Jan. 8 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways, Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options: Kevin Durant, Chet Holmgren, Jaime Jaquez Jr., T.J. McConnell and More

Monday’s slate of NBA games delivered more big individual performances.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest performances, and also highlight some rookies and other less-known players that could be available in your league.

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Top Performers

Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown scored 40 points to lead the league. He was 17-of-26 overall, 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line and 3-of-5 at the free-throw line.

Brown also had five rebounds and two assists, but turned the ball over five times in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. Brown currently sits 46th on the FantasySP trade value charts, but is capable of these big scoring nights every so often.

Charlotte Hornets’ Terry Rozier also had a big game in a losing effort. He went for 39 points, eight assists and three rebounds in a loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Rozier has been on a tear of late, scoring 30+ points in three of the past four games. His scoring will take a dip when LaMelo Ball returns, so if you want to cash in on Rozier’s fantasy stock, now would probably be the time to do that.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in a huge performance to help the team to a victory over the Washington Wizards. SGA tallied 32 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. There’s not much else to say about Gilgeous-Alexander - he’s a fantasy stud every night.

Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet went for 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two blocks in a loss to the Miami Heat. VanVleet now has three games over 30 points, and they’ve all come in the past three weeks.

Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant posted 30 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block during a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s now topped 30 points on 15 occasions this season.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but the game ended in a loss to the Utah Jazz. It was the fourth triple-double for Giannis this season, and three of them have happened over the past three weeks.

Washington’s Kyle Kuzma totaled 22 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the loss to OKC. The 15 boards were a new season high.

Top Rookies

A handful of rookies enjoyed strong nights on the court.

OKC’s Chet Holmgren went for 31 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks in the win over Washington. 

It was the third time this season that Holmgren has scored over 30 points. He’s not always going to score as well as he did on Monday, but he’s absolutely a player I’m trying to target in all formats, especially dynasty leagues.

Utah’s Keyonte George made four 3-pointers on his way to a 19-point outing against the Bucks. He also had six boards and four assists.

George is owned in just 28% of leagues according to our charts. Over his past seven games, he’s averaging 23.1 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and assists and 0.3 steals. He’s one to definitely keep an eye on, and should be added in dynasty leagues with decent sized rosters.

Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. tallied 14 points, four rebounds and assists and one steal on Monday. 

He continues to play big minutes for the Heat, and he’s scored in double figures in just about every game (missing it twice, by a combined three points) dating back to mid-November. He’s currently owned in 79% of leagues, and that number should keep going up with more solid play.

Charlotte’s Nick Smith Jr. accumulated 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in the team’s loss to Chicago. 

Smith has scored in double figures four times over the past eight games. He’s barely owned in any leagues, but is one to keep an eye on in case he continues to deliver consistently.

Houston’s Cam Whitmore had a solid outing, tallying 11 points, six rebounds and a steal. 

Whitmore is another guy barely owned in leagues, but he’s gotten between 12-17 minutes over the past four games and responded with 11 or 12 points each night. If he can consistently add in rebounds like he did on Monday, he’d be a solid fantasy asset, especially in deeper leagues.

Waiver Wire Options

Utah’s Kris Dunn only scored five points on Monday, but he also tallied 13 assists, four assists, two blocks and a steal across 24 minutes played. His big assist numbers are definitely going to catch the eyes of fantasy owners. He’s averaging just 17.1 minutes, but has been over 20 minutes in three straight - if he can keep those numbers up, he’d be a decent fantasy asset.

Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith all had solid games on Monday. I bring them up as a trio because of the injury to Tyrese Haliburton - Hali could miss extended time with a hamstring injury. Mathurin is owned in 67% of leagues, while McConnell is at 43% and Nesmith is at 46%.

Mathurin finished with 26 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. He’s been in double figures in eight straight games now and he does enough else on the court to warrant an add, especially if Haliburton misses a few games.

Nesmith went for 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block on Monday. He’s been more streaky as a scorer, with just two games in double figures over the past five contests, but he should get more opportunities with Haliburton out.

McConnell could see the biggest increase in minutes, seeing as he’s the backup point guard to Hali. McConnell had 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals across 25 minutes on Monday. He should be a solid fantasy asset while Haliburton is out, mostly because of his assist numbers, which should go up.

Chicago’s Andre Drummond has retained a starting role despite Nikola Vucevic returning from injury. He’s only played 23 minutes in the two games since Vucevic’s return, but he’s put up solid numbers in both contests. Drummond had 21 points and 15 boards on Monday, and is still available in 33% of leagues.

Milwaukee’s Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers on his way to a 17-point outing on Monday. He also had four boards, two assists and a steal. He was relied upon a bit more as a scorer with Damian Lillard out, so take this performance with a grain of salt.

Miami’s Duncan Robinson posted 14 points, seven assists, three boards and a steal on Monday. It was a nice bounceback performance after a four-point game the previous contest. If Robinson can consistently add assists to his game, he’d be a much better fantasy option - until then, it’s all about scoring with him, and he’s had some ups and downs. I’d hold off on adding him, as the Heat were playing without several guys on Monday, including Jimmy Butler.

Miami’s Nikola Jovic totaled six points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals and blocks across 21 minutes played. He’s played 20+ minutes in three straight games and has filled the box score up pretty well, with Monday being his best outing. 

Charlotte’s Nick Richards finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and an assist across 39 minutes played. His minutes were great, but his numbers were pretty unspectacular. He’s worth keeping an eye on, but with Ball coming back, his scoring chances are probably only going to decrease.