Enes Kanter had a double-double off the bench, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as the Blazers won on Monday night.
Kanter had just missed a double-double in the previous game, coming up a rebound short, but he made up for it on Monday night in the win over the Lakers. He's now scored in double figures in all three games and has been rebounding the ball fairly well. Grab him in all standard and deeper league if he's still available.
Dennis Schroder scored 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, adding four rebounds, four assists and a steal in a loss to the Blazers on Monday.
Schroder scored a season-high 24 points in 36 minutes in a losing effort, but the 50% shooting was impressive considering he had to guard Damian Lillard on the other end. The former Thunder sixth man has looked impressive early in his Lakers career and is doing exactly what the Lakers brought him in for: scoring, playmaking and defending. If, for whatever reason, he's still available in your league, pick him up and thank your league mates for the late Christmas gift.
Damian Lillard put up 31 points, four rebounds and five assists on 10-of-16 shooting in Monday night's win over the Lakers.
Dame scored a quiet 31 points on 16 shots, making five threes while chipping in four rebounds and five assists. We say quiet because it was Gary Trent Jr. who stole the show at Staples Center with his 28 points and seven threes off the bench. Dame himself said postgame on NBA TV: "Without him [Trent Jr.] having that type of performance, this could be an easy win for them [Lakers]."
Jusuf Nurkic notched his second-straight double-double, logging 10 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and a steal on Monday night.
The Bosnian Beast has now posted a double-double in back-to-back games for the Blazers, and he did it against Anthony Davis and the Lakers in a winning effort. Nurkic picked up his final two points with 20 ticks left in the game, making a midrange jumper to ice the win for Portland.
Bogdan Bogdanovic dropped 17 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench in the Hawks victory over the Pistons on Monday night.
Bogdanovic played 30 minutes off the bench on Monday night, going 6-of-10 from the floor and splashing in five triples. He slotted in nicely next to veteran guard Rajon Rondo who made his debut for the Hawks. The two could be a deadly duo which will be great for Bogy as he can focus on scoring and spotting up while being a secondary playmaker for the bench unit. The five assists and block were a nice touch for the wing, too.
LeBron James (ankle) was all over the court, per usual, with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in 36 minutes in Monday's loss to the Blazers.
James rolled his ankle Sunday night against the Timberwolves but powered through it against the Blazers and still managed to have a stellar fantasy output despite losing the game. The 29 points is a season high for LeBron and the three triples made his fantasy managers happy. The Lakers take on Spurs on Wednesday and Friday.
Dennis Schroder scored 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, adding four rebounds, four assists and a steal in the Lakers loss to the Blazers.
Schroder scored a season-high 24 points in 36 minutes in a losing effort, but the 50% shooting was impressive considering he had to guard Damian Lillard on the other end. The former Thunder sixth man has looked impressive early in his Lakers career and is doing exactly what the Lakers brought him in for: scoring, playmaking and defending. If, for whatever reason, he's still available in your league, pick him up and thank everyone for the late Christmas gift.
Montrezl Harrell had a season-low nine points and six rebounds in 27 minutes as the Lakers dropped Monday's game to the Blazers.
Harrell had a quiet game, failing to reach double-digit points and rebounds and to record any defensive stats. The tenacious forward has just seven total rebounds in the last two games, something he and his fantasy managers can't be satisfied with. The only positive from his performance was the efficiency in shooting, as he hit 3-of-5 shots and 3-of-3 free throws.
Anthony Davis had a light double-double to the tune of 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers 115-107 loss to the Blazers.
After nursing a calf injury Sunday, AD returned to the floor Monday night but scored a season-low 13 points, adding 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal in 38 minutes. He went 6-of-14 from the floor and only attempted two free throws — not the typical numbers that we're accustomed to seeing from the superstar. But he'll have a day to rest before the Lakers take on the Spurs twice in three days.
LeBron James (ankle) was all over the court, per usual, with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block in 36 minutes.
James rolled his ankle Sunday night against the Timberwolves but powered through it against the Blazers and still managed to have a stellar fantasy output despite losing the game. The 29 points is a season-high for the king and the three triples make our fantasy managers in categories leagues some happy campers. The Lakers take on Spurs on Wednesday and Friday.
Jamal Murray returned to action in the fourth quarter on Monday after taking a shot to the head from Jae'Sean Tate in the third quarter.
Great news for Murray, as it would appear that he avoided suffering a concussion on the play. We'll let you know how he finished after the game. Crisis averted.
Will Barton played 23 minutes and hit 5-of-12 shots and a 3-pointer for 11 points, four rebounds, a block and nothing else in Monday's easy win over the Rockets.
Barton probably isn't thrilled about coming off the bench behind Michael Porter Jr. but the two players have basically been in a timeshare thus far. At some point, MPJ is going to take over (the world) and hurt both Barton and Paul Millsap. The Nuggets are slowly working MPJ into a headlining status, but we doubt they continue to mess with his minutes for too much longer. Barton is still worth holding in fantasy, but if he's on your roster and the three-game averages of 14 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.0 3-pointers aren't working for you, MPJ isn't going to go away.
Sekou Doumbouya was quiet in his return from a foot injury, scoring just two points in 10 minutes in the loss to the Hawks.
Doumbouya (foot) played just 10 minutes in his return to the court and never really had a chance to contribute much as he took just three shots. Hopefully the foot isn't bothering Sekou anymore and he can get more minutes. Though it will be tough because this Pistons teams is loaded with forwards.
Paul Millsap hit 7-of-8 shots and three 3-pointers for a season-high 19 points, three rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes of Monday's 124-111 win over the Rockets.
This game wasn't as close as the score might indicate and Millsap was feeling it in a game that didn't feature much defense. Millsap is averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 3-pointers through three games, but the Michael Porter Jr. train is just leaving the station and will eventually render Millsap useless. He's a decent stop-gap if you need one for your roster right now, but Millsap is not someone you should plan on counting on for production throughout the season.
Michael Porter Jr. started and hit 5-of-11 shots and two 3-pointers for 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block in 24 minutes of Monday's 124-111 blowout win over the Rockets.
The score wasn't representative of how this game went, as Denver controlled it in the second half, but MPJ had a nice line, although it wasn't mind blowing. He'll still have to compete with guys like Paul Millsap and Will Barton for the ball every night, but he's the guy with the most natural talent and upside. Don't be worried that he hasn't gone nuclear yet and look for him to improve as the season progresses. After all, we're just three games into this season and MPJ is averaging 16 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and 2.3 3-pointers in 26 minutes per game thus far. The best is yet to come.
Trae Young kept his hot start to the season going with 29 points and six assists in 33 minutes as the Hawks moved to 3-0.
Young did most of his damage at the free throw line on Monday where he went 15-of-15. He shot 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and though it's really early, he's only averaging three turnovers a game so far, down from his 4.8 mark from last season. The return of Rajon Rondo shouldn't affect his minutes and if anything will allow Young to play off the ball if the two are ever are on the court together. And who cares if he's not a great defender? Ice Trae puts up numbers and that's what we need. Be happy if you have him on your squad.
Clint Capela was relatively quiet in his season debut, posting seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.
Capela played just 20 minutes in his first game of the season which is the number he predicted pregame. His front court partner John Collins played 26 minutes, which isn't a huge difference, but Danilo Gallinari (foot) was out with a foot injury and could possibly take some minutes from both of the Hawks bigs when he's back. Regardless, Capela will be good for some points, rebounds and a couple blocks each night, but it'll be interesting to see who's closing games for this surging Hawks team.
Bogdan Bogdanovic dropped 17 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench in the Hawks victory over the Pistons.
Bogdanovic played 30 minutes off the bench on Monday night, going 6-of-10 from the floor and splashing in five triples. He slotted in nicely next to veteran guard Rajon Rondo who made his debut for the Hawks. The two could be a deadly duo which will be great for Bogy as he can focus on scoring and spotting up while being a secondary playmaker for the bench unit. The five assists and block were a nice touch for the wing, too.
Jerami Grant played a game-high 37 minutes, scoring 27 points along with six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in the Pistons loss to the Hawks.
Grant went 9-of-20 from the floor while knocking down three triples and all six of his free throw attempts. He's now scored 25-plus in back-to-back contests and is 8-of-21 from deep through three games — a good sign for his fantasy managers. Blake Griffin (rest) was out of the lineup Monday which might've factored into Grant's heavy minutes. But still, he left the Nuggets for a bigger role and so far, he's showing he can handle it.
Saddiq Bey played 30 minutes and had 10 points and seven rebounds in his first career start for the Pistons.
After the game, Bey said: "I didn't really know (I'd start) until game time. It was disappointing we didn't get the win, but we fought until the end. That counts." Imagine finding out that you're starting your first NBA game right before it starts. Crazy, right? Bey faired well in his time on the court, logging 10 points and seven boards in Derrick Rose's (rest) absence. He shot just 3-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-7 from deep but earning big minutes was a good sign for the rook. He adds not fantasy value for now.