RADIO
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we will highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry continue to play at MVP-type levels, as the two combined for a nice 69 points in the Warriors win over the Brooklyn Nets. Durant added eight rebounds and six assists, while Curry added seven rebounds and made seven three-pointers. Curry has broken the NBA record for games with at least five three-pointers to start a season with last night being his seventh performance thus far. D'Angelo Russell had a fine game for the Nets, finishing with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists on 9-of-14 shooting, including five three-pointers.
DeAndre Jordan had a surprising stat line, as he finished with 12 points, 19 rebounds, and nine assists. He even made all four of his free throw attempts. If you gave me the choice of him getting a triple-double with points, rebounds and assists or with points, rebounds and blocks, I would take the latter option 10 times out of 10. Either way, his performance went to waste as Rudy Gobert's 23 points and 16 rebounds pushed the Jazz to a 113-to-104 win over the Mavericks. In injury news, the Cleveland Cavaliers are now preparing for the likelihood of Kevin Love missing a month of action.
Let's take a look at the recap for Sunday, October 28th.
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Keep an Eye On Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
While it's been noted that Doc Rivers does not like to utilize rookies, he has become quite keen of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's play. Last night, the Clippers boat-raced the Washington Wizards 136-to-104, which resulted in the rookie gaining more minutes than normal, but he still has been getting consistent minutes throughout the season.
Last night, he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a three-pointer made in 28 minutes. If he can continue to push for 26-to-30 minutes of play, he could very well become a must-own in all formats, as he can truly fill the stat sheet.
For now though, continue to monitor his status with three upcoming games for the Clippers this week with contests against the Thunder, 76ers, and Magic.
Elie Okobo Takes Advantage of Injuries
The Phoenix Suns backcourt is depleted with injuries to Devin Booker and Isaiah Canaan. One player has made the most of the opportunity so far and that is 21-year-old Elie Okobo, who has played the previous three seasons in the French professional league.
In yesterday's 117-to-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Okobo finished with a team-high 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds in 31 minutes off of the bench. Only Deandre Ayton played more minutes than Okobo. While the Suns may not be very good this year, it could make Okobo an underrated talent in the fantasy basketball scope. We don't necessarily care how good a team in real life is, or the fact that they'll lose games 130-to-120 all season, as that is cheap fantasy value.
Okobo is another player that is definitely worth monitoring as you enter your new week's matchups, as the Suns have three games in the matchup against the Spurs, Raptors, and Grizzlies.
Would Healthy Minutes Help Nerlens Noel Hit Potential?
Nerlens Noel played a season-high 26 minutes yesterday against the Phoenix Suns and did what we all expected him to do since he entered the NBA in 2013. Noel scored 20 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and came away with four steals in the Thunder's victory.
It was nice to see him play that many minutes yesterday, as he averaged just 13.8 minutes per game in his first four games of the year. Steven Adams did miss the game with a calf injury and it's unknown how severe the injury is, but Noel is slated to receive the bulk of the missing minutes with the Adams injury.
Noel is worth the add and start in your lineup with Adams sidelined, and hopefully, he is able to produce enough in his opportunity to make a push for a heavier minutes-load in the rotation when Adams returns.
The Thunder have games against the Clippers, Hornets, and Wizards this week.
