RADIO
Lauri Markkanen Goes For 23 Points In Victory
12/16:Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen dropped 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting during Saturday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. As has been the case since his return, Markkanen was aggressive from deep, going 3-for-8 from long range, now having averaged 7.9 threes attempted over his first seven contests with at least six in each game. Without Zach LaVine on Saturday, Markkanen took on a larger offensive role, but that shouldn’t affect his usage all that much moving forward. He appears to be picking up right where he left off last season, having averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a rookie.Source: ESPN
DeMar DeRozan Goes For 21 Points In Defeat
12/16:San Antonio Spurs shooting guard DeMar DeRozan finished Saturday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls with 21 points, but it took going 8-for-23 from the field to get there. He added five rebounds and three assists to round out his night, but with two other Spurs starters going scoreless, DeRozan was tasked with picking up the slack on the offensive end. He remains one of the league’s preeminent threats to get 20 points on a nightly basis, looking to do so on a higher shooting percentage Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers who may be without dogged wing defender Jimmy Butler.Source: ESPN
LaMarcus Aldridge Gets Back To Double-Double Ways
12/16:San Antonio Spurs power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds during Saturday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, the first time he has done so since Nov. 23. Prior to Saturday, it was a stretch of 11 consecutive games without having recorded double-digit rebounds for Aldridge, who is still averaging 9.6 per contest on the year. Coming into the night, he had been averaging just 27.3 minutes per game in December, which may have factored into his decreased production. Still, he has shot better than 50 percent from the field in seven of eight December contests, looking to keep that streak going Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.Source: ESPN
Kris Dunn Drops Season-High 24 Points In Win
12/16:Chicago Bulls point/shooting guard Kris Dunn went off with his minutes limit lifted Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs, finishing with a team-high 24 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Dunn also snatched seven rebounds and dished out three assists, drawing the start at the two-guard spot with Zach LaVine sidelined. With LaVine also on the shelf for at least Monday’s game against Oklahoma City, Dunn becomes a must-play in a Chicago offense looking to make up for the loss of it’s leading scorer. Dunn averaged 13.4 points and 6.0 assists per game across nearly 30 minutes per contest last season, so when healthy, he’s a definite fantasy commodity.Source: ESPN
Reggie Bullock Attempts Season-High 10 Threes In Return
12/16:Detroit Pistons shooting guard Reggie Bullock returned to action Saturday against the Boston Celtics after a five-game absence and appeared to try and make up for lost time, attempting a season-high 10 three-pointers in 30 minutes. He knocked down four of them, finishing the night with 15 points to go along with three rebounds. Averaging 5.5 attempts per game from three, Bullock is essentially a one category fantasy option, but now that he’s back in the fold, owners who are in need of threes should feel free to stream Bullock where necessary.Source: ESPN
Andre Drummond Records Eighth 20-Rebound Game Of Year
12/16:Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond was all over the boards during Saturday’s win over the Boston Celtics, snatching 20 rebounds to go along with 19 points. His performance marks the eighth time this season Drummond has reached the 20-rebound plateau. Through play Saturday, he has a full two-rebound lead over DeAndre Jordan for the league lead per game, with Drummond (15.6) having posted just four single-digit rebound contests all season. One of those came against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 5, the same team whom Drummond will face Monday.Source: ESPN
Blake Griffin Scores Team-High 27 Points In Win
12/16:Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin led the way with a team-high 27 points during Saturday’s win over the Boston Celtics. The scoring outburst gives Griffin at least 20 points in each of his last nine contests; through his first 26 games, he is on pace for a new career high in scoring at 25.7 points per game. While Griffin did commit five turnovers Saturday, he added eight rebounds and six assists while shooting 10-for-13 from the free-throw stripe. His next outing comes against the Milwaukee Bucks, whom he dropped 31 points against back on Dec. 5.Source: ESPN
Marcus Smart Knocks Down Season-High Five Threes
12/16:Boston Celtics point/shooting guard Marcus Smart hit a season-high five threes during Saturday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, finishing with a season-high 21 points in his ninth start of the year. With Smart now in the starting five, he has seen his play ebb and flow a bit more, having gone scoreless in his previous outing to Saturday. But it wasn’t just the scoring for Smart, who set another season-high with eight rebounds, while adding three assists and three steals. If he is to stick in the starting rotation moving forward, he’s worth an add due to his activity on the floor alone.Source: ESPN
Paul George Stays Hot In Saturday's Win Over The Clippers
12/16:Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George continued to dominate on Saturday when he scored 33 points to help propel his club to the victory over the Clippers. George connected on 11-for-19 shooting while adding seven boards with six assists to go along with a steal and a block. George also connected on five triples on the night and is putting up 30.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 4.0 makes from three on 57.1% shooting from the floor in his last four games, George is smoking hot at the moment and should be in all your lineups while he is rolling.Source: ESPN
Russell Westbrook Continues To Struggle With His Shot
12/16:Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook connected on just four of 17 shooting, while just missing out on a triple-double in Sunday's win over the Clippers. Westbrook scored 13 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists with a huge six steals and three makes from three on the night. He is averaging a triple-double in December (17.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.4 assists), but he is shooting just 36.2% from the floor. If he continues this massive output and his shots start to fall, owners will be dancing.Source: ESPN
Kyrie Irving Drops Team-High 26 Points In Loss
12/16:Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving went for 26 points on 11-for-25 shooting during Saturday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons. Irving has now scored at least 20 points in seven of his last eight contests, also tying his season high in rebounds Saturday with eight, while adding four assists and three steals for a huge stat line. While his scoring is likely the reason many owners drafted Irving, he is currently on pace for new career highs in assists (6.3), rebounds (4.8) and steals (1.7) per game this season. Up next is a favorable match-up against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.Source: ESPN
Jaylen Brown Scores Season-Low Two Points
12/16:Boston Celtics shooting guard/small forward Jaylen Brown had an extremely quiet night Saturday against the Detroit Pistons, finishing with two points on four shots, both of which were season lows. He added two rebounds, two assists and two steals across his 23 minutes, but the lack of offensive contribution from a player who recently lost his spot in the starting five is definitely a cause for concern. Boston has a surplus of offensive weapons, with Brown certainly finding himself on the outside looking in Saturday. He looks to rebound Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.Source: ESPN
Jerami Grant Posts A Full Line In Saturday's Win
12/16:Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jerami Grant recorded 18 points with a bunch of extras in Saturday's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Grant swatted away three shots while adding two steals with four rebounds and an assist with a make from three in 34 minutes of action. Grant has been solid over his last five games where he is posting 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 0.8 steals a night and is worth owning in all formats for his well-balanced attack.Source: ESPN
Montrezl Harrell Comes To Life In Saturday's Loss
12/16:Los Angeles Clippers power forward/center Montrezl Harrell returned to form on Saturday when he registered 21 points with six rebounds, but it was not enough in his club's loss to the Thunder. Harrell added three assists with a block and a make from three in 26 minutes. That was Harrell's first career make from downtown and the Clippers will need all they can get out their energy guy to move back up in the standings in the Western Conference, as his club has lost six of their last 10 games after a hot start.Source: ESPN
Danilo Gallinari Pours In 28 Points In Saturday's Loss
12/16:Los Angeles Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari matched his season-high with 28 points on Saturday when he knocked down 10 of 16 shots from the floor in the six-point loss to the Thunder. Gallinari did not stop here as he added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four makes from three in 37 minutes. It was not all good for the Italian who registered a season-high seven turnovers in this one, yikes. Gallo will look to take better care of the ball when the Trail Blazers come to town on Monday.Source: ESPN
