RADIO
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games.
The league is on pins and needles waiting for the postseason to begin so that the Golden State Warriors can get this season over with and move past the Kevin Durant era. In the meantime, these games must go on. Thursday night featured a full slate of NBA games with playoff and tanking implications galore.
- Miami jumped back in the playoff bracket with their win over Dallas, and Detroit's win over Orlando
- Houston inched closer to Denver in the standings with an overwhelming home performance
- Giannis and the Bucks manhandled the Patrick Beverley-less Clippers but at the potential cost of Giannis for a game. He rolled his ankle early in the fourth and nursed in on the sidelines. He was set to check in before the Bucks' lead became more commanding. This is certainly something for owners to watch over the next day or two
- Cleveland and New York lost per usual
Anyway, let's take it away with the Thursday, March 28th recap with these fantasy highlights!
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Pascal Siakam: Siakam and Destroy
When Kawhi Leonard is away, Siakam comes out to play. His usage goes up a ton without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup and it correlates to more scoring opportunities/points.
Siakam took advantage of the Knicks on Thursday. He slashed and shot his way to a 31-point game with five boards/assists, two threes, one of each stock, no turnovers and great shooting percentages. Siakam has been the steal of the waiver wire this season and it is not close.
His outings are a bit hit or miss when it comes to scoring but the overall averages have been stellar for an essentially free player. He only plays one more game this week, but luckily it is against Chicago. Here's to hoping he can repeat tonight's performance.
He deserves to go in the third round of next season's fantasy drafts if Leonard leaves town, anything lower would be thievery.
Mitchell Robinson: The Enigma
This guy is one of the many wonders of the NBA. Mitchell Robinson is either going to double-double or fail to score while grabbing just five boards, and it really does not matter. Robinson has been a mainstay in lineups over the past few months for the one constant of his game, blocks. Everything else is just extra.
Days like Thursday are extra special because not only does Mitch Rob provide his daily (two) blocks, but also throws in 19 points, 21 rebounds, a steal and great shooting numbers from the field. The free throw hit is a small price to pay for this type of production.
David Fizdale's lineups have been messing with fantasy owners all season. Robinson played 31 minutes Thursday but is typically in the teens. The minute fluctuations are frustrating but remain a minimal nuisance given that he was a free add off of the waiver wire.
Robinson only plays one more game this week and could be the difference in the blocks department.
Goran Dragic: Release the Dragic
If you're still holding onto him, you're a stronger person than I. Dragic would have been dropped from my roster as soon as the news of his initial injury timetable hit. Some folks held onto him in their IL's and there was finally some payoff. This outing was mostly a makeup game for his past three single-digit scoring performances.
Yesterday, against the Mavericks, Dragic triple-doubled for the first time all season. As a multi-category producer, Dragic's triple-double should not be too surprising to those who have owned him in the past. He scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, with 11 assists, a block, and a steal.
Given that it is the fantasy playoffs, particularly the finals for most, it's doubtful that he was in too many starting lineups. For those owners who reaped the benefits of this game, don't be shocked if he repeats this Saturday against the Knicks, especially if Josh Richardson is out again.
