Saturday, February 16, 2019

Robin Lehner will start Saturday vs. Edmonton.

Robin Lehner will patrol the pipes for the Isles in their home tilt against Edmonton.

Fantasy Implications: Lehner allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Islanders loss in Buffalo on Tuesday. He has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .911 SV% in four games in February. The 27-year-old netminder has been alternating games with Thomas Greiss. The two have made a remarkable #1 and 1A tandem this season, as the two goalies rank first and second in the NHL in both GAA and SV%.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Collin Sexton scores team high 27 points against the Celtics

Collin Sexton recorded 27 points (11-24 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 42 minutes during Cleveland's 103-96 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday.

Fantasy Implications: Sexton had failed to score 20 or more points in his previous 27 games, dating back to December 8. The 20-year-old rookie had been struggling from the field, shooting only 35.1 percent from the field and 35.1 percent behind the three-point arc while only contributing an average of 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.6 steals during that span. Fantasy owners can only hope that Tuesday night's fine effort will be something that Sexton can build upon for the rest of the season.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Deng Adel makes first career start

Deng Adel tallied two points (1-4 FG, 0-3 3Pt), two rebounds and two assists over 25 minutes in Cleveland's 103-96 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday.

Fantasy Implications: Adel got the start because of the multitude of Cleveland's frontcourt injuries. Coming into tonight's contest, the undrafted Louisville rookie had a limited role in only seven games. Unfortunately, he was unable to make much of an impression during his first career start, and did little to improve upon his seasonal average of 2.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Cedi Osman injures right ankle

Cedi Osman limped off the court late in the first half with a right ankle injury and was unable to return in Cleveland's loss to the Mavericks on Saturday.  He finished the night scoring10 points (5-9 FG, 0-2 3Pt), two rebounds, three assists and one steal in 14 minutes.

Fantasy Implications: Osman landed awkwardly on Dwight Powell's foot after scoring on a follow-up rebound. He tried to walk it off before exiting a minute later, and was replaced by David Nwaba. The 23-year-old forward will be re-evaluated today. Entering Saturday, Osman was averaging 24.3 points on 54.7 percent shooting, including 48.4 percent from 3-point range to go with 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals.

David Nwaba finally takes court

David Nwaba tallied 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-4 FT), four rebounds, one assist and one steal over 15 minutes in the Cavaliers' 111-98 loss Dallas on Saturday.

Fantasy Implications: Nwaba was on an obvious minutes restriction, having not played since December 23 after missing his previous 18 contests because of an injured left ankle.  The 26-year-old forward is averaging 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.6 steals in 16.4 minutes for the season should considered.  He has no fantasy value other than in very deep formats or for a speculative DFS play.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Derrick Jones Jr. suffers knee injury on Sunday

Derrick Jones Jr. had to be helped off the court following an injury to his right knee during Miami's 106-97 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Fantasy Implications: Jones injured his knee when he planted his right leg to go up for a fast-break dunk, a play in which he was fouled.  The 21-year-old UNLV product could not put any weight on the knee and had to be assisted off the court. In addition, he was unable to shoot free throws which were attempted instead by Hassan Whiteside.  Preliminary radiographs came back negative, but an MRI is scheduled on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Aaron Gordon scores 12 points in loss

Aaron Gordon recorded 12 points (5-11 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal over 37 minutes in a road overtime loss in Detroit on Wednesday.

Fantasy Implications: Gordon does not regularly deliver jaw-dropping numbers, but he remains a steady contributor to both his real team and fantasy owners alike. In his eight January games, the 23-year-old forward is averaging 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks over 35.5 minutes. He is averaging, however, only 24.2 percent (8-for-33) from beyond the three-point arc during that stretch.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Isaiah Briscoe scores six points off the bench

Isaiah Briscoe tallied six points (3-7 FG, 0-1 3 Pt, 0-1 FG), four rebounds, five assists and one steal across 20 minutes in Wednesday's 120-115 overtime loss to the Pistons. 

Fantasy Implications: Briscoe has moved ahead of Jerian Grant as the top backup point guard to D.J. Augustin.  However, until the 22-year-old Kentucky product establishes a greater rotational role, he should not be considered a tenable fantasy option.

Nikola Vucevic records double-double in overtime loss

Nikola Vucevic registered 24 points (11-22 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 0-1 FT), 13 rebounds, three assists, and one steal over 38 minutes in the Magic's 120-115 overtime loss to the Pistons on Wednesday.

Fantasy Implications: Vucevic continues to build on his stellar 2018-19 campaign, recording his 29th double-double of the season.  In his previous 11 games, the 28-year-old big man averaged 20.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks across 30.5 minutes. He should be inserted into all fantasy lineups without hesitation.

Friday, January 11, 2019

Cedi Osman scores 15 points in loss to Rockets

Cedi Osman registered 15 points (6-10 FG, 0-3 3Pts, 3-3 FT), three rebounds, one assist and one steal over 28 minutes during Friday's 141-113 loss to Houston.

Fantasy Implications: Osman led the Cavalier starters in scoring, but his work did not prevent Cleveland from suffering its 12th consecutive loss. The 23-year-old forward has the potential to score (averaging 11.8 points), but offers little else in defensive stats or assists. During the current campaign, Osman has registered double-digit rebounds only twice (both a season-high 10 rebounds), and is averaging a measly 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 steals over 31.9 minute through 40 games. 

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Larry Nance Jr. exits game after injuring knee

Larry Nance Jr. left the game Tuesday at the 6:51 of the first quarter after injuring his knee, and did not return. He ended the night scoring one point (1-2 FT) along with one rebound and one assist over five minutes in the Cavaliers' 123-115 home loss to the Pacers.

Fantasy Implications: Nance bumped into Indiana's Thaddeus Young when driving to the basket. He shot both of his free throws before limping slowly to the sideline and eventually walking back to the locker room with trainer Steve Spiro. Fortunately it appears the 26-year-old big man escaped serious injury, and will travel with the team on their upcoming six-game road trip.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Bam Adebayo plays well despite loss on Sunday

Bam Adebayo had 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks across 27 minutes in Miami's 106-82 road loss to Atlanta on Sunday night.

Fantasy Implications:  Adebayo is starting to develop into a reliable, high-energy contributor coming off the bench. In his previous five games, the sophomore center was averaging 23 minutes, 8.8 points, nine rebounds, 1.4 assists, and one steal. He should be considered a must-own player whenever Hassan Whiteside is out.

Josh Richardson registers 11 points in loss to Hawks

Josh Richardson scored 11 points (4-11 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 3-4 FT), and registered three rebounds and four assists over 29 minutes in Sunday's 106-82 loss in Atlanta.

Fantasy Implications: Richardson struggled with his shot along with his fellow teammates in Miami's lackluster road performance.  As a team, the Heat shot a dismal 35.6 percent from the field and only 14.7 percent from three-point range. Richardson ended a string of 19 games where he hit at least once from beyond the arc. In those games, the Tennessee product averaged 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.1 steals.  Consider this an off night for the 25-year-old guard.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Collin Sexton has subpar shooting nignt

Collin Sexton scored 12 points (5-15 FG, 2-4 3Pt) while registering four rebounds and four assists over 30 minutes in Cleveland's 117-92 loss to Miami Wednesday night.

Fantasy Implications: Sexton has been struggling with his shot as of late. Previous to tonight's game, the rookie from Alabama was averaging 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in his last 10 games, but was shooting only 35.9 percent from the field and a woeful 14.3 percent from beyond the arc in that span.  He should be able to snap out of his recent funk considering he is shooting a decent 42.5 percent field-goal percentage for the season.