The feel-good story from Monday's 11-game slate was seeing the Knicks secure their first victory of the season, thanks to big games from rookie RJ Barrett and veteran big man Bobby Portis.
Barrett became just the fifth Knicks rookie ever to tally at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 5 dimes in a game. The Duke product is now impressively slashing for 20.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.0 SPG through four NBA games. For fantasy purposes, the most significant number might just be the 37.3 MPG Barrett is playing for New York, evidence he'll be given plenty of opportunities to produce with one of the league's higher exposure rates.
A summer spent hoarding power forwards is showing some positives for the Knicks, as they became just the second team in the past five seasons with as many as 25 offensive rebounds when they beat the Bulls last night. Barrett impressively secured six offensive pulls last night and should be added in any shallow formats (available in roughly 10% of ESPN leagues), while Portis netted 11 total rebounds to go with an efficient 28 points on just 14 shots, providing needed offensive support for both the Knicks and proactive fantasy managers.
Monday recap
Highlights
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 36 points (12-19 FG), 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 7 TO
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors: 16 points (7-12 FG), 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 4 TO
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 40 points (8-21 FG, 21-22 FT), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 TO
Lowlights
Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic: 2 points (1-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 3 TO
JJ Redick, New Orleans Pelicans: 5 points (1-10 FG), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 TO
Otto Porter Jr., Chicago Bulls: 7 points (3-11 FG), 3 rebounds
Monday takeaways
Jonathan Isaac delivered a strong performance last night with 24 points, thanks to a career-best five 3-pointers to go with five stocks (steals plus blocks) in a loss to Toronto. I would rush to make room for Orlando's dynamic young forward in all formats if he's available. Meanwhile, Markelle Fultz is working off the bench for Orlando to begin the season and has been somewhat solid as a scorer from the paint and midrange, securing double-figures in three straight games for the first time in his career. It's not yet time to roster Fultz for standard fantasy rosters, but at least there is momentum for the former top pick.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has fully broken out, vaulting from 10.8 PPG for the Clippers last season to 23.8 for the Thunder this season. The sample-size alarm is blaring, but we're seeing far more shooting volume from 3-point range in addition to a sizable surge in free throw frequency for the second-year Kentucky product. These trends suggest this scoring breakout from SGA has some real legs.
For a resurgent Golden State team, Green posted his 23rd career triple-double in a win over New Orleans, extending his own franchise record. The Warriors are 23-0 all-time when Green has a triple-double. The Warriors will need some new names to step up this season given the top-heavy nature of the roster, which makes Damion Lee's impressive 23-point showing on Monday somewhat meaningful; the wing pulled down 11 boards and was the lone bench player for Golden State to post a positive net rating. This could be an outlier performance, but Lee looked good as the team's sixth man on Monday evening.
The absence of Blake Griffin for Detroit's next several games could see Christian Wood emerge as a relevant interim fantasy contributor; he posted 19 points and 12 boards with three 3-pointers in 21 minutes on Monday. Luke Kennard, meanwhile, shifted to the starting lineup and posted 14 points with seven combined assists and rebounds for the Pistons.
Porter Jr. is struggling significantly to being the season with Chicago -- he's yet to score in double-figures while shooting just 26.5% from the floor. Down to a sluggish 15.9% usage rate, Chicago might have too many mouths for Porter to surface as a valuable fantasy option. It's also quite early in the season, thus such conclusions could prove premature. Either way, I'd only give Porter a few more weeks before looking to free agency for some help at the wing.
The 76ers' rookie defensive dynamo Matisse Thybulle recorded four steals and two blocks in a win over the Hawks on Monday and now is averaging 1.3 BPG and 2.7 SPG through three appearances. Extrapolate production to per-36 minutes, and the former Defensive Player of the Year in the Pac-12 is pacing for 4.4 steals and 2.2 blocks on this basis, numbers similar to his elite rates at Washington. You won't get much offense from Thybulle, but he's already a meaningful rotisserie asset, given these special defensive rates.
The Raptors' OG Anunoby is still thriving as a key defensive force for Toronto; he posted an awesome five steals and two blocks in a win over the Magic on Monday, and he is surfacing as a must-add fantasy option.
Derrick White was a boss off the bench with 21 points on 11 shots for the Spurs in a clutch win over the Trail Blazers on Monday, marking White's sixth career 20-point game. There is a logjam of sorts in the backcourt for the Spurs, but White should carve out a rewarding role, given his scoring ability.
Brandon Ingram is absolutely feasting statistically sans Zion Williamson and Jrue Holiday from the lineup lately. The former Duke star is suddenly lofting seven 3-pointers per game after taking 1.8 per game the past two seasons with the Lakers, helping fuel a gaudy 27.3 PPG clip through four games. Once Holiday is back in the fold we can expect Ingram's usage to dip a bit, but with really strong rebounding (9.5) and assist (4.8) rates thus far, Ingram's offensive floor could prove higher than most might expect.
In terms of meaningful milestones from today, it's worth noting that back on October 29, 2018, Klay Thompson set an NBA single-game record with 14 made 3-pointers in a 149-124 win over the Bulls. Far more significantly, on this day in 2003, LeBron James made his NBA debut against the Sacramento Kings on the road, tallying 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in a loss.
Injuries of note
Both Holiday and Derrick Favors sat out of last night's loss to the Warriors. Holiday is reportedly day-to-day with a sprained knee that isn't considered serious, while Favors could return as early as next game from his knee soreness.
The Rockets announced that wing Gerald Green is expected to miss approximately six months, effectively ending his season. Eric Gordon played 37 minutes off the pine last night with Mike D'Antoni effectively employing the shooting specialist as a starter in a short seven-man rotation.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
Whether it's because Luka Doncic is so busy creating on offense or because Seth Curry has historically struggled on defense, we find the Dallas Mavericks allowing the most fantasy points per game to shooting guards using DraftKings scoring key. The sample isn't very large, of course, but shooting guards are absolutely thriving against Dallas, which makes shares of Denver's Gary Harris and Jamal Murray intriguing during tonight's relatively shallow three-game slate.
Top players to watch tonight
Jimmy Butler is set to debut with the Heat after taking some personal leave for the birth of his daughter to begin the season. In three preseason appearances with Miami, Butler posted a stellar 27% assist rate with clean scoring metrics (61% true shooting). In what should be a high-usage role as a key playmaker on a team that could use more passing prowess, Butler should deliver a strong fantasy outing against an Atlanta team facing the second leg of a back-to-back tonight.
It will prove intriguing how Butler's debut affects both Kendrick Nunn and Justise Winslow, respectively. Nunn has been a scoring force early on, while Winslow's point-forward production from last year has carried over, thus tonight is a compelling first foray into the Butler experience.