10 Definitely Interesting, Possibly Helpful NBA Notes for February 9th

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This NBA season, I’ll work to uncover some interesting bits of information that might shed some light on players from that day’s slate of NBA games. This is not a picks column, nor is it a “fun facts” article – it’s something in between.

I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it helps you think about today’s NBA plays in a new way as you build your DFS lineups. Here are 10 NBA notes for Thursday, February 9th.

Editor’s Note: LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are all expected to play now.

1. The Houston Rockets have made 796 three-pointers this year…146 more than the second-place Cavaliers. If the Rockets missed every single three-pointer they took for the next 11 games while the Cavs maintained their season average of 13 per game during that span, the Cavs STILL wouldn’t catch up to the Rockets. They could miss every three for 30 games before their Thursday opponent, the Hornets (9.7 threes per game), caught them. They could miss every three for 72 games before the last-place Bulls (6.4 threes per game) could catch them. So…you get it. Houston takes a lot of threes, and Houston make a lot of threes. And this makes them a nightmare matchup for the Charlotte Hornets, who give up 11.1 threes per game to opponents, more than any other team in the NBA. Obviously, James Harden is one of the must-haves on a short slate, but it also puts someone like Eric Gordon (9-for-18 on threes in his last two games) in consideration as a sneaky tournament play.

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2. And then there’s Harden, who in his last game against Charlotte (on January 10th), triple-doubled while putting up 40 points. Harden now has five 40-point triple-doubles this season alone; Michael Jordan had three such games over his entire career.

3. Since we’re here, and since it’s a five-game slate, how about another Harden note? Harden has at least seven assists in the first 55 games of the season. Before him, only two players had ever accomplished this feat: John Stockton (who did it in 1991-92 and 1993-94) and Magic Johnson (1983-84 and 1990-91). For what it’s worth (which isn’t much, since you’re probably playing Harden regardless), the Hornets rank in the bottom third of the NBA in assists allowed to both point guards and shooting guards this season.

4. In 61 minutes of court time, Patrick Beverley has put up a combined eight points, six assists, and nine rebounds in his last two games against Kemba Walker (in other words, about one quarter of James Harden production). He’s also never recorded a steal in seven career games against Kemba. Walker is far from an elite defender; his -0.68 defensive real plus-minus has him buried in the dregs of the point guard rankings (he’s ranked 39th) where he’s situated between guys like Shaun Livingston (-0.60) and Raymond Felton (-0.83). But for whatever reason, Beverley hasn’t been able to get it going in this matchup.

5. Kemba Walker hasn’t reached 28 FanDuel points in three straight games for the first time since December of 2015. He’s really struggling with his shot, as he’s only eclipsed 50 percent shooting one time in his past 10 games, and although he’s put up 46.2 FD points against Beverley in their last meeting, Beverley is an elite defender, with a 1.01 DRPM that ranks second in the NBA among point guards this season. Even in a pace-up matchup, this limits Walker’s upside and potentially makes him a risky option for cash games.

6. Clint Capela has only dipped below 24 FanDuel points in one out of his last seven games. Given that Harden and Westbrook will lead most towards the low end of the center pool, Capela figures to be a chalky option at center, especially given that the Hornets rank fourth-worst in the NBA in DvP against centers on the year.

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7. Nikola Vucevic is coming off a season-high 19 rebounds, and he gets the 76ers, who, since Joel Embiid originally went down with a leg contusion on January 20th, have allowed 15 rebounds on six occasions…twice as many as the next-highest team (the Mavericks, with three such games). Vucevic should have no trouble piling on points against Jahlil Okafor (assuming he starts), whose -0.99 defensive real-plus minus ranks 69th of 70 qualified centers. If he can pair that with a big rebounding performance, he could make a major difference as a lower-owned option in a GPP (of course, understanding that “lower-owned” is a relative term on a five-game slate).

8. With Evan Turner out with injury, Moe Harkless should reclaim his starting small forward spot for the Blazers. Harkless could never get it going as a bench player, and he was a far more efficient player in 42 games as a starter than in seven games off the bench this year. As a starter, he shot 49.1 percent from the field; as a reserve, he shot just 37.0 percent. It’s a small enough sample that we shouldn’t draw any broad conclusions based on his lack of production as a bench player, and in fact, his struggles have caused his salary to free fall ($3,800 at FanDuel, $4,000 at DraftKings), which presents a nice buying opportunity while he’s still cheap.

9. Rudy Gobert had a career-high 25 boards in his last game against Mavericks on January 20th, which he combined with 27 points, an assist, a steal, and two blocks for a total of 62.5 FanDuel points. Dallas ranks dead last in the NBA in rebounding differential, and Gobert’s hefty price tag at FanDuel ($8,000), in addition to the game’s opening with a 195 over/under, virtually guarantees that he’ll be low owned, which puts him in play as a contrarian tournament option. On DraftKings, he’s a much more palatable $6,700, which makes him viable in cash games, as well.

10. On Wednesday, Kyle Korver hit eight threes in a game for the first time since December 18th, 2013. With Iman Shumpert already ruled out, and with Cavs coach Tyronn Lue claiming he will “probably” sit Kyrie, LeBron, and Love on Thursday against the Thunder, Korver, like all the Cavs who will see minutes, are in play as value options. However, it’s worth noting that, at this stage in his career, Korver can’t create any shots for himself, which means he’s a dangerous play, even at his low price ($3,700 at FanDuel, $3,900 at DraftKings.
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Thanks for reading! Stats from this article were pulled from RotoGrinders’ Daily Research Console, StatMuse, Basketball Reference, and NBA.com.

Check back for more “10 Notes” NBA articles throughout the year (typically posted on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays), and feel free to drop a comment below if you want to talk about today’s slate of NBA games.

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About the Author

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Josh Cole (mewhitenoise)

Josh Cole (mewhitenoise) is a high school English teacher and contributor at RotoGrinders. You can find him on Twitter @joshuabcole.