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Spencer Aguiar highlights three fantasy basketball takeaways from the NBA's December 29th slate. This recap focuses on Tomas Satoransky, Kyle Anderson, and Mikal Bridges
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games. Saturday was a high-scoring affair that featured a handful of competitive contests and explosive fantasy performances. The Washington Wizards outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 130-126. Trevor Ariza led the way for Washington, scoring a team-high 24 points while adding seven rebounds, nine assists and four three-pointers on 8-for-17 shooting. With John Wall (heel) out for the season, Ariza will handle the ball much more for the team going forward and should flirt with top-50 value in nine-category leagues. The 33-year-old will slightly tank your team's field goal percentage because of his 37.7 percent effectiveness from the field, but his increased usage should make him even more valuable than he was before, and it is not like he is some high-volume shooter that completely plummets the category for you.
The Atlanta Hawks captured their fifth win in the teams previous six games with a 111-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. John Collins posted his fifth double-double in a row and has now recorded 11 of them in the past 12 games. While the offensive statistics are quite impressive, the 21-year-old has been surprisingly ineffective on the defensive end of the ball, averaging only 0.1 steals and 0.5 blocks per contest. Collins did manage to register 1.1 blocks during his rookie season, so it does seem likely the young forward should begin to see some positive regression here shortly, but for the time being, he should be viewed as a slight liability in category leagues based on his mediocre free throw shooting and poor defensive statistics.
And the Golden State Warriors exacted revenge on the Portland Trail Blazers with a 115-105 triumph. The Trail Blazers got the best of the Warriors on December 27th with a 110-109 road victory, but Golden State returned the favor on Saturday. Damian Lillard, who hit the game-winning three on Thursday against the Warriors, finished with 40 points in the losing effort. Lillard has been hovering around top-10 value regardless of the scoring system and doesn't appear to be slowing down. The 28-year-old is currently averaging career highs in points per game (27.1), field goal percentage (45.2) and three-point percentage (40.1). Our three main takeaways of the night are still to come, so without further ado, let's take a deeper dive into the December 29th slate.
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Tomas Satoransky: Should Be Owned In Standard Leagues
It is tough to correctly identify just how valuable Tomas Satoranksy will be going forward, but with John Wall (heel) out for the season and Austin Rivers no longer in Washington, the 27-year-old has a massive opportunity to carve out an extensive role with the team.
On Saturday, Satoransky scored 20 points against the Charlotte Hornets, adding four rebounds, six assists and four three-pointers on six of 11 shooting from the field. The direct backup to Satoransky is Chasson Randle, who is averaging just 14.5 minutes per game, and the Czech has proven he can handle an extensive amount of minutes this year.
Washington isn't quite in tank mode yet, but they shouldn't have an issue giving an extended run to just about anyone on the roster. Trevor Ariza has been playing nearly 40 minutes a night in his past five contests, and it seems likely that Satoransky could follow a similar trajectory. On sheer playing time alone, he is worth an add, and I would hold onto him until I can correctly gauge just how valuable he will be moving forward. He is currently available in 62 percent of Yahoo leagues and 99 percent of ESPN groups.
Kyle Anderson: Stays Aggressive On Defense
Kyle Anderson has been trending in a positive direction over his previous five games with averages of 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 2.8 steals on 71.8 percent shooting. He is a low-volume shooter, so his percentage isn't quite as impressive as it appears on the surface, but Anderson is a steady nine-category producer that doesn't get treated the way he should because of his low ceiling in any one statistical category.
And that is honestly one of the most significant flaws that I see fantasy owners make in category leagues. A team full of Kyle Anderson's would lack the explosiveness that you need to win, but it is rare to find players that don't tank many statistical categories. Yes, his scoring leaves a little to be desired, but he fits great onto a team that is naturally tanking that category, and many owners overlook his consistent production because he isn't flashy enough for them.
Anderson is ranked just outside the top-50 in nine-category leagues for the past 30 days and is inside the top-40 for the past two weeks. The UCLA product is still available in 38 percent of Yahoo leagues and 60 percent of ESPN leagues. As long as I didn't have a team that was built solely to score points, I think he makes a great addition to a roster.
Mikal Bridges: Gets Hot From Deep
Mikal Bridges scored 17 points on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets, adding two rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal and five three-pointers in 39 minutes of action. Bridges has been fabulous as of late, ranking inside the top-20 in nine-category leagues in the past seven days and just inside the top-75 for the previous month.
The most impressive part of his recent production has been on the defensive side of the ball. Bridges has recorded at least one steal and one block in his past five contests and is averaging 1.2 blocks and 2.2 steals during that same duration of time. He has also played over 30 minutes in eight straight games while averaging 1.8 threes in those contests. The 22-year-old rookie has his fantasy arrow pointing straight up and can still be picked up in 77 percent of Yahoo leagues and 99 percent of ESPN groups. There will be a lot of volatility attached to Bridges moving forward, but he is worth owning in most leagues.
