Chasing his first All-Star bid in his debut season with the Houston Rockets, Christian Wood was cruising on Thursday evening with 17 points through 20 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies. Wood then landed awkwardly on Ja Morant's foot on a fast break and rolled his right ankle -- the same one that led him to miss three games in January. Wood would gingerly leave the floor with the help of his teammates and even needed a wheelchair to get to the locker room.
Wood's fantasy investors could be without the breakout big for an extended period, per ESPN's Tim McMahon, so DeMarcus Cousins becomes a priority acquisition in all leagues.
Cousins has been quite productive whenever Wood has been off the floor this season, as his usage rose to 25.4% in such scenarios. Which is to say, he completes around a quarter of the team's possessions when he's on the court sans Wood. Boogie has averaged 17.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 8.7 3PA, and 2.9 combined steals and blocks per 36 minutes when on the floor for Houston without Wood this year, evidence that he's a certifiable fantasy star in such scenarios. You can still find Cousins in in free agency in more than a third of ESPN leagues.
Another notable name from Houston is forward Jae'Sean Tate, who scored a career-high 19 points in the win over the Grizzlies to go with strong peripheral stats. Tate, who has scored in double figures in three of his past four games, brings a unique blend of defensive production and respectable offensive percentages to the floor for the Rockets and is a free agent in well over 90% of leagues.
Thursday recap
Highlights
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers: 27 points (12-19 FG), 10 rebounds, 10 assists
Kelly Oubre Jr., Golden State Warriors: 40 points (14-21 FG), 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Lowlights
Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets: 8 points (3-10 FG), 3 rebounds, 0 assists
Josh Richardson, Dallas Mavericks: 6 points (2-9 FG), 1 rebound, 5 assists
Thursday takeaways
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Oubre's career-high scoring performance included him tying his career peak with seven 3-pointers. A slow start to the season has given way to some solid numbers for the versatile wing, who just became the fifth player under Steve Kerr in Golden State to produce as many as 40 points in a game.
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Sticking with Golden State, glue guy Juan Toscano-Anderson was productive once again with 14 points and 13 combined assists and rebounds in 40 minutes against Dallas. With rookie James Wiseman sidelined for at least a few more games due to a wrist ailment and Kevon Looney out for a few weeks due to an ankle injury, Toscano-Anderson, deemed JTA by Warriors fans, should play a sizable role in the team's next few contests. You can find Toscana-Anderson for the price of a roster spot in more than 98% of leagues. Draymond Green produced a season-high 15 assists in the win over the Mavericks, but the glaring lack of defensive production this season continues to hold back his fantasy stock.
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LeBron's MVP campaign continued last night with his 96th career triple-double. The game marked his eighth triple-double since turning 35 years old, matching Jason Kidd for the most all-time at such an age. In the win over the Nuggets, James passed Wilt Chamberlain for the third-most career field goals in NBA history and now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. This guy might be good at basketball.
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With Damian Lillard ruled out with an abdominal ailment and to get some needed rest, Gary Trent Jr. led the Blazers to a big upset over the 76ers. Trent scored 24 points with strong shooting results and has been a fantasy force since CJ McCollum went down with a significant foot injury last month. Rush to the wire and add Trent in all formats.
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Philadelphia's Joel Embiid gave his team, fans, and fantasy investors quite the scare after leaving the floor gingerly in the first quarter following a collision with Portland's Enes Kanter. The good news is that despite getting blown out by the short-handed Trail Blazers last night, Embiid returned shortly after going back to the training room to produce 31 points in the first half of the loss. The performance included 25 in the second quarter, tying Andrew Toney in 1982 against the Celtics for the most points in a quarter in 76ers history. Philadelphia next hosts Brooklyn on Saturday night in a marquee matchup.
Injuries of note
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Cleveland's Larry Nance Jr. won't play against Milwaukee tonight, joining Kevin Love on the sideline. This means Taurean Prince will likely earn another start for the Cavaliers, aiding his fantasy value.
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Otto Porter Jr. is listed as doubtful due to back spasms, and Wendell Carter Jr. is still sidelined by a quad injury, which should lead to another big line from Thaddeus Young. The veteran forward is still a free agent in nearly half of ESPN leagues and is enjoying a late-career breakout as a distributor.
Analytics advantage for Friday
The Thunder ruled out star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for tonight's matchup against the Timberwolves due to a sprained knee. Wing Luguentz Dort is battling knee soreness, as well, and won't play for Oklahoma City this evening. This all leads to streaming shares of rookie guard Theo Maledon and double-double threat Darius Bazley.
Maledon has averaged nearly 13 points and nine combined assists and rebounds per 36 minutes with Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort off the floor this season. Bazley, meanwhile, leaps to 18.2 PPG with strong rebounding rates in such scenarios.
Top players to watch on Friday
Jayson Tatum has established himself as an All-NBA-caliber contributor, and Jaylen Brown is bound for his first All-Star bid, thanks to a breakout scoring season for Boston. This exciting duo of two-way wings faces arguably the league's best wing duo in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George of the Clippers on Friday evening. This matchup of high-level wings is particularly compelling during Friday's busy nine-game slate.
"wood" - Google News
February 05, 2021 at 09:00PM
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Fantasy NBA Daily Notes - With Wood injured, it's time to Boogie - ESPN
"wood" - Google News
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