RADIO
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we will highlight one key fantasy basketball takeaway from each night during the past week. These viewpoints can be both positive and negative and will hopefully help to provide insight into different roster moves you should consider making.
Fantasy basketball has a lot of moving pieces with all the different scoring settings that are possible to play under, so I will always do my best to spotlight where players gain or lose value in certain game types.
Without further ado, let's get right into the 19th week of the season and try to figure out how to take advantage of what we saw transpire.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Monday, February 24th
Bradley Beal Is The Real Deal
Bradley Beal scored a career-high 55 points during Monday's 137-134 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, connecting on 19-of-33 shots from the field to go along with three assists, two rebounds and eight three-pointers.
The 55-point effort comes straight on the heels of Beal's 53-point explosion on Sunday, making the Washington guard the first player since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to score at least 50 points in consecutive nights. To go along with that accomplishment, Beal also became just the third player in NBA history to score 53 or more in consecutive games, joining Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden,
The 26-year-old has now tallied at least 26 points in 15 straight games, helping to place the Wizards in ninth place in the East. It remains to be seen if the former Florida Gator will be able to lead his team into the NBA playoffs, but it definitely won't hurt your fantasy chances if you have him on your roster.
Tuesday, February 25th
Jerami Grant Erupts For 29 Points
After a slow string of games for Jerami Grant, the Nuggets forward exploded for a career-high 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field.
While the performance can be viewed as potentially encouraging for fantasy owners, it is difficult to place too much weight on what we saw transpire on Tuesday night. The return of Paul Millsap to the lineup had prevented Grant from providing over 15 points in his previous five games, and the six-year pro was only averaging 11.7 points and 3.3 rebounds during February.
If Grant is floating around on your waiver wire, I am not going to avoid him in all situations necessarily, but this doesn't exactly feel like an outcome that we should be expecting nightly.
Wednesday, February 26th
Kevin Porter Jr. Provides Dud, Should Still Be Rostered
It has been a hit-and-miss past few contests for Kevin Porter Jr., who generated his third performance of five or fewer points in less than a week on Wednesday night.
That track record might not sound encouraging on the surface for a player that should be rostered in standard settings, but fantasy owners need to be prepared to deal with their fair share of ups-and-downs with the 19-year-old.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff announced last week that Porter Jr. would be given more responsibility on the offensive end going forward, and his upside in minutes places him as a player that should be stashed at the end of your bench. You aren't going to find too many sub-30 percent options on the waiver wire at this point of the season with the upside the rookie has for the rest of 2020.
Thursday, February 27th
Harry Giles Continues To Blossom
It has been a strong run for Harry Giles over the past three games. The former Duke product has averaged 15.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in just 26.6 minutes per game.
Most leagues have yet to react to Giles' recent performances, and the first-round pick in 2017 can still be found in over 75% of yahoo settings. With both Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley dealing with injuries that could theoretically keep them sidelined for the rest of the season, there are a plethora of minutes open with only Alex Len listed as a center on the Kings' roster. That opens up a ton of opportunities for Giles to be able to showcase his skills for the rest of the year and expect him to take full advantage.
Friday, February 28th
Cam Reddish Moves To Starting Lineup, Goes Off For Career-High
Cam Reddish moved into the starting lineup for the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, erupting for a career-high 26 points on nine of 14 shooting from the field. The rookie was able to connect on a career-high six three-pointers during the game, adding four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block on the night.
Head coach Lloyd Pierce had been talking about giving Reddish more minutes and a larger share of the offense, and Friday night was a pretty good reflection of what can transpire when everything clicks for the 20-year-old. Reddish has been a steady contributor on the defensive end so far in 2020, and the sky is the limit if his jumper continues to fall on a nightly basis. Reddish is still available in over 65% of Yahoo leagues and has top-50 upside potential down the stretch of the season.
