Last week on their SiriusXM fantasy show, Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster discussed the most overrated players of all time. I immediately thought of Emmitt Smith, though Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte belong in the discussion as well. I can’t say I agreed when Jeff called Larry Bird overrated, but I did think Andy Roddick was a great call.
If we expand the discussion from overrated players to just anything in sports that is overrated, trade deadlines would have to be near the top of the list. Fans and media members spend a ton of time speculating on who will be traded where, and in the end there is never enough action to justify the hype.
That was not the case today when there was a flurry of activity at the deadline. For the most part, I didn’t think any of the trades had a ton of fantasy impact. Reggie Jackson should be an absolute monster starting in Detroit for Stan Van Gundy, and Goran Dragic should handle the ball more in Miami than he did in Phoenix, but for the most part everyone involved was a bench player or just a solid starter. Not a whole lot of difference-makers were traded.
I didn’t want to publish this article before the trade deadline for fear of a trade that would make some of my analysis irrelevant. That didn’t happen. The Kings will probably be better now that George Karl has his boy Andre Miller, but I still believe they will be a good fantasy matchup. The 76ers look drastically different but should still be terrible. JaVale McGee is very intriguing in Philly, as are Tim Frazier and Isaiah Canaan, but the 76ers are still a great fantasy matchup.
As most fantasy players focus on familiar faces in new places, savvy fantasy players will focus on the schedule. There are a lot of decent players who could take advantage of the schedule to put together a big week. This is an especially good week if you need 3-point shooting, though there is something for everyone is this week’s schedule breakdown.
Marco Belinelli, San Antonio Spurs (Road vs. Jazz, Road vs. Trail Blazers, Road vs. Kings, Road vs. Suns) Belinelli has scored in double-digits in four of his five games since returning from a groin injury. No team has allowed a higher shooting percentage from beyond the arc over the last 15 games than the Jazz; the Trail Blazers are third and the Suns are sixth. The Jazz and Kings have the fourth and fifth-worst defensive ratings in the NBA while the Suns and Kings have allowed the third and fourth-most points to opposing teams.
Channing Frye, Orlando Magic (Home vs. Heat, Road vs. Hawks, Home vs. Hornets) Frye has scored 76.6 percent of his points on 3-pointers, a higher percentage than even Kyle Korver. The Hornets and Heat are in the bottom half of the league in opponent’s 3-point percentage while the Heat and Hawks are in the top-10 for most 3-pointers allowed to opponents. So long as he is recovered from his dislocated left index finger, Frye should be pretty good this week. Evan Fournier and Willie Green could probably take advantage of this schedule as well, especially if Frye is out.
Courtney Lee, Memphis Grizzlies (Road vs. Clippers, Road vs. Kings, Home vs. Clippers, Road vs. Timberwolves) This is apparently a good week if you need threes. Lee is averaging 1.3 per game for the season and the only team to allow more than the Kings over their last 15 games is the Clippers. Lee is also averaging a steal per game, and the Kings and Timberwolves are in the top five in opponent’s steals this season.
James Johnson, Toronto Raptors (Road vs. Pelicans, Road vs. Mavericks, Home vs. Warriors, Road vs. Knicks, Road vs. 76ers) There are a handful of Toronto rotation players who are worth playing this week, especially against the Knicks and 76ers. I chose to focus on James Johnson because he averaged 14 points over three games since returning from a hamstring injury. Johnson is averaging a block per game this season, and no team has been blocked more than the Pelicans.
Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets (Road vs. Nuggets, Road vs. Pelicans, Road vs. Rockets, Road vs. Mavericks, Home vs. Warriors) The Pelicans, Nuggets and Rockets are in the top five in opponent’s blocks while the Mavericks and Warriors are second and third in opponent’s rebounds. Plumlee can do both of those things well, and he should play a bit more with Kevin Garnett gone.
This season the trade deadline was not overrated, and neither is looking at the upcoming NBA schedule to get a fantasy edge. Knowing how to exploit favorable matchups is crucial, especially if you are trying to pick up ground in a specific category.
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Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points (6-of-16 FGs), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, two three-pointers and six turnovers in Game 2 against the Thunder on Wednesday.
This was Jokic’s worst performance of the postseason, and it came to an end in the third quarter. He fouled out with 1:17 left in the third, which brought his night to a close after he played 32 minutes. OKC was up 41 points when Jokic fouled out, so his night may have been close to over anyway. Jokic dominated Game 1, and the Thunder adjusted. Denver will need other players to step up if they want to have a chance of winning this series, but Jokic will also need to be better than he was in this game.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled on Wednesday and finished with just eight points (2-of-10 FGs), five rebounds, one steal and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Thunder.
MPJ was slightly better in the second half, as all eight of his points came in the third quarter. However, the game was already out of hand at that point after a terrible first half for both Porter Jr. and the Nuggets. MPJ shot 1-of-8 in Game 1, and they’ll need him to be much better moving forward. The series will now shift back to Denver, and MPJ will look to get back on track during the two home games before the series heads back to Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook provided a boost off the bench with 19 points (5-of-11 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), one rebound, five assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Despite an ugly first half for Denver, Westbrook was productive and entered the break with 15 points. He didn’t add much in the second half, though he sat the entire fourth quarter, still it was enough to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Russ has been awesome over Denver’s last five games, and his continued success will be key to the Nuggets winning this series. Though this game was ugly, they still have homecourt advantage in this series. They’ll look to keep it in Game 3 on Friday.
Chet Holmgren recorded a double-double on Wednesday with 15 points (3-of-8 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two three-pointers in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
After struggling in Game 1, Holmgren bounced back and recorded the fourth postseason triple-double of his career, with three of those coming this season. Aside from Game 3 against Memphis, Holmgren has swatted at least two shots in every game during these playoffs, which was a trend that continued in this game despite him only playing 26 minutes. Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (14/8/5/1/1) will look to continue to limit Nikola Jokic (17 points) in Game 3 on Friday.
Jalen Williams bounced back on Wednesday with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs), four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in Game 2 against the Nuggets.
Williams was criticized for his poor performance in the Thunder’s Game 1 loss, but he responded well in OKC’s blowout victory. He was on pace for a bigger night, but he only played 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. He shot the ball much better after shooting 5-of-20 in Game 1, and he’ll need that success to carry over into Game 3 in Denver on Friday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points (11-of-13 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs), four rebounds, eight assists and one three-pointer in a 149-106 win over the Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Aside from Game 4 against Memphis, SGA hasn’t been his typical uber-efficient self during the playoffs so far. Well, that changed in Game 2, which contributed to a dominant win for Oklahoma City. This was his fourth straight 30-point game, and that helped OKC bounce back from a two-point loss in Game 1. He only played 30 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter, but SGA did plenty of damage when he was on the floor. The series will now shift to Denver, and OKC will need to win a road game to retake homecourt advantage in this series. Game 3 will be on Friday.