Dr. A's Fantasy Basketball Weekend Recap: Morant Suspended, Clips Get a Win, Schedule Advantages + More

Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo made headlines for the wrong reasons, the Clippers got a huge win against Memphis on Sunday night, the Knicks are cruising and several playoff races got more interesting over the weekend.

Twelve teams play four times in the upcoming week, while five teams only play twice. There should be some interesting free agents and player moves to be made as fantasy managers aim for the playoffs in one of the most important weeks of the season. 

Ja Morant's leave of absence

Ja Morant is taking at least a couple games off after being caught on video brandishing a gun at a nightclub over the weekend. He sat out Sunday's game against the Clippers and won't play on Tuesday against the Lakers, either. How long he'll be out after those two games is unclear but my guess is he'll be back sooner than later. 

But as it stands, the most games Morant will play this week is two, while it's also possible that number could end up being a zero. Memphis is hosting the Warriors on Thursday and the Mavericks on Saturday. I'm guessing Morant will not want to miss that meeting with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks and it's not like he's going through some kind of injury rehab that would keep him out. 

Coach Taylor Jenkins spoke at length about Morant's absence on Sunday and is still suggesting there's no timeline on his return. The incident has also brought to light other stories of Morant, his crew and guns and I'm starting to think Morant might miss this whole week. 

If you can still somehow get a hold of Tyus Jones, do it. Jones went off on Sunday night with 25 points, 12 assists, five steals and five three-pointers on 9-of-14 shooting and should be ready for another big line on Tuesday night with Morant officially not playing. 

Jones wasn't the only Grizz player to go off, as Desmond Bane added 30 points, four rebounds, six assists and four triples, and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points, two steals, two blocks and two three- pointers, but also just five rebounds (which cost yours truly). 

The Grizzlies took over the game in the third quarter when they shot the lights out and scored 51 points but then got outworked in the fourth, losing the stanza 38-17 (as well as the game) to the Clippers. Memphis put on an impressive show without Morant but it could quickly be forgotten after wasting it all in the fourth quarter. 

Clippers snap five-game losing streak

The Clippers got a big fourth quarter out of both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George after giving up a ridiculous 51 points in the third, and Russell Westbrook finally got his first win as a Clipper. This was also their first win since the All-Star break and they finally snapped their streak of bad luck, that included the team plane being struck by lightning earlier in the week. 

George and Leonard scored every point during a 17-0 run that gave the Clippers a late lead and the win. George finished with 42 points (with 11 rebounds) for his first 40-point game since scoring 45 against the Pacers on New Year's Eve, and just his fourth 30-point game since then, as well. Leonard had 34 points and 10 rebounds, and the duo combined to hit 27-of-28 free throws on the night. 

Eric Gordon came through with 17 points and three three-pointers off the bench and backup center Mason Plumlee added 15 points and nine boards in 21 minutes. Those two combined to hit 13-of-15 shots in the win. Plumlee is averaging 13.3 points and 12.3 rebounds on 75% shooting in three March games although he started a couple of those while Ivica Zubac was out with a calf injury.

Zubac was back on Sunday and had six points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. Gordon has offered some instant offense off the Clippers' bench and is averaging 18 points and 2.7 triples over his last three, meaning both he and Plumlee might be decent pickups for the upcoming week. The only problem is that this is a two-game week for the Clippers, while several teams play four times. 

Four-game week possible pickups

If you're looking for a four-game player, the Hawks, Nets, Hornets, Cavs, Pistons, Heat, Pelicans, Knicks, Thunder, Sixers, Blazers and Wizards all go four times this week. The two-game teams are the Bulls, Timberwolves, Suns and Spurs, in addition to the Clippers. 

Possible pickups from the four-game teams include: De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey from the Hawks. All three of them put up solid numbers against the Heat on Saturday. 

Charlotte's Mark Williams, Kelly Oubre and Dennis Smith should all be rostered at this point, along with Brooklyn's Mikal Bridges, who scored 33 points against Charlotte on Sunday. 

Marvin Bagley stayed hot for the Pistons with 20 points and 13 boards on Sunday and James Wiseman has been starting for them, but only had three points in that one. But he also had nine rebounds, a steal and two blocks, making him worth a look this week. 

RJ Barrett had 29 points and 11 rebounds on Friday for the Knicks and Immanuel Quickley stayed hot with 38 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a win over the Celtics. Don't look now, but the Knicks have won nine straight games with a pair of recent wins over Boston and play four times this week. Barrett and Quickley should be rostered everywhere at this point.  

Despite the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his 38 points on Sunday, Jalen Williams still managed to get loose for 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks and four three-pointers in Sunday's win over the Jazz. He's another player who shouldn't be available on waivers anywhere right now. 

Damian Lillard scored 41 in Sunday's win over the Magic while Jerami Grant added 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists, a steal, two blocks and three triples in the win, Cam Reddish had 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two three-pointers, and Drew Eubanks, starting for Jusuf Nurkic, added 13 points and six rebounds. Matisse Thybulle has also been starting and playing well for the Blazers, giving fantasy managers some interesting free agent options in Portland with their four-game week. 

Deni Avdija came off the bench for 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and two three-pointers on Sunday and while I don't trust him, he's at least worth a look entering a four-game week. Daniel Gafford is also worth a shot despite just eight points, six rebounds and nothing else on Sunday. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo's shady triple-double

Antetokounmpo pulled a fast one on Sunday when he held the ball late in a game that was essentially over and then threw it off the Wizards' basket near the buzzer to grab his 10th rebound of the night. That secured a triple-double and had betting ramifications as his rebounds over/under was set at 9.5.

While Giannis did not go full Ricky Davis and throw the ball off of his own rim, it will be interesting to see if the NBA rescinds his final rebound at some point on Monday. 

NBA standings and which teams are jockeying for position

So there's the wrap-up of what you may have missed in fantasy this weekend. In terms of reality, the Knicks are just a game behind the Cavaliers for the No. 4 seed in the East, the Bucks have opened up a 1.5 game lead over the Celtics, the Nets are sitting tight as the No. 6 seed and the Heat, Hawks, Raptors and Wizards are all set for a play-in situation right now, with the Pacers and Bulls still trying to get into one. 

In the West, the Nuggets hold a 6.0 game lead over the Grizzlies. The streaking Suns, who have now won three straight games, are in the No. 4 spot and the No. 6 Timberwolves are a ½ game up on the No. 7 Mavericks. The Mavs, Clippers, Pelicans and Jazz are all in a play-in situation currently while the No. 11 Lakers, No. 12 Thunder and No. 13 Blazers are all right there. 

The last month of the season is going to be fun to watch as all of these teams are going to be jockeying for a playoff berth or positioning and several teams playing four games this week are going to have a chance to make a move.