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Saturday’s slate had a handful of truly massive performances from stars and scrubs alike, and while not everyone can enjoy the benefits of Nikola Jokic’s career-high night, there will be some fun that everyone can get in on thanks to unheralded players stepping up. Let’s see what we’ve got.
Standard Leagues
(<50% rostered on Yahoo)
Russell Westbrook, PG, DEN (44% rostered)
Tonight: 32 minutes, seven points (3-of-6 FG, 1-of-4 FT), 10 rebounds, 12 assists, four steals, one block
Analysis: Westbrook’s impact on winning hasn’t changed all that much but he’s been pretty solid in the box score for the Nuggets. He picked up a start tonight and is safe to roll out whenever that is the case. The usual caveats apply about not worrying about efficiency; when Westbrook has enough minutes he’ll give you something decent in the counting stats.
Vasilije Micic, PG/SG, CHA (13% rostered)
Tonight: 35 minutes, 13 points (5-of-10 FG, 1-of-1 FT), five rebounds, seven assists, two 3-pointers
Analysis: Not much to this one. Micic is simply Charlotte’s starting PG for at least another week and potentially a lot longer. He’s going to play more than enough to generate good assists with usable points, 3-pointers and the occasional steal.
Malik Beasley, SG, DET (28% rostered)
Tonight: 26 minutes, 23 points (7-of-13 FG, 2-of-2 FT), four rebounds, one assist, one steal, seven 3-pointers
Analysis: It feels like Beasley ends up on this list whenever I sit down to write it. Maybe just pick him up, right? He’s got a lot of all-or-nothing about him but managers who need every 3-pointer they can get shouldn’t worry too much about that, because for every dud you’ll eventually run into a game like this.
Grayson Allen, PG/SG, PHX (16% rostered)
Tonight: 30 minutes, 16 points (5-of-10 FG, 1-of-2 FT), two rebounds, four assists, two steals, five 3-pointers
Analysis: The arrival of Tyus Jones has bumped Allen out of the starting five, but injuries have opened the door for him to log huge minutes once again. Based on what Allen did last year with largely the same roster, it’s a bit of a no-brainer given the current injury report. He should be more widely rostered than he is.
Royce O’Neale, SF/PF, PHX (21% rostered)
Tonight: 31 minutes, 23 points (8-of-15 FG, 2-of-2 FT), seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, five 3-pointers
Analysis: O’Neale has risen into the starting lineup and frankly, with the way Jusuf Nurkic is playing (when available), O’Neale’s minutes should be on the rise even when the Suns are healthy. This is a player with a quintessential 3-and-D profile who has posted middle-round numbers for extended stretches in the not-too-distant past. At the very least, O’Neale is a good streaming play for now, and if you have the space it’s worth an add to see what his role looks like even when Nurkic and Kevin Durant return.
Deep Leagues
(<10% rostered on Yahoo)
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