Dec. 20 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Joel Embiid, Fred VanVleet, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis and More

Wednesday’s slate of NBA games produced another round of incredible individual performances.

Let’s break things down and discuss some of the best outings.

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Joel Embiid Dominates in Win

Embiid is in the conversation for MVP again this season, and delivered another monster showing on Wednesday. Embiid hit 17-of-25 shots, including a 17-for-18 clip at the free throw line to post 51 points in the Philadelphia 76ers win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Embiid also recorded 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block across 36 minutes played. He only committed two turnovers.

It was already the second time this season that Embiid has reached 50 points. He’s topped 20 points in every game he’s played this season and has 17 games with over 30 points now.

Embiid now has 20 double-doubles. He’s simply one of the best fantasy players in the league, and there’s no reason these kinds of big games can’t keep happening fairly often.

Tyrese Maxey also Shines for 76ers

While Embiid stole a lot of the headlines, Maxey also went off for Philly. Maxey made half of his 24 field goal attempts, five 3-pointers and all six of his free throws to tally 35 points.

Maxey was fairly limited otherwise, tallying five assists and one rebound. He also committed five turnovers.

While it wasn’t Maxey’s finest showing, fantasy owners have to still be thrilled with the point production from the guard. Maxey has now topped 30 points on eight occasions - he’s only scored under 20 points in five contests.

While he will not lead the team in scoring too many nights, Maxey is one of the best No. 2 options in the league and is a big-time fantasy asset on his scoring prowess alone.

Fred VanVleet Does it Again

VanVleet was part of one of these takeaways stories earlier in the week and is back again after a huge double-double in the Houston Rockets’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

VanVleet recorded 32 points after making half of his 20 field goal attempts, three triples and all nine of his free throws. He also had 15 assists, while tallying four boards and one steal. He only committed two turnovers.

He’s scored over 20 points in each of the team’s past three games. He’s got at least six assists over the past five contests, including a whopping 32 the past two contests.

Trae Young Gets the Win

Young wasn’t quite at VanVleet’s numbers, but his Hawks ended up with the win. Young went for 30 points, 14 assists, four boards and one steal. He committed four turnovers.

Young made 10 of his 18 attempts overall, including a 5-for-8 mark at the 3-point line. 

The talented guard has scored 30 or more points in five straight games. He’s also finished with double-digit assist numbers in all those contests.

Kristaps Porzingis Stuffs Stat Sheet

Porzingis helped the Boston Celtics to a win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. The big man had 24 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and two assists, while committing three turnovers.

Porzingis has missed a handful of games of late, so maybe a strong showing like this can help bump his trade value up a bit if fantasy owners are looking to move on. He is capable of these kinds of well-rounded games, but he’s also missed seven games already this season and has dealt with injuries issues in the past.

The FantasySP trade value charts have Porzingis up to 63rd, so if you are looking to move on from him, check out the charts there to find a similar fantasy asset you could trade for.

3-Point Barrage

The 3-point shot is a huge part of today’s game and was again on Wednesday night. Ten players made five or more 3-pointers on the night.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Sam Merrill made eight triples, which was the most in the league for the day. He finished with 27 points across 30 minutes played.

Boston’s Derrick White and Payton Pritchard both made six 3-pointers. White only missed three triples and finished with 28 points, while Pritchard ended up with 20 points. White also had seven assists and three blocks, bumping his trade value up to 61st.

Sacramento’s De'Aaron Fox made six triples and finished with 29 points. He also had three steals.

Other Notable Performances

Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. went off for 34 points in the team’s loss to Atlanta. He made 8-of-14 shots overall, 4-of-7 shots from deep and all 14 free throws. He also had 13 rebounds and four blocks. He’s still available in 10% of leagues, and this kind of performance should move that number up close to 100.

Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic tallied 31 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the team’s win over the Toronto Raptors. He sits third on the FSP trade value charts after a few “down” games, but maybe Wednesday’s showing can get him back to his elite self.

Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard posted 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the team’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. He’s scored 30 or more points eight times now for the season.

Toronto’s Scottie Barnes continued his big season with a 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist showing in the loss to Denver. It was Barnes’ third 30-point game of the season, and he’s topped 20 points 16 times now. It was his 13th double-double.

Dallas’ Luka Doncic narrowly missed a triple-double after posting 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the loss to Los Angeles.

Brooklyn Nets’ Day'Ron Sharpe had quite the stat line for only playing 18 minutes against the New York Knicks. He pulled down 15 rebounds to go along with his nine points and three assists. He only averages 15.9 minutes per game, but is at 7 rebounds a game - he’s reached double-digit boards in eight contests. With a bit more playing time, he could be a pretty decent fantasy asset.

One final guy I want to mention here is Miami Heats’ Tyler Herro. In his second game back from injury, Herro tallied 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Herro has scored 53 points in his first two games back.

Top Rookie Showings

There were a handful of rookies that put together nice outings on Wednesday.

Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller recorded 21 points, six rebounds and three assists in the team’s loss to the Indiana Pacers. It was Miller’s fifth game this season at or above 20 points.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Craig Porter Jr. finished the night with six points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks across 24 minutes played in a win over the Utah Jazz. It was the fourth-most minutes he’s played this season, and after stuffing the stat sheet, he could have earned himself some more minutes moving forward, although it came in a game that Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell both were inactive for.

Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. totaled 10 points and three rebounds across 33 minutes played. Even with Herro back, Jacuez has held onto a significant role. He’s still unowned in about 30% of leagues, so he might be available in your league.

Denver’s Julian Strawther nearly played 14 minutes, tallying seven points and two steals. His playing time has dipped a bit of late, but he’s one to keep an eye on in case of an injury to a forward ahead of him. 

Orlando Magic’s Anthony Black played 21 minutes in the team’s loss to the Heat. Black tallied four points and four assists. He’s getting a decent amount of minutes, but simply isn’t taking enough shots to be a real strong fantasy asset right now.