A full slate of NBA games had a lot of exciting action with a few noteworthy performances. The King remained undefeated while there was a shakeup in the power standings out West.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NBA (or NFL) Premium Pass for free (includes DFS Cheat Sheets). Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Pass.

 

Game Notes for November 6th, 2016

Cleveland Cavaliers 102, Philadelphia 76ers 101

The Cavs squeaked by the Sixers because one of the big three was missing in action. Kyrie Irving has been on fire to start the season with 20 or more points in the first five games but only managed eight last night. He still managed to get 18 shots up so there is nothing to worry about when it comes to Uncle Drew getting his chances. LeBron James and Kevin Love picked up the slack for Kyrie by posting double-doubles while Tristan Thompson kept his streak of double digit rebound games intact. The defending champs are humming on all cylinders and nothing but injury will interfere with Cleveland’s fantasy relevant players from consistently producing.

The Sixers are still winless on the season but they have been at least competitive to start the season. Ersan Ilyasova exploded for 21 points going four of six from three. After two games it is obvious Ilyasova will be stealing minutes from Dario Saric. The rookie has looked okay to start the season but his workload is definitely too much and the 29 year old Ilyasova looks poised to finally have a bigger role with a team. Sergio Rodriguez had his second 11 assist performance and now has at least nine or more assists in three of the first five games. He is trending toward a must pick up guard if only he could score with any consistency.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves 92, Oklahoma City Thunder 112

The Timberwolves guards and wings were absolutely shut down by the Thunder. Andrew Wiggins, Kris Dunn, and Zach LaVine combined for 18 points, six assists, and eight turnovers. They are all extremely talented but none of them are older than 21 yet. Wiggins and LaVine shouldn’t be worried about but it is time to consider Dunn fantasy irrelevant. Although he’s starting and getting 24 minutes a game his 38% shooting from the field and 50% from the line for six points, four assists, and two turnovers just isn’t worth a roster spot(currently on 64% of Yahoo! Rosters). The Timberwolves are prepared to take all of the lumps and bruises that come with grooming a point guard but your fantasy team shouldn’t settle for that.

The Thunder bounce back from their loss to Golden State by beating up on the young pups from Minnesota. Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, and Enes Kanter remain the Thunder players not named Westbrook that should be owned in all leagues. Andre Roberson and Domantas Sabonis look like the ultimate role players with very little room for growth for their personal stats. No other player has really emerged to become fantasy relevant. Jerami Grant and Semaj Christon are new names that have been getting minutes but they are a long way off from really producing.

 

Washington Wizards 86, Orlando Magic 88

John Wall did not play last night because of rest. Wall is coming off two knee surgeries so the Wizards will be cautious with him this year. Markieff Morris and Bradley Beal carried the team in Wall’s absence. The Wizards don’t have the deepest roster and some of their younger talent just hasn’t panned out yet. Trey Burke and Kelly Oubre Jr. combined for one more minute than Tomas Satoransky. If Wall were to go down for the season then Washington’s playoff hopes would be very much in the hands of Mr. Satoransky.

There was another Jeff Green sighting in Orlando. Other than that and the victory the Magic just don’t look like a very well put together team. Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton haven’t really improved that much from their rookie years while in the early part of the season it seems like Nikola Vucevic is regressing. Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo are contributing albeit in small doses. No one on this team can be trusted on a night in and night out basis to consistently produce.

 

Denver Nuggets 86, Detroit Pistons 103

The Nuggets rely on their young players more than ever. While Wilson Chandler still led the team in minutes and scoring last night the Nuggets have clearly decided that it is full rebuild time. Emmanuel Mudiay, Jamal Murray, Jusuf Nurkic, and Nikola Jokic all had bad games but none played less than 24 minutes. Denver has a good young core but they are all in need of some experience. Murray has been involved in the offense more than initially planned and should be monitored to see if he can get his offense going consistently. Finally, Kenneth Faried’s place on the squad seems to be slowly slipping away.

Andre Drummond was one point away from having a 20-20 night. Ish Smith had another solid outing in place of the injured Reggie Jackson. He is averaging around 10 points and eight assists this season. Smith is a decent stopgap for anyone desperately need of assists. Both Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have played decently in Detroit’s backcourt and proven to be worth serious fantasy consideration.

 

Chicago Bulls 94, Indiana Pacers 111

The Bulls backcourt finally looked their age for a night after starting the season looking young and fresh. Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo combined for 15 points, five assists, and six turnovers. On the bright side there was the first Bobby Portis sighting of the season. He had a great end to his rookie year but has been noticeably absent this year. Doug McDermott continues to score double-digit points and is looking like a much improved player.

C.J. Miles has had 15 or more points in four of six games this season. Right now he’s worth picking up just because he’s hot but this scoring production is more of a trend than a blip. His last two years in Indiana have been productive and he is right now the scoring option for the team’s second unit. Do not be surprised to see Miles in sixth man of the year conversations if this continues. Jeff Teague also had another nice outing and looks to be bouncing back with his new team.

 

Houston Rockets 97, Atlanta Hawks 112

Eric Gordon had an off night going 3-11 from the field for nine points, two assists, two turnovers, and no steals. He has actually been very productive on the Rockets as the starting two guard next to James Harden. Gordon should be owned in more than 76% of Yahoo! Leagues because the Rockets have no other guards to rely on, especially not on their bench. Last night was a glaring example of how the Rockets have no bench play and have to depend on James Harden to create offensive magic every night.

The Hawks looked like a well-oiled machine that has been playing together for years. Despite the fact that Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore are both relatively new additions they both contributed over 20 points and filled up most other categories. All five of the Hawks starters were in double digits with Howard, Paul Millsap and Dennis Schroeder going for double-doubles. All five of Atlanta’s starters are fantasy relevant while Mike Muscala, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Thabo Sefolosha are in a mix of considerations depending on what you need.

 

Sacramento Kings 91, Milwaukee Bucks 117

The Kings played 12 different players last night. Seven of them had over 20 minutes. There is no real set rotation and the Kings collection of guards are just a confusing mess. Rudy Gay sat out the night with an injury that will leave him out for an undetermined amount of time. Sacramento’s only consistent scoring option is DeMarcus Cousins and he doesn’t have a lot of help in terms of creating plays.

The Bucks have formed a clear nucleus around Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Both are living up to their preseason hype but the rest of the team is lagging behind. Matthew Dellavedova has been a good signing but only so much can be expected of him. Mirza Teletovic had his first real good game in a Bucks uniform but shouldn’t be expected to contribute much. Tony Snell slides nicely into Milwaukee’s starting lineup but his usage rate makes him not worth fantasy consideration.

 

Los Angeles Clippers 116, San Antonio Spurs 92

After the Warriors lost to the Lakers on Friday and the Clippers put a beat down on the Spurs last night, the only conclusion anyone can have is that the Clippers will win the West. Even though DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul didn’t score in double-digits the Clippers still won by over 20 points. They were able to do this because J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford contributed their usual while Marreese Speights had another good game. The 29 year old PF/C has had 14 or more points in three of LA’s first six games.

The Kyle Anderson and Jonathan Simmons hype trains came to a screeching halt last night. Both had decent minutes but weren’t able to contribute anything. Popovich had 13 players on the court last night and that’s not including Tony Park who didn’t play. Although the Simmons hype might have died down he still looks like a player that will continue to improve and contribute. The new hype train is all about Nicolas Laprovittola. He is a 25 year old Argentinian who has been playing all season but had career highs in minutes (22) and points (11) last night. No idea how the Spurs keep finding these guys but they do.