The improbable rise of Kelly Olynyk for the Houston Rockets is one of the more entertaining fantasy basketball stories at this moment. Just last night, the stretch big scored 21 points while missing just a single shot in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. Amazingly, Olynyk is ranked 12th on the Player Rater during the past week. Olynyk averaged 10.0 PPG with solid rebounding and shooting rates in 26.9 MPG as a productive member of the Miami Heat frontcourt this season, and he's risen to 28.0 MPG and 18.7 PPG with even better complementary stats in six games with Houston. Even when the shooting cools off, a unique blend of shot volume, steady minutes, and his ability to create assists from the high post could merge to support top-100 fantasy value for Olynyk in Houston. Monday recap Highlights Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets: 40 points (15-28 FG), 2 rebounds, 7 assists Julius Randle, New York Knicks: 19 points (7-19 FG), 15 rebounds, 12 assists Lowlights Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves: 4 points (1-5 FG), 1 rebound, 5 assists Monday takeawaysChris Paul became just the fifth player in NBA history with 500 career 10-assist games, joining John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. Devin Booker delivered 36 points in the win over Houston and now has 113 points in his past three games, his most in a three-game span since April of 2019.
Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski scored 19 in the loss the Pistons and has at least 19 points in three of his past four games. Between Pokusevski, Theo Maledon and Moses Brown, Oklahoma City has multiple free-agent targets to consider.
Joining Olynyk as a top fantasy free agent from Houston's lineup is Jae'Sean Tate. The versatile rookie forward scored 18 points and collected 12 combined rebounds and assists in the loss to the Suns. The Rockets are asking a lot of Tate each night, given the roster's lack of scoring and playmaking at the wing.
Injuries of note The Hawks and Pelicans injury report is a bit of a mess. Atlanta will be without John Collins, but Clint Capela is listed as probable to play. For New Orleans, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are both questionable after missing the team's last game. The Pelicans will be without Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Josh Hart, consolidating shooting and playmaking volume for Lonzo Ball.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday Jusuf Nurkic won't play tonight for Portland as the team seeks to manage his right knee. Whenever Nurkic has been off the floor this season, Enes Kanter has averaged 16.3 points and an awesome 15.8 rebounds per 36 minutes. Kanter is third in the entire league with a 23.6% rebounding rate, so he's a strong daily fantasy option for this matchup with the Clippers. Top player to watch on TuesdayWith New Orleans so depleted in the backcourt and Atlanta in need of Bogdan Bogdanovic's scoring savvy, the Serbian shooting guard is in a great spot to produce tonight. For those in need of some scoring upside, Bogdanovic is still a free agent in 41% of ESPN leagues. The Pelicans, meanwhile, have allowed 46.2 DraftKings points per game to shooting guards this season, 10th most in the league.
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