The NBA is fantastic and there are so many things to talk about each and every week. Whether you are a Fantasy Basketball fanatic or just a fan here is ten things about the NBA that I want you to know about as we head into week ten of the NBA season!
Best NBA Games to Watch this Week
Monday December 18: Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers. The banged up Warriors face Lonzo Ball and company in what should be a high paced high scoring game on Monday.
Tuesday December 19: Cleveland Cavaliers at the Milwaukee Bucks. MVP candidates LeBron James vs Giannis Antetokounmpo square off! Sign me up for this!!
Wednesday December 20: Utah Jazz at the Oklahoma City Thunder. This should be a good battle between these Northwest Division foes.
Thursday December 21: Boston Celtics at the New York Knicks. The best team in the East visits Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks in Madison Square Garden? This game should be fun!
Friday December 22: Denver Nuggets at the Portland Trail Blazers. This is another Northwest Division game with possible playoff implications and should be a fun night at the Moda Center.
Saturday December 23: Brooklyn Nets at the Indiana Pacers. Two of the fastest paced teams in the NBA square off in what should be a high scoring no defense affair!
Sunday December 24: No games on the schedule today!!!
You are a Happy Fantasy Basketball Owner If
You have players on your roster from the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz as each team has four games on their schedule this week.
Waiver Wire Pickup of the Week
If you haven’t considered Chicago Bulls point guard Kris Dunn you may want to reconsider him this week. Dunn has a Usage Rate of 25.7 percent and over his last five games Dunn is averaging 16 points, six rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game and getting 32.8 minutes a night during that stretch. Dunn is also solid from the field (42 percent) and struggles a bit from the line (62 percent) but I wouldn’t let that keep me from picking up Dunn this week. The Bulls have four games this week (Philadelphia, Orlando, @Cleveland and @Boston) and is widely available across the season long Fantasy Basketball industry.
You are an Unhappy Fantasy Basketball Owner If
You have players on your roster from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons as each of these teams have only two games this week.
Tweet of the Week
This Tweet from Fox Sports Radio host Jake Query was so clever I had to give him the Tweet of the Week!!
Victor Oladipo’s nickname should be “Rated R”, because he’s showing more adult stuff than PG 13.
— Jake Query (@jakequery) December 11, 2017
Dunk of the Week
This filthy viscous dunk by Giannis Antetokounmpo over Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert might wind up being the Dunk of the Decade……WOW!
High Usage Widely Available Players
We hear a ton of talk about Usage and how important it is when selecting players for Daily Fantasy NBA rosters but I would think that same logic applies for season long owners to. In fact I know it does and here are a few high Usage players who also happen to be widely available across the season long Fantasy Basketball industry.
Phoenix Suns center Alex Len is widely available and has a 16.1 Usage Rate playing 21 minutes per night. He’s also averaged 9.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.4 blocks over his past five games. Solid 52 percent field goal percentage and 76.3 percent free throw percentages make Len an ideal pickup in Leagues of 12 teams or more.
Brooklyn Nets SF/PF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is widely available and boasts a 20.1 percent Usage Rate playing 28 minutes per game. Over the past five games Hollis-Jefferson is averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals plus the occasional three triple. Hollis-Jefferson is also shooting 49 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line and is good to go in all Fantasy Basketball formats.
Los Angeles Lakers PG/SG Jordan Clarkson is widely available with a 27.1 Usage Rate playing 22.6 minutes per game. Over the past five games Clarkson is averaging 13.2 points, three rebounds, 2.8 assists and nearly two triples per night. This season Clarkson is shooting 48 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the line and should be good to go in leagues of 12 teams or more.
Brooklyn Nets SG Caris LeVert boasts a 21.2 Usage Rate and is also widely available across the industry. Over the past five games LeVert is averaging 16.2 points, three rebounds, 6.8 assists and nearly two steals per game including nearly two triples while playing 29.2 minutes per night. LeVert is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the line this season and should be good to go in any season long league format.
I was going to write about All These Teams This Week
But decided it would be much easier to just talk about the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, OKC Thunder and much more with my good friend Rob Holloway from Pure Point Hoops…..Shameless I know but you can listen below!
Summing Up the Memphis Grizzlies in 360 Degrees
It’s hard to believe we are a third of the way into the season and the Memphis Grizzlies are currently tied with the Dallas Mavericks with only eight wins apiece. There are plenty of reasons as to why the Grizzlies are a dumpster fire but this dunk attempt by Grizzlies shooting guard pretty much sums up the Grizzlies season thus far.
Kawhi Leonard Returns!
Fantasy Basketball owners and San Antonio Spurs fans were rightfully excited Tuesday night when Kawhi Leonard made his season debut against the Dallas Mavericks. Most likely Leonard will be on a minute’s restriction for the foreseeable future but he is BACK!!!
Enjoy the NBA this week!!
Follow Phil @Flashtennis31 and The Phil Naessens Show.
