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This week emotions continued to run high following the days since Kobe Bryant passed tragically. Both teams and players payed tribute to the Black Mamba in a various of ways, namely, by dropping monster games all week long.
We've yet to have any big trades that would change the fantasy basketball landscape. However, the trade deadline is on February 6th, so anything can happen between now and then. While you wait, be sure to check out the Trade Deadline Marathon we have going on at OTGBasketball.com in partnership with TradeNBA.com.
Fantasy Studs - Tribute Edition
Five guys who stood out this week from the rest with monster games.
Kyrie Irving. Irving scored 54 points on 82% shooting, he was unstoppable. He also added in five rebounds, five assists, and seven made threes.
Damian Lillard. Lillard is on one of the leagues most impressive runs lately. Last Sunday he scored 50 points, then he followed that up with 36, 48, and 51!
Khris Middleton. You are lucky if you get to face the Bucks without Giannis, but not if Khris Middleton walks on the court on fire. He had 51 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while shooting 61% and making seven threes.
Eric Gordon. Without Harden in the fold, Gordon dropped a 50-point game himself. He shot 63% and added in six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Bradley Beal. Snubbed from the all-star game, but most definitely a fantasy basketball all-star, Beal is on a Lillard-like run lately. He scored 47 points and had six assists and four made threes in a losing effort against the Bucks.
Fantasy Duds
Five guys who are probably looking forward to putting this week behind them.
Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell earned his first all-start birth, then decided to have the worst game of his career by scoring four points while going 1-12 from the floor.
Paul George. This might be the only time George makes this list, however we can't look past the load management. While it might be good for the player, it's bad for your fantasy team. Even worse is when George only plays 20 minutes and scores eight points on 20% shooting.
Joel Embiid. Embiid truly laid up a stinker Saturday night. He scored 11 points and had five rebounds, which are low numbers for him, but even worse is going 1-11 from the floor. Especially for a big guy.
Clint Capela. Can someone make this list if they shoot 100% during a game? If they only score two points they sure can. Capela had two points and seven rebounds in a game last week, the rebounds were half what he normally does.
Kristaps Porzingis. KP has been working his way back this season and while he’s had some great games, he’s also had some poor games. Against Phoenix, he scored 9 points, but on 2-8 shooting and he only had three rebounds.
Week 15 Overview
While not to be overshadowed by the Super Bowl on Sunday, the week saw many games prior to the weekend where NBA stars had an opportunity to shine. During the actual Super Bowl, Woj teased about possible upcoming trade bombs that he might drop during the upcoming week. The NBA trade deadline is just a few days away, so it's time to buckle up and get ready for an interesting week 16.
Waiver Wire Potential
Here are 10 guys who are owned in 50% or less in standard Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues could possibly help your team this week.
Maxi Kleber, PF/C (45%). Kleber Has thrown a block party over his past two games with eight total blocks. With Luka Doncic out and Porzingis needing extra time to recover, Kleber has stepped up in more ways than one.
Cody Zeller, PF/C (44%). Someone has to rack up stats in Charlotte, why not Zeller? His last three games have been impressive for fantasy purposes. He hit seven assists or more twice and also had two double-doubles with points and rebounds.
Elfrid Payton, PG (39%). Payton is starting to find his place on the Knicks rotation as a starting point guard. He's had eight straight games with seven assists or more.
Glenn Robinson III, SG/SF (33%). Just like his father before him, GR3 is turning into a bucket getter. On this Warriors squad he'll continue to have room to grow too.
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG (31%). The change of scenery has been good for Clarkson. So good in fact that this week he dropped a 37-point game. He continues to pour in points and three's, even from Utah's bench.
Josh Hart, SG/SF (30%). I've been a big Josh Hart fan here and for good reason. He's a great rebounder from the guard position. He had back-to-back double-double games with points and rebounds this week.
Daniel House, SG/SF (29%). House is starting to contribute in ways all across the stat sheet lately. He's been a steady source of three's, points, rebounds, and steals.
Ish Smith, PG (23%). Smith isn't my top choice to add if you need point guard help, but you could do much worse. He's been a decent source of assists, points, and rebounds.
De'Andre Hunter, SF (20%). Before sitting out with an ankle injury, Hunter was putting together a very solid string of games where he scored in double figures and sprinkled in three's, rebounds, and assists.
Shake Milton, PG/SG (6%). Here's a very deep dive for you, but Milton's last few games have been quite good. He's been hitting or breaking career-highs left and right lately in pretty much every category.
Sidenote: There are a handful of guys owned in the 50%-60% range in standard Yahoo leagues that do not qualify for the list above, but if they are available in your league and you have an extra spot, pick them up now!
Jeremi Grant (59%), Kevin Huerter (55%), Markelle Fultz (54%), & Tyler Herro (52%) should be owned in many more leagues than they currently are.
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