Jimmy Butler became the latest star player to sit out a game in this last week of action, with an injury that could most accurately be described as minor, and potentially swinging the momentum in plenty of fantasy matchups. On a brighter note, Steph Curry broke his own single season record for three-pointers made, ending the night with 276 three-pointers on the season.
M.I.A.
These guys all sat out Thursday's action, for one reason or another.
- Bulls
- Jimmy Butler (calf)
- Warriors
- Leandro Barbosa (Achilles)
FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT
Well, well, well. Steph Curry saved almost his best until almost last, with a massive 45 point (17-23 FG, 8-13 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 10 assist performance, throwing in a couple of rebounds for good measure as the Warriors handily beat the Trail Blazers. In his last eight games, Curry is hitting a ridiculous 5.4 triples per game, hitting them at 59 percent. Ludicrous.
ROTATION NOTES AND QUIRKS
With Butler out, Tony Snell moved back to the starting lineup, but scored just seven points with five rebounds and while he was worth looking at with only two games being played, his long term value if Butler misses more time is very limited. Nikola Mirotic owners suffered a set back, with the rookie playing just 17 minutes, and that is always the risk in owning him with the plethora of frontcourt options in Chicago. Mirotic still had two three-pointers and three steals, but his value is going to remain somewhat up and down the rest of the way.
Udonis Haslem got another start, but played only 18 minutes, scoring two points with four rebounds and one block. The Heat have three games left and the juicy part of their schedule is gone, so you can probably do better than the veteran big man.
C.J. McCollum has now played at least 25 minutes in the last five games, averaging 16.4 points, after he scored 17 points with one three-pointer, two steals and one block Thursday. With Arron Afflalo battling to play to an NBA level, McCollum could see significant run down the stretch, and is a nice option for points and three-pointers.
BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES
Mike Dunleavy has been playing some solid basketball of late, dropping 12 points with five rebounds and four steals and is now averaging 12.8 points, 2.0 three-pointers and 1.5 steals in his last four games. He's not a must-own player, but there is value as a streaming option.
Derrick Rose played just 20 minutes with 14 points and four rebounds, but I still wouldn't be running out to add him or retain him on my roster if I picked up for Thursday.
Michael Beasley provided a nice cameo role, hitting three three-pointers in 19 minutes for 13 points, but he is quite unreliable, hardly ground-breaking info for Beasley.
Nicolas Batum is quietly having a solid second-half of the season, and added another eight assists Thursday, to go with 10 rebounds, and one steal and one block, really highlighting his multi-categorical versatility.
NIGHTLY LEADERS
Points
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 45 points
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, POR, 27 points
- Klay Thompson, G, GSW, 26 points
Rebounds
- Hassan Whiteside, C, MIA, 16 rebounds
- Pau Gasol, F, CHI, 15 rebounds
- Draymond Green, F, GSW, 14 rebounds
Assists
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 10 assists
- Damian Lillard, G, POR, 8 assists
- Nicolas Batum, F, POR, 8 assists
Steals
- Mike Dunleavy, F, CHI, 4 steals
- Nikola Mirotic, F, CHI, 3 steals
- C.J. McCollum, G, POR, 2 steals
- Luol Deng, F, MIA, 2 steals
Blocks
- LaMarcus Aldridge, F, POR, 2 blocks
- Draymond Green, F, GSW, 2 blocks
- Chris Andersen, C, MIA, 2 blocks
Three-Pointers
- Steph Curry, G, GSW, 8-13 3Pt
- Klay Thompson, G, GSW, 3-5 3Pt
- Michael Beasley, F, MIA, 3-4 3Pt
Minutes
- Nicolas Batum, F, POR, 41 minutes
- Hassan Whiteside, C, MIA, 38 minutes
- Damian Lillard, G, POR, 38 minutes
- Tony Snell, G, CHI, 38 minutes
- Dwyane Wade, G, MIA, 38 minutes