Around the Association: Wrapping Up a Big Fantasy Weekend

This article is part of our NBA Daily Recap series.

Welcome to Around the Association!  Five days per week (Monday through Friday), this article will serve as a comprehensive recap of the previous night's NBA action, taking you through all of the biggest performances, notable box scores, injury updates and any other fantasy-relevant headlines from around the league.

It was a busy weekend in the NBA, here is all you need to know: 

Weekend Notables

Early first-round draft picks battle it out in Toronto

• Flashback to draft night and nearly everyone had Jalen Suggs pegged to go No. 4 overall to the Raptors to fill their void at point guard with Kyle Lowry off to Miami. However, Masai Ujiri shocked the world once again and selected Scottie Barnes out of FSU while Suggs fell to the Magic at No. 5. Friday the two rookies faced off for the first time in their careers.
  • Barnes finished with a team-high 21 points (9-14 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT) to go with nine rebounds, two steals, one assist, one block and one turnover in 36 minutes as the Raptors won 110-109. Suggs finished with 21 of his own points (6-14 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 5-5 FT) while recording four assists, two rebounds, one block and three turnovers in 29 minutes during the defeat. It was an exciting matchup in what should be the first of many to come.
  • Barnes jammed his thumb in the game and is considered doubtful to play Monday against the Knicks.

Jokic returns as Nuggets go 2-0

• The Nuggets had themselves a scare earlier in the week when last year's MVP Nikola Jokic left the game early with a knee injury. Fortunately, the injury turned out to be minor and Jokic was able to return to the lineup for the Denvers' next game. The Nuggets destroyed the Mavericks on Friday, winning the game 106-75 as four out of five starters for Denver reached double-digits in the victory.
• Denver was then able to squeak out another win Saturday as the team defeated the Timberwolves by a score of 93-91. Jokic led the way, finishing with 26 points (10-23 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 19 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, one steal and seven turnovers in 36 minutes. Despite not having Jamal Murray, and a sluggish start for Michael Porter Jr., Denver finds itself with a 4-2 record to start the season.
  • Speaking of Porter Jr., he's yet to score more than 15 points in any game and is looking like one of the biggest busts in fantasy basketball thus far. Through six games, he's averaging a meager 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 25 percent from three.

Cunningham, Kuminga Make Their Debuts

• The No. 1 overall selection of the draft made his NBA debut Saturday when the Detroit Pistons took on the Orlando Magic. Cunningham finished with two points (1-8 FG, 0-5 3Pt), seven rebounds, two assists, one block and two turnovers in 18 minutes. Despite the rough shooting, Cunningham was able to help lead Detroit to its first win of the season. It seems that the Pistons are taking things slow with the 20-year-old for now, making Cunningham's current fantasy value hard to trust. Once he starts to see regular minutes, the sky is the limit for the Oklahoma State product.
  • Cunningham sat out Sunday's blowout loss to the Nets for rest purposes
• Cunningham was not the early first-round rookie to make his debut this weekend as Jonathan Kuminga got his first NBA action Saturday against the Thunder. Kuminga finished with three points (1-4 FG, 1-3 3Pt), one steal and two turnovers in six minutes of playing time. It may be hard for the rookie to find consistent minutes this season on a strong Warriors team.

Butler, Heat still rolling

• The Miami Heat also found themselves going 2-0 over the weekend with wins over the Hornets and Grizzlies. This team is looking like a legit contender as they start the season 5-1. Jimmy Butler had himself a weekend, averaging 29.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game across the two contests. Tyler Herro continues to show out off the bench as he scored 26 points against Charlotte and followed that up with 22 against Memphis. The third-year-pro is off to a great start this season, averaging 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as Miami's sixth man.
  • Bam Adebayo missed Saturday's win over Memphis with a bruised left knee.

Roller-coaster weekend for the Bulls

• The Chicago Bulls were hit with devastating news Friday that Patrick Williams will be forced to miss 4-to-6 months due to a dislocated wrist that required surgery. The second-year-pro was a key defensive starter for the Bulls and Javonte Green is taking his spot in the starting rotation for the time being.
• The Bulls responded to Williams' injury in about the best way possible as they handed the Utah Jazz their first loss of the season Saturday. DeMar DeRozan was in his bag during the 107-99 win, finishing with a season-high 32 points (13-22 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 6-6FT), six rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 35 minutes. The mid-range specialist also put Jordan Clarkson in the blender:

LeBron and Melo turn back the clock

• The Lakers went 2-0 over the weekend as LeBron James made his return to the Lakers' lineup after missing two games due to an ankle injury. The King looked plenty healthy, averaging 20.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game over the weekend. Perhaps even more impressive for Los Angeles was Carmelo Anthony. Anthony averaged 23.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting a flaming-hot 68.8 percent from beyond the arc (11-16 3Pt). The first-year-Laker is making an early case to be in contention for the Sixth Man of The Year award.

Wild game in Washington 

• The Boston Celtics traveled to Washington on Saturday to take on the Wizards in a matchup that ended up going to two overtimes. The game was pretty much neck-and-neck throughout and ended with the final score of 115-112 in favor of Washington.
• Bradley Beal is finding his groove as he finished with a season-high 36 points (12-32 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 9-9 FT) to go with seven rebounds, six assists, two steals, one block and four turnovers. Spencer Dinwiddie also impressed, dropping in 20 points (6-18 FG, 1-7 3Pt, 7-8 FT) and nine rebounds in the win. The Wizards are off to an impressive 5-1 start, causing me to ask: Where do Beal and Dinwiddie rank as a backcourt duo in the Eastern Conference? How about the whole league?
• Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both impressed in the loss, as well. Tatum finished with 34 points (10-32 FG, 0-5 3Pt, 7-7 FT), 15 rebounds three assists, and two steals while Brown put in 34 points (14-24 FG, 0-5 3Pt, 6-7 FT) of his own. The duo is averaging 53.1 combined points per game to start the season.

RJ Barrett makes a statement

• The third-year-pro went off for a monster performance Saturday during the Knicks' 123-117 win over the Pelicans. Barrett finished with a career-high 35 points (12-18 FG, 6-8 3Pt, 5-6 FT), eight rebounds, six assists and one turnover in 35 minutes. The 21-year-old now has 55 combined points over his last two outings after a relatively slow start to the year.

The banged-up Bucks stumble

• The reigning champions went 0-2 over the weekend, taking losses to San Antonio and Utah. Milwaukee is dealing with a bit of the injury bug as Jrue Holiday (ankle) has missed the team's past four games, while Brook Lopez (back) hasn't played since Opening Night. Meanwhile Khris Middleton (illness) missed Sunday's contest. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been doing his thing, despite the losses. The Greek Freak averaged 26.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists across his two weekend appearances.

Best and Worst of Weekend

• Player of the Weekend: Jimmy Butler -- 29.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game
• Dud of the Weekend: Collin Sexton -- 9.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 4.5 turnovers per game
• Rookie of the Weekend: Chris Duarte -- 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game

Fantasy Facts of the Weekend

• Atlanta Hawks
  • Danilo Gallinari is off to a slow start this season. The veteran wing only put in four points in 12 minutes during the teams only contest of the weekend and is averaging 6.3 points (his lowest since his rookie season) in 16.7 minutes per game thus far.
• Boston Celtics
  • Josh Richardson saw a season-high 36 minutes in tune with a season-high 18 points (7-15 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 3-3 FT) and three rebounds in Boston's double-overtime thriller. This may indicate that more minutes could be coming for the veteran guard.
• Brooklyn Nets
  • James Harden is starting to find his groove. The All-Star guard averaged 23.5 points, 10.0 assists and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 53.8 percent from deep over the weekend. Harden attempted 19 free throws in Friday's win over the Pacers.
• Charlotte Hornets
  • Miles Bridges won't slow down. The wing averaged 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals during two weekend appearances. Bridges is my way-too-early pick for the Most Improved Player award.
• Chicago Bulls
  • In the team's first appearance post-Patrick Williams injury, Derrick Jones saw a season-high 19 minutes while Ayo Dosunmu also saw a season-high 20 minutes in the win over Utah. Both players are candidates for more time as they have been bumped up the depth chart without Williams.
• Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Collin Sexton continued his incredibly slow start of the season. The young guard averaged 9.5 points, 2.0 rebound and 1.5 assists in 25.5 minutes during two weekend contests. After averaging 24.3 points per game last season, Sexton is down to 17.3 points thus far.
• Dallas Mavericks
  • Luka Doncic went cold from three as the Mavericks went 1-1 over the weekend. The young All-Star shot just 2-11 (18.2 percent) from deep over the weekend.
• Denver Nuggets
  • Many people labeled Michael Porter Jr. as their breakout player of the year, but as noted above, the young forward has had an awfully slow start to the season. Porter averaged just 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game over the weekend and is scoring just 10.8 points per game thus far.
• Detroit Pistons
  • Killian Hayes continues to struggle to score the ball. The second-year guard averaged just 4.5 points while shooting 20 percent from the field over the weekend.
• Golden State Warriors
  • Andre Iguodala continues to rebound the ball well after putting up another 10 rebounds in 17 minutes against the Thunder. The veteran wing is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game eon the year which would be his most since 2010-11.
• Houston Rockets
  • Kevin Porter committed six turnovers in Sunday's loss to the Lakers. The young guard has recorded at least six turnovers in three out of the last four contests and leads the league in that category with 5.3 per game.
• Indiana Pacers
  • Caris LeVert made his season debut Saturday. The wing started and scored 15 points (6-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-4 FT) to go with two assists, two steals and one rebound in 15 minutes of action.
• Los Angeles Clippers
  • Paul George went off yet again during Friday's loss to Portland. The All-Star wing scored 42 points (15-24 FG, 6-9 3Pt, 6-9 FT) as well as recording eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and four turnovers in 33 minutes.
• Los Angeles Lakers
  • After averaging 32.5 points per game over the week as LeBron James was out of the lineup, Anthony Davis' scoring figures dropped to 15.5 points per game during the team's two weekend contests with James back in the lineup.
• Memphis Grizzlies
  • De'Anthony Melton picked up three more steals during Memphis' loss to Miami on Saturday. The 23-year-old is averaging 3.0 steals per game across his last four contests and ranks tied for 11th overall in the league in takeaways this season
• Miami Heat
  • Duncan Robinson finally found his three points stroke, going 5-10 from beyond the arc in tune to 15 points against Memphis on Saturday. Coming into that contest, the sharpshooting wing was shooting at just a 27.9 percent clip from deep.
• Milwaukee Bucks
  • Thanasis Antetokounmpo made two starts over the weekend for Milwaukee with Brook Lopez still out of the lineup. The forward averaged 5.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game across 25.0 minutes per game over the weekend. Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-high 18.4 minutes per game this season, but that figure should decline when Lopez, Semi Ojeleye and Bobby Portis are all healthy.
• Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Malik Beasley had his best performance of the year as he took on his former team in Denver on Saturday. The veteran guard scored 18 points (6-14 FG, 6-10 3Pt) to go with two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one turnover in 27 minutes. This was Beasley's first time this season scoring in double digits.
• New Orleans Pelicans
  • Jonas Valanciunas continues to put up crazy double-doubles. The big man averaged 25.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game over the weekend and has put up a double-double in five straight contests. Valanciunas is off to the best start of his career as he is averaging 19.4 points and 14.6 rebounds per game.
• New York Knicks 
  • Kemba Walker went 4-7 from beyond the arc during Saturday's win over the Pelicans and has been shooting the lights out of the ball to start the season. The 31-year-old is shooting at a 57.9 percent rate from deep thus far
• Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Jeremiah Robinson-Earl earned his second career start during Saturday's contest against the Warriors. The rookie finished with six points (3-6 FG, 0-2 3Pt), three rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers in 18 minutes. It was not much of an impressive showing, however, it is encouraging to see Robinson-Earl get the start even with Derrick Favors active in the game indicating that the rookie is certainly moving up the depth chart
• Orlando Magic
  • Chuma Okeke made his season debut for Orlando on Saturday. The 23-year-old finished with two points (1-3 FG, 0-1 3Pt), one rebound, one assist, one steal and three turnovers in 14 minutes of action. The Magic will be sure to take it slow with their young forward's first few games back from injury.
• Philadelphia 76ers
  • Matisse Thybulle is making an early case to be a First-Team All-Defensive team member this season. The wing put up four steals and three blocks against Atlanta on Saturday.

• Phoenix Suns
  • Chris Paul did Chris Paul things against the Cavaliers on Saturday. The Point God finished with 16 points (6-10 FG, 2-2 3Pt, 2-6 FT), 10 assists, four steals and two rebounds in 36 minutes of action. The 36-year-old still has got it.
• Portland Trail Blazers
  • It was a tale of two games for Damian Lillard this weekend. The All-Star guard put in 25 points while shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc during Friday's win over the Clippers. However, Lillard shot just 2-14 from three during Sunday's loss to Charlotte in tune to 14 points. Lillard is shooting just 23.2 percent from deep this season.
• Sacramento Kings
  • Harrison Barnes continues his really strong play to start the season. The veteran wing added two more double-doubles over the weekend while averaging 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game during those contests.
• San Antonio Spurs
  • Dejounte Murray continued his great start to the season, finishing with 23 points (9-17 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 4-5 FT), nine rebounds, five assists and three steals during the Spurs' win over the Bucks. Murray is averaging 17.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game this season and is my pick as the most underrated player in the league right now.
• Toronto Raptors
  • OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet are playing an absurd amount of minutes right now. The two Raptors' starters averaged 39.5 and 39.0 minutes per game respectively over the weekend. With Pascal Siakam's imminent return to the starting lineup, it would not be a surprise to see those numbers drop as bit as the year progresses.
• Utah Jazz
  • Donovan Mitchell had himself a big weekend as the Jazz split their two weekend contests. The Louisville product averaged 29.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game over the weekend.
• Washington Wizards
  • Montrezl Harrell put up yet another double-double during Saturday's win over Boston. Harrell finished with 20 points (6-14 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 7-8 FT) and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes. The journeyman big has taken advantage of Daniel Gafford's  (quad) injury and has put up three straight 20 point double-doubles.

Looking Ahead to Monday Night

• The Bulls and Celtics face off in a battle of Eastern Conference teams
• The Toronto Raptors come into the Big Apple to face the 5-1 New York Knicks.
• Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies look to defend their home court against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets