Many leagues are entering the fantasy playoffs this week, so if your squad made it this far, congratulations! Hoops Rumors wants to help you take down the remaining competition. Here are some fantasy basketball notes and analysis to help you win your matchups:
- Anthony Davis continues to assert his place in the MVP conversation. The Pelicans star posted a triple-double on Sunday against Utah with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Yes, 10 blocks. He remains the top option in all season-long formats, as we noted in last week’s edition of Fantasy Hoops.
- While Kyrie Irving‘s latest injury doesn’t sound too serious, we’re beginning to hear rumblings about him taking additional time off to rest his knee in order to get it back to full health for the playoffs. Jaylen Brown is also expected to be out over the next week for the Celtics, so both Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier should see an increase in usage. (Update: Smart will also be sidelined due to a thumb injury.)
- Trail Blazers big man Ed Davis doesn’t get enough credit. Only five players have grabbed more rebounds than his 11.2 per game during the month of March. Throw in his solid field goal percentage (65.4%) and ability to avoid turnovers (only three in five games so far this month), and it’s hard to fathom why Davis is available in over 86% of ESPN leagues.
- Larry Nance Jr. (available in slightly over 34% of ESPN leagues) should be owned in all leagues. During his three starts for injured big man Tristan Thompson, the Cavaliers‘ newbie is averaging 17.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.
- Keep an eye on Luke Kornet. The big man started for the Knicks on Sunday in place of Enes Kanter and he produced, accumulating 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block. Should Kanter miss any additional games, Kornet would be a streaming option and possibly a sneaky daily league play for those contests.
Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.
Missed an earlier edition of Fantasy Hoops? Check out the entire series here.
Statistics are current through Monday morning. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
It’s going to be all Rozier. Smart has a torn thumb ligament and is out.
Yep, this was posted an hour-ish before that news broke. I’ve added an update to that note.