James Harden has averaged 54.3 points on nearly 50 percent from the field during the past three games. This includes this past Saturday's epic overtime win against the Lakers that saw the bearded one join Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with as many as 19 consecutive 30-point games.
While Harden continued on his historic path, the Lakers lost yet another key playmaker with Lonzo Ball suffering a significant ankle injury that could sideline him up to six weeks, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The only potential positive for Los Angeles is the impending return of LeBron James to the lineup, as he's set to practice early this week with an eye on a return after enduring the longest absence of his storied career. More relevant to fantasy free agency is Rajon Rondo returning any day from a broken hand on Christmas, the same game that saw James get hurt.
With Ball off the floor until at least the All-Star break, we can look to Rondo's early-season usage as an indicator of what to expect; the veteran point guard averaged 10.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.0 APG, 1.2 SGP, and one 3-pointer in 27.3 MPG during the first nine games of the season. In 147 minutes with both James and Ball off the court this year and Rondo on the floor, the vet has produced the team's best net rating (14.6) to go with a Westbrookian assist rate of 44 percent in such scenarios.
Ball was still in the picture during those productive first nine games of the year; signaling Rondo could drive value in assists as the complementary distributor aside James in the weeks ahead. Thanks to his injury, Rondo is rostered in just shy of a quarter of ESPN leagues. With an eye on important fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's delve into the weekend that was in the NBA.
Saturday and Sunday recap
Highlights
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 48 points (14-30 FG), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 6 TO
Tobias Harris, LA Clippers: 27 points (12-20 FG), 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals
Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings: 35 points (13-22 FG), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 TO
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 30 points (8-22 FG), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 4 TO
Lowlights
Kris Dunn, Chicago Bulls: 6 points (3-14 FG), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 TO
JaMychal Green, Memphis Grizzlies: 3 points (1-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons: 4 points (1-5 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Austin Rivers, Houston Rockets: 5 points (2-8 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Weekend takeaways
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always an important day for reflection. I found Justin Tinsley's piece from the Undefeated about the day of King's assassination and its impact on the NBA and its players to be particularly poignant. Tinsley deftly details how players around the league, particularly friends and rivals Chamberlain and Bill Russell, mourned this great loss and navigated playing a game amid such sadness. It's an entirely worthy read.
With the NBA celebrating King's legacy with a full day of games, we have 22 teams in action on Monday with the Thunder visiting Madison Square Garden at 12:30 PM ET. Get those lineups set now.
Saturday night wasn't just reserved for Houston's heroics, as Hield notched the second-most points of his career and hit on all but two of his 3-point attempts, including a game-winning, buzzer-beater on a one-legged shot from beyond the arc in Detroit. The clutch shot marked Hield's first career-buzzer beater and the Kings' second buzzer-beater this season, joining Bogdan Bogdanovic on Dec. 28 against the Lakers. The Kings are now the only team with two buzzer-beaters this season. Further evidence of Hield's breakout campaign, the game marked his fourth 30-point game this season after entering with one such game in his career. Blake Griffin posted 38 in the loss for his third-straight 30-point game, matching the longest streak of his career.
Speaking of buzzer-beaters, Derrick Rose sank the game-winning shot against the Suns on Sunday. Towns scored 28 of his 30 points in the first half, while Rose scored 29 of his 31 in the second half, good for the second-most points in the second half of his career.
Nikola Jokic delivered his 22nd career triple-double on Saturday, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second most all-time by a 7-footer. Chamberlain has 78, because, well, that's just Wilt. The Nuggets are 31-14 this season, tied for their best 45-game start as an NBA franchise.
Dennis Smith Jr. plans to rejoin the Mavericks for their upcoming home game against the Clippers on Tuesday, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon. I'm fine moving on from DSJ at this point and would only stash him in deeper leagues in hopes he's dealt by the deadline.
Atlanta's Kevin Huerter finished sixth among shooting guards on Saturday in DFS production on DraftKings and is one of my favorite shooting specialists to target this week; he's scored in double-figures in nine straight, averaging 15.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.9 3PG in 37.8 MPG. Minutes are the coin of the realm, making Huerter an ideal acquisition in free agency this week (rostered in just 12 percent of leagues).
Boogie is back. DeMarcus Cousins played 15 minutes, scored 14 points, and committed six fouls in his first game in a Warriors uniform this past Friday evening. The Warriors were plus-21 while Cousins was in the game and minus-3 with him on the bench. Cousins, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson played together for seven minutes on Friday, with the Warriors outscoring the Clippers 18-8 during this stretch, despite missing all six shots from beyond the arc. This will be fun (for only the Warriors and those who stashed Cousins).
Injuries of note
Anthony Davis suffered a sprained finger in a loss to the Trail Blazers this past Friday evening. The injury is injury is expected to keep Davis off the court for at least a week. Julius Randle leads the Pelicans with a spike in usage rate of 4.1 percent with Davis off the floor this season, while Nikola Mirotic averages 6.4 more fantasy points per game (prorated) with Davis off the court.
The 76ers' Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable with a sore wrist, yet is expected to be active against the Rockets tonight. The same goes for Joel Embiid and his back.
Analytics advantage for Monday
If I told you the Kings visiting the Brooklyn Nets on a Monday in January might be the most exciting matchup (in both real and fantasy contexts) of the slate and one rife with fantasy intrigue, you'd likely have laughed. Yet here we are -- the Kings are second in the league in pace, and both teams sport top-half offensive ratings this season. A robust total of 230 points and a close point spread slightly favoring the home team indicate a competitive, high-scoring game could unfold in Brooklyn today.
Stacking with key stars from both rosters (which means playing multiple players on a given roster in a favorable scenario) could prove rewarding today in DFS play. Those seeking strong streaming options can look to Brooklyn's DeMarre Carroll and Rodions Kurucs.
Top players to watch tonight
Harden looks to continue his historic season as the Rockets face the 76ers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Harden has scored 30-plus points in 19 straight games, with only Wilt Chamberlain having a longer streak in NBA history. The 76ers have allowed 27 individual 30-point games, the most in the NBA this season. The 76ers are one of two teams Harden has multiple 50-point games against in his career, along with the Lakers.
Butler, meanwhile, is shooting a career-best 47 percent from the field and is likely to be active today, given this wrist ailment didn't limit him in the final seconds of this past Saturday's close loss to the Thunder. If you don't plan to pay up for Harden in daily fantasy today, maybe make Embiid the focus, as the Rockets are notably small around the rim sans Clint Capela. If Embiid gets Nene in foul trouble early, the big man might keep pace with Harden in the scoring department.