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Spencer Aguiar highlights three fantasy basketball takeaways from the NBA's December 1st slate. This recap focuses on Derrick Rose, Gordon Hayward and the New York Knicks
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 an exciting day in the NBA that saw a couple of heavyweights get knocked down, which included the Bucks, Warriors and Tyson Fury. Seriously, how did he get up in the 12th round? I highly recommend clicking on the link if you have not seen it yet and continuing this article once you have.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, Stephen Curry made his return on Saturday for the Golden State Warriors, scoring 27 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and three three-pointers. Unfortunately, though, the team on the bay was unable to pull out the victory, losing 111-102 on the road to the Detroit Pistons. The Warriors are now 4-7 away from home this season and have lost six of their last nine games. I do not doubt that the two-time defending champions will get it together, but injuries and turmoil within the team have gotten the best of them right now.
The New York Knicks took out the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime 136-134. Giannis Antetokounmpo is my favorite player in the NBA, so I am not going to discuss what happened to him early in the first quarter by Mario Hezonja, but the link will be here if you want to see the disrespect Hezonja pulled on the Greek Freak. Antetokounmpo had some choice words for the Croatian after the game, saying "I'm going to punch him in the nuts next time." The Bucks and Knicks play again on Christmas, and I hope Giannis roasts his nuts over an open fire. Even though this has been quite the exciting intro, our top three fantasy takeaways of the night are still to come, so without further ado, let's take a more in-depth look into Saturday's action.
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Derrick Rose: The Rose Is Blooming
Derrick Rose is like that girl in high school that was the best-looking person in your class. You had a crush on her but by the time you got your chance, it was years later, and she was going through some weird stage in college. Freshmen 15, acne from stress, you name it. You turned her down and years went by without thinking about her. However, one day you run into her and her boyfriend at the grocery store, and she looks as good as she ever has. You realize you made a massive mistake in college, but it is too late now.
Rose went from the 2011 MVP of the league to being written off for dead by the NBA. His injuries appeared to have made him a shell of his former self, and he jumped around from team to team, hoping to find a landing spot. He signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason, and the rest has been history. On Saturday, Rose scored 26 points with four assists, one steal and two triples, making it his 10th game this season with at least 20 points. The 30-year-old is third on the Wolves with a net rating of +5.0, and he is a part of the second-best lineup in the NBA -- outscoring opponents by 35.5 points per 100 possessions.
On the season, Rose is averaging 19.3 points to go along with 3.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 threes on 50.5 percent shooting from the field. His efficiency has maybe been as big of a surprise as his overall production, but Rose has transformed himself back into a must-own player and should continue to see success if he can avoid the dreaded injury bug. Derrick Rose is hot again, and if you don't have him, you have missed your chance.
Gordon Hayward: Drops 30 Off Bench
Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 30 points versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, adding nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and four three-pointers on 8-for-16 shooting from the field and 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Hayward's 30-point outburst is his highest scoring game since April of 2017.
We all have seen the video in the last year, but the 28-year-old suffered a gruesome injury in the Celtics first game last season to his tibia and left ankle and has gotten off to a slow start in 2018. Hayward was questionable coming into Saturday with Boston being on the second leg of a back-to-back set, but he was able to gut it out and record his best game of the season.
It is possible that Hayward is officially ready to hit stride, but it is going to take a lot more than one performance to help him rebound from his tumultuous start. I would most likely be looking to sell Hayward off high after this production on Saturday and hoping someone bites.
The New York Knicks: The City That Never Sleeps
Has anyone ever thought that maybe if the people of New York did get some sleep, they might be able to come up with a starting lineup, or better yet, some idea of what their rotation even is? Somebody needs to get head coach David Fizdale a Tempur-Pedic mattress for Christmas and hope that helps to rejuvenate his mind.
The Knicks have reached a point that outside of Tim Hardaway Jr., nobody knows what to expect from their players on a nightly basis. One second it might look like Trey Burke could be a viable pickup and then the next he will receive the dreaded "Did Not Play - Coach's decision" tag. I guess these are the things we sign up for as fantasy owners when dissecting value on bad teams.
However, fantasy football and fantasy basketball are drastically different when it comes to poor organizations. In the NFL, it is possible that second-rate clubs may only have one or two fantasy relevant options. In the NBA, there are more opportunities for players to become useful options in fantasy. Games are higher scoring, which means statistics are accrued at a faster rate and playing time can equal production. But in a situation like the one going on in New York, erratic playing time merely produces inconsistent results. That doesn't mean there isn't fantasy value to be found though; we just need to look a little closer and try to get ourselves into a New York state of mind.
Let's exclude Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter for a second because they are the only two constants on the team, who are the other most likely fantasy contributors going forward? Frank Ntikikina and Mario Hezonja are probably the two biggest throwaways for me this year. Neither player is getting enough minutes to be fantasy relevant, and their upsides are minimal even when they do. Damyean Dotson has been brilliant in his previous three games, averaging 18.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 3.3 threes on 67.9 percent from the field, but the increased playing time seems to be due to New York trying to showcase the 24-year-old to the NBA and looking to move him in a trade eventually. He could provide a short-term streaming option but may see his run come to an end if he is relocated before the February deadline.
So that leaves us with Noah Vonleh, Emmanuel Mudiay, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Trey Burke and Allonzo Trier, which is ridiculous in itself that there are still six additional fantasy options potentially. Vonleh should be rostered in standard leagues based on his ability to produce across the board, especially for those that need rebounds. Mudiay is worth a look after his season-high 28-point performance on Saturday. Knox scored a season-high 26 points on Saturday but still isn't worth an add quite yet. He got some garbage time to salvage the day on Wednesday but had only played 10.6 minutes per contest in his previous three games before that. Robinson may be worth an add/hold in category-based leagues because of his block potential, but he also can't stay on the court because of foul trouble. Burke sprained his right knee on Saturday and should be ruled out from anything fantasy related. And last but not least, Trier may see a boost now with Burke out. I don't think he is worth an add in standard leagues quite yet but is someone in deeper leagues that I would be grabbing.
Psh, the Knicks have exhausted me. I think I should get some sleep now.
