Jan. 5-7 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Paolo Banchero, Lauri Markkanen, Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges, RJ Barrett and More

Discussing some of the top player performances in the NBA from Jan. 5-7.

More strong NBA performances took place over the weekend. 

Let’s take a look at the top performances from the past three days from a fantasy basketball perspective.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy basketball trade analyzer to break down trade scenarios.

Sunday’s Best Players

Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges led the NBA on Sunday with 42 points. He made 15 field goals, including four 3-pointers, and eight free throws.

Bridges also had four rebounds and three assists in the team’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s up to 73rd on the FantasySP trade value charts.

Portland’s Anfernee Simons finished with 38 points, 11 assists and four rebounds in the same contest. He’s a spot behind Bridges right now, but his stock is down right now after missing a good chunk of action.

Toronto Raptors’ RJ Barrett finished with 37 points, six rebounds and assists and one steal in a win over the Golden State Warriors. It was his first time over 20 points in a Raptors’ uniform. Now would be the time to buy stock in Barrett.

Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray also had 37 points in his team’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Murray also posted five rebounds, four assists and one steal and block.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards totaled 36 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and steals and a block in his team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks. 

Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero stayed hot and went for 35 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in a win over the Atlanta Hawks. 

Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac posted 22 points and 19 rebounds in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points, 19 boards and five assists in the team’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen went for 29 points and 16 boards in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Saturday’s Top Outings

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo led the league with 48 points, but the team lost to the Houston Rockets. He was 16-of-25 overall and made 15 free throws.

Giannis also had 17 rebounds, two assists and a block. He’s jumped to second in the player ratings.

New York Knicks’ Julius Randle tallied 39 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal in a win over the Washington Wizards. It marked his third time over 30 points in the past four games, but he only scored eight points in the other contest.

Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum recorded 38 points, 13 boards, six assists and a steal in a win over the Indiana Pacers. Tatum sits eighth on the trade value charts and continues to lead Boston.

A surprise scorer on the night was Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen, who went for 33 points in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Markkanen also had 13 boards and one assist and block.

Houston’s Alperen Sengun posted 21 points, 11 boards and four assists in the win over Milwaukee. Washington’s Deni Avdija had 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in the loss to New York. Utah’s Collin Sexton was the only player to reach double digits in assists - he had 22 points and 10 boards against Philly.

Friday’s Standouts

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a league-high 34 points in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. He was 11-of-19 overall, and made two triples and 10 free throws.

SGA also had nine rebounds and six assists. He’s sixth on the trade value charts right now.

Banchero tallied 32 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals in Orlando’s win over the Denver Nuggets. He made 15 free throws on the night.

Phoenix’s Grayson Allen made nine 3-pointers and scored 31 points in a win over the Miami Heat. Allen also had four assists and rebounds and two blocks.

Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double in the team’s win over Toronto. He had 24 points, 15 boards and 11 assists, but did turn the ball over six times.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton assisted on 18 field goals during the team’s win over Atlanta. Haliburton also had 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block, while turning the ball over twice.

Memphis’ Marcus Smart made eight triples and totaled 29 points and five assists in a win over the Lakers. Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane made five 3-pointers and finished the game with 24 points, 13 assists and five rebounds. Orlando’s Jalen Suggs knocked down seven 3-pointers on his way to a 27-point performance, while also pulling down four rebounds.

New York’s Josh Hart accumulated 10 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in the team’s win over Philly. 

Rookies Who Delivered

Fourteen rookies scored in double figures on Friday night. Portland’s Scoot Henderson and OKC’s Chet Holmgren led the way with 17 points each. Henderson also had 10 assists and three boards, while Holmgren had six rebounds and three assists.

Portland’s Duop Reath also had a nice showing, tallying 16 points and seven boards.

Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a losing effort. Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis totaled 11 points and nine rebounds in a winning effort. Teammate Brandin Podziemski added 11 points and five rebounds and assists.

A lot less rookies played on Saturday. Houston’s Cam Whitmore looked good in the win over Milwaukee. Whitemore had 12 points and three boards in under 13 minutes of action. Teammate Amen Thompson provided four points, five assists and three rebounds. 

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three assists in the loss to Cleveland on Sunday.

Jackson-Davis tallied 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in a loss to Toronto, while Podziemski had five points, eight boards and four assists. Reath went for 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in a win over Brooklyn. 

#paolo-banchero #lauri-markkanen #marcus-smart #mikal-bridges #rj-barrett