Dr. A's Fantasy Basketball News, Notes and Takeaways from the Weekend

While it's possible some of you took a break from the NBA and checked out for the weekend to watch football, celebrate the new year or just enjoy your time off and your family, it was nearly impossible to not hear about Luka Doncic and his heroics. But in case you somehow did miss it, here's what's been happening in Dallas lately. 

For starters, the Mavs have won six straight games, but they've almost all been close games, with four of those margins of victories checking in between one and six points. In fact, they needed another monster game from Luka to hold off the Spurs on Saturday when they won by just a single point despite another 50-burger from Doncic. 

Speaking of Luka burgers, here are his numbers over his last five games: 45.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 2.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 4.0 three-pointers, 60% FG, 75% FT, 50% 3PT. He also has scored at least 50 or 60 points in three of those and now has as many 50-point games in the last five days as Dwyane Wade had throughout his entire career

 What he's doing is scary and there are a lot of people whispering (or shouting) that he's going to break his body down by trying to do everything by himself on a hopelessly undermanned Mavs team. It's almost as if he recently decided that he was tired of losing and that it was time to start taking over games and doing whatever he had to do to get Ws. While I agree that he cannot keep this pace up, I'm also not that concerned about it. Let's not forget that despite being in the league for five years, he's still just 23 years old. 

The highlight of Luka's season happened to fall on my birthday when he had the historic line of 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists to beat the Knicks in overtime on Dec. 27. He's the only NBA player to ever record such a stat line and when I woke up in the morning my Luka 1 Imaginarium shoes had arrived. As someone who has been screaming the greatness of Luka from rooftops since before he was drafted, it was a pretty cool turn of events. I had planned on actually wearing the shoes but I think I'll just leave them in the box and see what happens.

In any case, it was quite a week for Luka and his fantasy managers and I can't wait to see what he does this week. Is this a sell-high moment for him? Yeah, it is, but I doubt anyone who is riding this wave will have the discipline it actually takes to trade him right now. And, obviously, you'd need a ton back in return if you were going to move Luka. I can't even imagine what that trade looks like. 

• LeBron James had a season-high 47 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a win over the Hawks on Friday, making some history of his own. First of all, he did it on his 38th birthday. Secondly, he joined Michael Jordan as the only other player in history to have a line of at least 45 points, 10 rebounds and five assists at age 38 or older. As for his teammate, Anthony Davis, it sounds like his leg is feeling better and the pain has subsided, but he's still not due back for another 10 days or so. 
• Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 20 rebounds on the same night, CJ McCollum scored 42 and Joel Embiid had 37 points and eight rebounds in a loss to the Pelicans. Jordan Poole scored 41 points on Friday night. 
• The 2023 NBA MVP race is in full gear and it's going to be pretty fun to watch it play out over the rest of the season. Here's how the latest odds stack up, per FanDuel:
  • Luka Doncic +280 (Mavs in 4th, 3.5 games back in West)
  • Jayson Tatum +350 (Celtics in 1st, up 1.5 games in East)
  • Nikola Jokic +440 (Nuggets in 1st, up 1.0 games in West)
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo +420 (Bucks in 3rd, 2.5 games back in East)
  • Kevin Durant +850 (Nets in 2nd, 1.5 games back in East)
  • Joel Embiid +1300 (Sixers in 5th, 4.0 games back in East)
  • Zion Williamson +3000 (Pelicans in 3rd, 1.0 games back in West)
• I still like the idea of riding Durant here, and lost in all the Luka hoopla is the fact the Nets have rattled off 10 straight wins. Let's not forget they got off to a dreadful 1-5 start this season but have gone 23-7 since then. When the Nets are happy and healthy I'm not sure there's a team in the league who can stop them in a seven-game series. But the fact there are that many solid MVP candidates this far into the season and they're all in fourth place or better in their conference means this is going to be an epic race. 
• On the other side of the tracks are four teams in a tight race for the No. 1 draft pick -- and rights to Victor Wembanyama. The Rockets, Hornets and Pistons all have 10 wins, while the Spurs have 12 and the Magic are sitting on 13 wins. But keep your eye on the Thunder, who currently sit on 15 wins. No one knows how to tank it up better than Sam Presti and he still has a chance to shut his whole team down some time in the next several weeks. And if you're wondering if it's time to sell high on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the answer is always "yes".

Waiver Wire Fodder

Immanuel Quickley: IQ had a  big weekend, scoring 36 on Thursday and racking up 27 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and four triples on Saturday night. He's now scored in double figures in seven straight games and while his value is tied directly to the health of Jalen Brunson (hip), Quickley may have finally climbed into Tom Thibodeau's psyche and could stay there. 

The good news is that even before Brunson was injured, Quickley was playing well, scoring in double figures in four straight games, two of which topped 20 points. So even if Brunson finally returns to action on Monday night, Quickley might still be worth a look. Unfortunately, the Knicks only play three times this week. 

Daniel Gafford: This one really snuck on me even though he's been playing decently since early December. Gafford has been starting and is averaging 14 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks on 76 percent shooting over his last three games. Washington literally has the worst schedule possible with just two games this week. The good news is that means he might be left on waivers this week, but the bad news is that they don't have a four-game week again until the week starting on Jan. 30. 

Rui Hachimura: Hachimura is suddenly on fire, finishing December on a four-game, double-digit scoring tear and kicking January off with a 26-point game. He's averaging 21.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 3-pointers on 60 percent shooting over his last five games and the Wizards just happen to be on a five-game winning streak. It's not a coincidence but, unfortunately, he has the same horrible schedule that Gafford does. Either way, Hachimura should be rostered if he's still available in your league. 

Jeremy Sochan: I've found that on nights when I use Sochan in DFS he does nothing, and on nights when I ignore him, he goes off. He had 20 points, six rebounds and two three-pointers on New Year's Eve and has scored in double figures in three straight and in six of his last seven games. He's averaging 14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.9 blocks and 0.6 3-pointers over that stretch with 49 percent shooting and 70 percent free throw shooting. But over his last five games the free throws come in at 74 percent. The Spurs play four games this week and next week, so Sochan is worth grabbing in many leagues.  

Jalen Williams: Williams has scored in double figures in six straight games and finished December averaging 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 0.9 three-pointers on 50 percent shooting for the month. Free throws are a concern at 68.6 percent for the month, but as the Thunder start to get serious about tanking, Williams' role should be on the upswing, just as his last six games indicate. He averaged 30.3 minutes for the month and that number could actually rise going forward. And the Thunder play four times in each of the next two weeks. It's time to add him if he's still available in your league. 

Injury Updates

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) - Game-time decision Tuesday 
• Desmond Bane (toe) - Questionable Wednesday
• RJ Barrett (finger) - Likely out for the week
• Bradley Beal (hamstring) - Game-time decision Tuesday
• Devin Booker (groin) - Out indefinitely
• Jalen Brunson (hip) - Game-time decision Monday
• Jimmy Butler (knee) - Game-time decision Monday
• Clint Capela (calf) - Out Monday
• Stephen Curry (shoulder) - Week-to-week
• Anthony Davis (foot) - Week-to-week
• Joel Embiid (back) - Game-time decision Monday
• Daniel Gafford (ankle) - Game-time decision Tuesday
• Darius Garland (thumb) - Game-time decision Monday
• De'Andre Hunter (ankle) - Game-time decision Monday
• Brandon Ingram (toe) - Out Monday, questionable for Wednesday
• LeBron James (ankle) - Game-time decision Monday
• Cameron Johnson (knee) - Out Monday, week-to-week
• Jonathan Kuminga (foot) - Out Monday, day-to-day
• Caleb Martin (quad) - Game-time decision Monday
• Khris Middleton (knee) - Game-time decision Tuesday
• Evan Mobley (ankle) - Game-time decision Monday
• Jamal Murray (knee) - Game-time decision Monday
• Jusuf Nurkic (illness) - Game-time decision Monday
• Kelly Oubre (hand) - Out Monday, questionable Wednesday
• Cameron Payne (foot) - Game-time decision Monday
• Alperen Sengun (back) - Game-time decision Monday
• Landry Shamet (Achilles) - Game-time decision Monday
• Jalen Suggs (ankle) - Game-time decision Wednesday
• Karl-Anthony Towns (calf) - Week-to-week
• Fred VanVleet (back) - Game-time decision Monday
• Devin Vassell (knee) - Game-time decision Monday

Be sure to check the full, up-to-the-minute RotoWire injury report prior to setting lineups on Monday afternoon. 

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