24/25 Mar. 18 Box Score Analysis (4 Games)
Hawks 134 Hornets 102
Hawks Schedule: The Hawks are now off until Saturday. Young, Daniels, and Okognwu are all must-holds and the rest of the roster are must-drops. Once Saturday rolls around, Risacher and Niang will be excellent streamers due to the weekend back-to-back set. Give the rookie a look if you need points, threes, and boards. He’s averaged 14.1 PPG on 50.6 FG%, 2.3 3PG, and 4.9 RPG over his last seven. Niang will be an excellent triples streamer this weekend. He was quiet last night but has managed 11.8 PPG and 2.5 3PG over his last seven. Both Risacher and Niang will be drops in most leagues after Sunday with the Hawks only having three games in Week 21 and the third game not coming until Sunday.
DaQuan Jeffries: The Hornets have three games left this week, so Jeffries is a reasonable add in most leagues, even if Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball play in two of those games. After last night, that should be considered a fairly big if. When the two top options are healthy, he won’t do much, but when they are out, he will be a decent source of points and threes. Over his last four, in 33.3 MPG, Jeffries has averaged 14.3 PPG on an unsustainable 48.9 FG%, 2.8 3PG, and 1.5 BPG. The blocks are not real. The Hornets’ three games come on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
Mark Williams: Williams is droppable if your toss-up categories are not the big man categories. I actually made that move at midnight last night in one league because threes and steals look like the deciding categories. He’ll play just two more games this week and his value in Week 21 is going to be limited. Charlotte plays just three times in Week 21 and just once over the first four days of the week. He will also be a rest risk for the final two games of the week when the Hornets travel to Toronto and New Orleans.
Celtics 104 Nets 96
Sam Hauser: Hauser got the start with both Tatum and Brown getting a rest day. Both stars do seem like they are a little beat up, so I wouldn’t consider either a lock for Friday’s game in Utah, and it’s possible that at least one of the two sits during the Celtics’ back-to-back set that starts on Sunday. When Hauser starts, he’s a solid threes streamer with a fairly high ceiling. He had a 33-point performance against the Jazz two weeks ago and has averaged 2.1 3PG in just 20.9 MPG on the year. When the Celtics’ starting five is healthy, his minutes usually do not get out of the teens.
Al Horford: With Horford a lock to sit during at least one of the Celtics’ next three games and the game against Utah on Friday looking scary, I wouldn’t bother with the veteran outside of deep leagues. In most cases, I would drop for a Thursday/Saturday streamer. He has been putting up borderline top-50 numbers lately, but that production won’t mean much if we get it just twice a week. The Jazz game isn’t part of a back-to-back set, but Horford should be considered very questionable for that game. When the Celtics played the Jazz on March 10th, Horford sat despite the game not being part of a back-to-back set.
Nets role players: The Cam Thomas injury doesn’t turn any of the Nets’ role players into must-rosters, but the Nets’ remaining Week 20 schedule does make them fairly valuable. The Nets only have two games left, but those games come on the very quiet Thursday and Saturday slates. They are a great option for any squad with full rosters on Wednesday and Friday. Williams and Johnson are nice options for teams in need of points, threes, and steals. Day’Ron Sharpe is a low-end big man categories streamer who would be a run-don’t-walk add if Nic Claxton were to be shut down. I wouldn’t bother with Noah Clowney. He has not come close to living up to the preseason hype at any point this season. He’s just a low-end threes streamer. Unless you play in a very deep league, you should have better three-point streamers sitting on your wire.
D’Angelo Russell: The Nets do not have another back-to-back set this year, so it’s possible that we see a fair amount of Russell over the next week or two. That’s not a lock, as things can change very quickly with tanking teams, as anyone heavy on Wizards found out on Monday, but as of now, there haven’t been any signs that a shutdown is imminent. I would be fine with gambling on Russell for the Nets’ two remaining Week 20 games and then dropping him for a Sunday streamer. I wouldn’t hold into Week 21 because the Nets’ first two games of the week come against the Mavericks and Raptors. That Raptor game is especially worrisome because the two teams are separated by just a game in the race for Cooper Flagg. Over his last six, Russell has averaged 12.7 PPG on 37.7 FG%, 2.0 3PG, 6.2 APG, and 1.0 SPG in 27.2 MPG.
Warriors 104 Bucks 93
Brandin Podziemski: Podziemski is a must-roster in all leagues. Coming in Kerr said he was going to limit the combo guard to 25 minutes, but that obviously didn’t happen. Podz played very well in this one and won the Warriors the game down the stretch. With Steph in the lineup, Podziemski should play about 20 MPG. In a role of that size, he should be able to average about 13.0 PPG, 2.0 3PG, 6.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG. That is a line most teams could use. He’s a slightly stronger add in points leagues than in category leagues because he comes with minor FG% (43.1 FG%) and FT% (75.0 FT%) hits.
Johnathan Kumgina: Kuminga is an add because the Warriors play on both Thursday and Saturday this week, but he’s not a long-term hold. I doubt he becomes a 30 MPG player with Jimmy Butler around. There is a lot of overlap between the two forwards and not much shooting. It’s more likely Kuminga’s minutes get stuck in the mid-to-high-20s where he might not be a top-250 player outside of punt FT%. For the season, he’s barely ranked inside the top 300 in 25.7 MPG. He’s got a little too much Kyle Kuzma in him. The points are solid (16.3 PPG), but there isn’t anything else to get excited about in his line (1.1 3PG, 4.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 45.5 FG%, 65.1 FT% on 5.4 FTA). In points leagues, he is a 12-team player, although he’ll be drop there after Saturday with the Warriors playing just once over the next five days.
Kyle Kuzma: The big numbers in points and threes shouldn’t move you. Kuzma isn’t going to get 13 three-point attempts very often and the rest of his line was extremely weak. If you have picked up him up already, you might as well hold for the two remaining Week 20 quality games, but after Saturday, I would drop in most scenarios. The Bucks do have a four-game schedule in Week 20, but so does half of the league. Unless you play in an extremely deep league, you should be able to find a player with four games who can outdo the top-300 production that Kuzma has given his managers over the last month. Over that stretch, he’s managed just 13.1 PPG on 42.5 FG% and 69.4 FT%, 1.5 3PG, 5.9 RPG 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG, and 2.1 TOPG.
Gary Trent/Taurean Prince: Both Trent and Prince are reasonable points, threes, and steals streamers for any teams with full Wednesday and Friday schedules. The Bucks’ two remaining games come on Thursday and Saturday. If you have some open starting spots on Wednesday and Friday, I would opt for higher-upside options. In their current roles, neither Trent nor Prince has the ability to be more than borderline top-150 players. Both players are only long-term holds in 16-team setups.
Clippers 132 Cavaliers 119
Kris Dunn: Dunn is a drop in any matchup where steals isn’t a toss-up category. He could give us three or four more steals this week, but with the Clippers having just two games left in Week 20, the rest of his line is going to be extremely weak. His minutes also look like they could be an issue going forward. Bogdan Bogdanovic isn’t going to shoot 8/8 too often, but with Powell back, there will be plenty of low-20s nights for Dunn. Dunn has now failed to top the 24-minute mark in three straight games.
Bogdan Bogdanovic: Matchup-swinging stuff from Bogdanovic and a line we shouldn’t overreact to. Bogdanovic has been playing some of the best basketball of his season lately, but he’s not playing enough to be worth rolling the dice on during stretches where the Clippers’ schedule is weak, as it is for the remainder of Week 20. Over the two games leading up to last night’s explosion, Bogdanovic produced just 9.5 ppg, 1.5 3PG, 3.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 0.0 SPG in 20.2 MPG. The Clippers’ Week 21 schedule is also a problem. The team plays just three times next week and their first game doesn’t come until Wednesday.
Max Strus: The Cavaliers’ top four were very mediocre in this one against one of the league’s top defenses, but Strus was able to get lose. The sharpshooter has been on a heater as of late and is worth considering for the remainder of Week 20 if threes is a toss-up category. With three games, left Strus will give his managers about seven or eight threes if he plays to his averages. He is not for teams with full Wednesday and Friday schedules. The Cavaliers’ three remaining games come on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Over his last seven, Strus has averaged 12.0 PPG, 2.6 3PG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 25.2 MPG.
De’Andre Hunter: Like Strus, Hunter does have some appeal this week due to the Cavaliers having three games left and his ability to post decent numbers in points and threes. The former Hawk has averaged 13.5 PPG and 1.7 3PG over his last six. Also, like Strus, he’s not a long-term hold outside of 16-team leagues. Hunter is doing very little outside the scoring categories and is ranked outside the top 150 over the last month.