FTs), two rebounds, one assist, one steal and six more 3-pointers with just one turnover in 41 minutes. He has now tied DeMar DeRozan for the franchise record of consecutive 30-point games with five, and Trent Jr. will have a chance to snipe away against the Bulls on Thursday to break the record. Fred VanVleet was nice per usual with a 21/4/6/3/1 line with two treys, and the 5-of-11 mark from the field is a huge development for a guy who’s really struggled with his shot for a while now (he’s still a first-rounder, don’t worry). Pascal Siakam keeps having big lines as he came through with 16 points (5-of-14 FGs, 5-of-7 FTs), 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, one triple and four turnovers in 35 minutes, and in addition to the usual nice counting stats, he’s been a defensive menace over the past four contests with 3.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in that span. Scottie Barnes nearly double-doubled with a 11/9/2 line with a triple, while O.G. Anunoby didn’t do a whole lot besides his 13 points but was efficient with a 6-of-10 shooting clip. Precious Achiuwa came off the bench for a quietly good 12/7/1/1/1 line in just 19 minutes, but Chris Boucher didn’t do so hot for the fourth straight game and may start ending up on some wires again if he keeps it up.
The only key component that Miami was missing was Kyle Lowry, who missed his ninth straight game for personal reasons, but not even a nearly complete Heat roster could get it done. Bam Adebayo was a man among boys with a team- and season-high 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting (6-of-7 FTs) to go with a full line of 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and two turnovers in 35 minutes. He eclipsed the 30-point threshold for the first time since mid-November and this was especially random given Toronto usually defends centers pretty well and gives up the seventh fewest fantasy points to them in the whole league, but this was what Bam needed no matter what the numbers say. Jimmy Butler (toe) nearly triple-doubled in his return with a 16/8/12 line with a pair of steals, and while he drained all 10 of his freebies, his 3-of-10 shooting clip and three turnovers could’ve been better. Tyler Herro bounced back after a couple of horrid shooting efforts and went 7-of-12 for 18 points, three rebounds, five assists and two triples in 29 reserve minutes, and P.J. Tucker kept up his “I should be rostered” play with a 12/5/3 line with two steals, one trey and three turnovers in 36 minutes of a start. Max Strus played 33 minutes off the bench to lead all reserves but was a flop after a monster performance a night prior, as he scored just nine points with four boards and three treys, but this makes sense with Butler and Tucker playing tonight and you can let him go now.
Bulls 126, Magic 115
With the exception of Javonte Green’s random 11/7/0/2/1 line, it was the same Bulls that showed up in Tuesday’s victory over the lowly Magic. Who else but DeMar DeRozan led the way with a 29-point, 10-board double-double with five assists, two steals, one block, two 3-pointers and one turnover in 37 minutes, and you can’t really ask for much more out of him when he’s putting up lines like this and doing so with a 12-of-20 shooting mark. Zach LaVine was on his tail with a pretty efficient 26 points, but he had just five boards, three diems and two threes to his name otherwise for the less sexy fantasy line of this deadly duo. Nikola Vucevic shot 8-of-17 (as did LaVine) for 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and three blocks with just one turnover, and this would have been much better if he hit a 3-pointer or two (0-of-5 from distance), but he had at least one triple in 10 straight coming in which is elite from a big man. Ayo Dosunmu was awesome again with a near double-double consisting of 13 points, nine assists, one steal and three triples in 36 minutes, and he needed just seven shot attempts (made four) to do his damage. Hang onto him at least until Lonzo Ball (knee) and/or Alex Caruso (wrist) come back, and potentially longer.
Orlando had about 3.5 guys show up on this occasion, with the half courtesy of Gary Harris’ 13 boring points in 29 reserve minutes (he’s not a fantasy asset unless you really need some scoring). Wendell Carter Jr. started this game very well with 11 first-quarter points and carried his momentum throughout, finishing with a team-high 24 points while sinking 11 of his 15 field goals and adding eight rebounds, six assists, one triple and three turnovers in 34 minutes. He went 1-of-5 from deep but was perfect from inside the arc with all 10 makes going in from there, and he’s looked really solid in six games since returning from a hamstring injury and could have a strong finish to the season. Franz Wagner went 9-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown for a 22/2/3 effort with a steal, and Cole Anthony posted a 20/6/9 line with two each in the steals/triples categories, and his 7-of-16 shooting is a step in the right direction for the promising sophomore. Mo Bamba is still just painfully average and had a 8/8 evening with a block and two triples in 22 minutes, and he only committed one foul but has only played 30 or more minutes twice over his past nine games, and I’m hoping he gets it going as soon as possible.
Timberwolves 130, Nuggets 115
This 15-point Wolves win doesn’t even depict how not-so-close this game was and Minnesota looked like one of the best teams to ever play at times. They have the talent and are now above 0.500 and it’s nice to finally see them with playoff hopes. They snapped Denver’s five-game winning streak in emphatic fashion, with the charge being led by Karl-Anthony Towns’ elite 24/10/7/2/1 line. He shot 8-of-12 from the floor, 7-of-8 from the line, made a triple and turned it over just once for a pretty pristine 9-cat gem. D’Angelo Russell (shin) didn’t play, so Patrick Beverley had some more touches coming his way but battled foul trouble on his way to a 11/2/5 line with three 3-pointers in only 15 minutes, so at least he didn’t totally burn you if you utilized him tonight but it could have been better. Taurean Prince went bonkers off the bench for a season-high 23 points (8-of-12 FGs) and rounded out his phenomenal showing with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and six 3-pointers in 24 minutes. He’s actually scored in double figures in three straight now, and I’m not really positive why that is since he’s not D’Lo’s position, but he’s played exactly 24 minutes in all three of those and is at least worth watching going forward. Jarred Vanderbilt kept his dream season going with 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in just 19 minutes of action, and who knows what his line would’ve looked like if he got 30 or so. Anthony Edwards basically took the night off with five points in 26 minutes but that’s his fourth single-digit scoring affair of the season and he scored nine points in each of the other three, and he’s one of the last guys to worry about and even said he wants to be the face of the league in five years. Of the non-fantasy-relevant guys when the team’s healthy, Jaylen Nowell (10/2/3 with two triples), Malik Beasley (12 points, five boards, four triples), Jordan McLaughlin (9/4/7 with a steal and a three) and especially Naz Reid (12/5/2/1/2) all played good basketball in a lopsided victory.
Nikola Jokic had an “off night” with 21 points (6-of-12 FGs, 8-of-9 FTs), 16 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, one 3-pointer and five turnovers in 30 minutes, and as always, he doesn’t need analysis and the fact that this was underwhelming from The Joker tells his whole story. That’s really where the fantasy fun ends for Denver, as Jeff Green, Will Barton, Monte Morris, JaMychal Green and Davon Reed all scored in double figures but didn’t do a ton else on the stat sheet. We should see better things on Wednesday’s second half of a back-to-back against the mightily struggling Utah Jazz.
Warriors 124, Spurs 120
No Stephen Curry (toe), Klay Thompson (Achilles), Andrew Wiggins (knee) or Draymond Green (back) along with plenty of other role players, but no problem for the now 39-13 Warriors. Kevon Looney was the only usual starter and he did well with a 12/12 double-double with three dimes and a steal and continues to be a great source of rebounds with Draymond sidelined for some time. Jordan Poole was the man of the match with 31 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, four 3-pointers and only one giveaway in 34 minutes, and the inefficient showing (9-of-24 FGs) was semi-expected since he had the greenest of lights with so many guys out. Damion Lee was great as well with a 21/5/2 line with two steals and five 3-pointers, and Moses Moody was right behind him with 20 points, seven rebounds and six 3-pointers in 37 minutes. Jonathan Kuminga finally broke out of a three-game slump for a 19/3/3 line with two 3-pointers and a swat off the pine, but he scored in single figures in six of his last seven coming in and his leash isn’t long enough to be trusted nightly anymore. Gary Payton II didn't score but tallied a career-high five steals, and things should look more normal for the Dubs when they face the Kings on Thursday.
San Antonio got their big guns back after they all basically rested against the Suns on Sunday, and who else but Dejounte Murray led the way with a huge 27/9/9/2/1 line on 12-of-21 shooting. He made a trey as well and did add six turnovers, but that’s fine when he’s doing all this, and I think he could be fun for a very long time if his environment doesn’t drastically change. Keldon Johnson had a 95.0 eFG% for his 21/3/4 line with three 3-pointers and Derrick White had a 16/3/7 line with four triples, and some defensive stats would’ve been nice from either of them but you can’t complain a whole lot. Devin Vassell took the Rising Stars snub to heart and drained four triples on his way to 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Lonnie Walker IV sent three shots packing with his 11/1/4/1/3 showing. Jakob Poeltl (7/5/1/1/1) played just 12 minutes before exiting the game with a head injury courtesy of a Kuminga elbow to the face that reportedly caused his vision to be bothered, but he should be okay and the team was just playing it safe.
Suns 121, Nets 111
The Suns took care of the Nets in a home game that saw them win their 11th straight contest, which extends their second double-digit winning streak this season alone. Mikal Bridges went bonkers for a season-high 27 points after setting a season high of 26 just a game ago, and if he ever starts scoring like this consistently, this team would be pretty unstoppable. Bridges added his usual goodies inclusive of eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block, one trey and two turnovers, doing all of this without committing a single turnover and shooting 10-of-14 from the floor. Devin Booker being red hot isn’t new information, and he kept his foot on the gas with 35 points (13-of-23 FGs, 6-of-7 FTs), six rebounds, two assists, one steal, three 3-pointers and two turnovers in 41 minutes, and it’s a borderline crime that he isn’t starting the All-Star game as the best scorer on the best team in the league. You could make a case for Chris Paul too, as he did his thing with a 20/4/14 line with two steals and of course just two turnovers, and he is somehow getting better as time goes on, which isn’t fair. Deandre Ayton (ankle) returned from a seven-game absence and looked fine with 12 points, six rebounds, one steal and four turnovers in 28 minutes, but give him a game or two and he should get it going in no time. Jae Crowder also returned but scored just three points, and Cam Johnson (16 points, four triples) could still be a better fantasy asset than Crowder even if he’s not starting.
The Nets looked like they stood a chance for a while, but I’m not sure who can keep up with Phoenix at this moment so you can’t be too hard on Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving got to play since the game was in Phoenix and led the Nets with his 26 points (10-of-20 FGs) along with four rebounds, three assists, one steal, three triples and two turnovers in 37 minutes, and he has three more away games to play before a home game against Boston on February 8. James Harden shot 6-of-19 from the field and turned it over four times, but had his usual numbers with a 22/5/10 line with a steal and three triples, and Kessler Edwards started and was pretty impressive with 13 points and five boards with three treys and a steal in 29 minutes. Blake Griffin came out of nowhere for 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, two triples and one turnover in 27 minutes off the bench, and maybe he establishes more of a role with LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) sidelined for a few more games, but I’m not sold yet.