10 Definitely Interesting, Possibly Helpful NBA Notes for January 21st
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, January 21st, 2017.
1. Nikola Jokic is currently averaging 44.2 FanDuel points per 36 minutes in his sophomore season, which, in the hypothetical world where DFS existed through all of NBA history ranks sixth all-time among players in the second year in the league. The players in front of him are Michael Jordan (50.7), David Robinson (50.2), Shaquille O’Neal (48.5), Magic Johnson (47.9), Hakeem Olajuwan (47.8). On Saturday, he faces a Clippers team that ranks in the bottom third of the NBA in DvP against centers, and a team that he lit up for 24 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals on December 26th of last year. FanDuel keeps elevating his price (he’s finally knocking on the door of $10k territory), but until he stops putting up 50 FanDuel points (as he’s done in his last three games), he’s a risky fade.
2. James Harden has been held below 43 FanDuel points in five of his last six games against the Grizzlies dating back to last season. Going back a bit further, he averages 6.4 field goals per game in his last 10 games against the Grizz, which is his lowest per game mark against any team in the NBA. Tony Allen defense is a real thing, and with him likely covering Harden in this way, Harden’s $12,200 salary at FanDuel is tough to justify.
3. Kemba Walker is attempting 7.8 three-pointers per game this month, a number which, if it holds, will represent the highest in any single month of Walker’s career (excepting October of his 2014-15 season, which included only one game). He’s in an ideal matchup at home against a Brooklyn Nets team that ranks last in DvP against point guards and has allowed 40+ FanDuel points to a point guard in 15 of the 42 games they’ve played this year (that’s 36 percent of their games); only the Thunder has allowed more such games to point guards this year.
4. Last night, Rudy Gobert became just the third player in the last six years to post a game of 27+ points, 25+ boards, and 10+ offensive rebounds (the others were Dwight Howard in 2015-16 and Ersan Ilyasova in 2011-12). He totaled a career-high 61.5 points at FanDuel, and his salary ($7,800) remains unchanged for today’s matchup with Myles Turner and the Indiana Pacers, a team that allows the fifth-most rebounds per game to centers of any team in the NBA. Gobert is on the second game of a back-to-back, but his fantasy production has been largely unaffected by back-to-backs this year (33.6 FanDuel points per game on one day of rest, 33.3 FanDuel points per game on zero days rest).
5. While we’re at it, here’s another Gobert note: he’s reached 10+ rebounds in 29 straight games; no other player this year has reached double figures in rebounds in more than 13 straight games.
6. Kawhi Leonard has five games of 36+ minutes since Christmas Day; he’s scored at least 50 FanDuel points in four of them. He’s almost certainly going to get 36+ minutes today as he’s tasked with chasing around LeBron James, which means that even though his price tag is approaching superstar levels at FanDuel ($9,600), he’s got a floor that makes him a safe cash game play. One more interesting (and probably not all that helpful) Kawhi note: he’s made eight or more free throws in five straight, which is the longest streak of his career.
7. DeAndre Jordan leads the NBA in field goal percentage (75.7 percent) since January 1st. During that same time frame, the Denver Nuggets have given up 52.8 points in the paint per game, more than any other team in the NBA. With both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul on the mend, it seems inevitable that the Clippers rely on their big man for scoring, which could explain his career-high 29 points on Thursday. Jordan has been unstoppable on the glass as of late, grabbing 15 or more rebounds in five straight games, which is NOT the longest such streak in the NBA. That honor goes to…
8. Tyson Chandler has 15+ rebounds in six straight games. It’s the longest streak in Suns franchise history (Barkley never even did it!). He matches up with the Knicks, the team that, in December, allowed Chandler to feast, as he grabbed a season-high 23 rebounds. If he plays close to the 30 minutes he’s averaging in the month of January, Chandler has a chance at 20+ boards again. Priced reasonably at $5,700 at FanDuel, he makes for an intriguing (and possibly low-owned) option on Saturday.
9. Since January 1st, only two players have averaged 35 minutes, 22 points, and 8 assists per game. If you guessed James Harden and Russell Westbrook, you’d only be half correct; Harden made the cut, but Westbrook didn’t (although, to be fair, that’s more “fun with arbitrary end points” than anything – Westbrook missed the cut because he’s only averaging 34.9 minutes per game). The other player is Eric Bledsoe, who gets a favorable matchup against Derrick Rose and his -2.26 DRPM, a matchup in which he scored 51.2 FanDuel points back on December 13th.
10. Cody Zeller has seven games of 30+ FanDuel points this year; two of them have come against the Nets. Purely on the strength of their matchup with the Nets, the Hornets an implied total of 116 points, which is the highest total on the slate (not something you see often from the Hornets). Like Chandler, Zeller is priced affordably (at just $5,000, he’s the fifteenth-most-expensive center on the slate), and slotting him in at center provides you access to some of the slate’s high-end options.
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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, and feel free to drop a comment below if you want to talk about today’s slate of NBA games.