March 1-3 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies | Duop Reath, Dereck Lively II, Vasilije Micic, Keyonte George, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and More

There were a ton of big individual performances over the weekend in the NBA.

Let’s take a look at some of the better games from widely-available rookies from March 1-3. We covered other waiver wire options in a different story.

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Top Rookies

We’ll start this conversation by discussing Portland Trail Blazers’ Duop Reath, who is rostered in 15% of leagues. 

Reath started in both of the team’s wins over the Memphis Grizzlies this weekend. He had 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and blocks and one assist across 23 minutes on Friday before tallying 12 points, six rebounds, three blocks and one assist across 24 minutes on Saturday.

Portland was missing a few players in each game, which opened up the starting chance for Reath. He had only been playing around 12 minutes a game for a couple weeks, which obviously limits his fantasy ceiling. When given the chance to start, he’s a streaming option in deeper leagues and dynasties. I’d like to see his minutes in another game where the team is close to full health before making the call on whether or not to add him otherwise.

Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, rostered in 74% of leagues, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks across 37 minutes in the team’s Friday loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had eight points, six boards, three steals and one block and assist across 33 minutes in the team’s Sunday loss to the Orlando Magic.

Thompson does a nice job of filling the stat sheet most games, but his scoring remains pretty inconsistent. I’d try to play matchups with him in standard leagues, because he gets plenty of minutes to be a good fantasy asset. For the long haul though, you should probably look elsewhere for fantasy assets in standard leagues, at least until his scoring increases.

Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II, owned in 65% of leagues, only missed one shot over two games this weekend. He had 15 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist and block across 23 minutes in the team’s Friday loss to the Boston Celtics. He finished with four points, three boards and one block across 18 minutes in a Sunday loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Lively hasn’t topped 24 minutes in any of the seven games back with the team (after an injury kept him out seven games). That limits his fantasy ceiling, which is unfortunate, because he’s a highly efficient offensive player most nights. Until his minutes go up though, I’d look elsewhere for fantasy help in standard leagues.

Portland’s Kris Murray, owned in 3% of leagues, recorded 14 points, three steals and two assists and rebounds across 24 minutes in the team’s Friday win. He had five boards and two assists and points across 39 minutes in Saturday’s win.

Murray is getting enough playing time to be a decent fantasy asset, but his scoring inconsistency is going to keep him from being owned in more leagues. He’s a guy to keep an eye on, but for now, I’m looking elsewhere for fantasy help.

Charlotte Hornets’ Vasilije Micic, rostered in 12% of leagues, finished with 13 points, seven assists and two steals across 28 minutes in the team’s Friday loss to the 76ers. Micic had 12 points, six assists and two steals and rebounds across 36 minutes in the team’s Sunday loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Micic has gotten some decent playing time of late, but these two outings were some of his best games yet. Since joining the Hornets, he’s averaging 8.7 points, 5.9 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 22.9 minutes played. He’s a streaming option in deeper leagues and dynasties for the time being.

Toronto’s Gradey Dick, owned in 23% of leagues, tallied 12 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal across 27 minutes in the team’s Friday loss to the Golden State Warriors. He had 11 points, four rebounds and one steal across 24 minutes in the team’s Sunday win over the Hornets.

Dick has been a solid contributor over the past several weeks. His scoring is a little too inconsistent to roster/play him in more leagues, but in some deeper leagues and dynasties, Dick is a pretty solid option right now.

Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George totaled 31 points and four rebounds and assists across 43 minutes in the team’s Saturday loss to the Miami Heat. He’s owned in 68% of leagues.

George isn’t going to score this much every night, but he’s pretty consistently in double figures, with a decent amount of assists most nights. He should be owned in all deep leagues and dynasties now, and makes for a pretty solid fantasy asset in standard leagues too. I’d at least stream him for his next game to see if he can stay hot from a scoring perspective - just the option of these big games makes him a bit better option than you might originally think.

Memphis’s GG Jackson II, owned in 31% of leagues, went for 11 points and a rebound across 23 minutes in the team’s Friday loss. He then had 17 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist across 31 minutes in the Saturday loss.

It hasn’t always been super efficient, but he’s scored in double figures in three straight games and 11 of the past 12 contests. He doesn’t always fill up the stat sheet, but I’m pretty surprised to see his own percentage where it currently is. I’d imagine it rises again in the near future.

For the time being though, I like adding and playing him in deeper leagues and dynasties, while looking elsewhere for help in standard leagues.

Portland’s Toumani Camara had one solid game and one down game over the weekend, Camara, owned in 6% of leagues, recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and one assist, steal and block across 36 minutes on Saturday. He tallied four points, seven boards and one assist and steal across 21 minutes on Friday.

The inconsistent showings are a sample of what most of Camara’s season looks like. He plays enough minutes most nights to be a decent fantasy asset, but there’s also nights where he doesn’t even play half the game, which obviously limits what he can do from a fantasy perspective. Outside of really deep leagues, I’d look elsewhere for fantasy help - he could be a streaming option in a pinch.

Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., owned in 34% of leagues, contributed 12 points, four rebounds and one assists and steal across 29 minutes in the team’s Saturday win over Utah.

Jaquez had only scored 10 points over the previous two games, so it was a nice showing for him on Saturday. He’s playing just under 30 minutes most nights, which is plenty of time to make a difference, but with so many other scorers on the team, Jaquez has been inconsistent with his point totals since returning from an injury. 

You could try playing matchups with him, but you’d probably be better off finding a different fantasy asset in standard leagues. I still think he’s a good option in deeper leagues and dynasties - if there’s a more consistent option out there, I’d also understand wanting to move on.