After Wednesday’s barrage of games, there were only two games played on Thursday in the NBA. Chris Paul suffered yet another hamstring injury which meant the Miami Heat were able to rally from 16 points down. The impressive play of Derrick Jones Jr. continued for the Heat and he is a top 35 player over his last six games. Join me in going over the four teams in action and those fringe players making some noise in fantasy leagues.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe Report
Players to Add
Tyler Johnson, Derrick Jones Jr., P.J. Tucker
Players to Stream
Gerald Green, J.J. Barea
Miami Heat def. Houston Rockets 101-99
Heat
James Johnson (46%) – Watch: Johnson continues to start for the Heat but is typically playing about 20 minutes per game. The Heat have a lot of injuries at the moment and Johnson appears to be getting healthy so keep an eye on the rotations in Miami.
Tyler Johnson (36%) – Add: Johnson scored 19 points Thursday, adding four rebounds and two blocks. Goran Dragic is going to be out until the all-star break and it appears Johnson is likely to hold on to the starting spot. He doesn’t have the highest upside but is certainly worth a look if you need a point guard.
Wayne Ellington (28%) – Drop
Derrick Jones Jr. (26%) – Add: Jones was excellent once again Thursday, finishing with 15 points to go with a full line. He has been doing a bit of everything over his past six games and is the 34th ranked player in that time. There is a chance his production could fall away but right now he is worth grabbing in standard formats.
Rockets
P.J. Tucker (48%) – Add: Despite some efficiency issues, Tucker had another strong game Thursday, tallying 14 points and seven rebounds. He has now scored in double-digits in four straight games while also averaging 3.5 triples.
Brandon Knight (17%) – Drop: Chris Paul suffered another hamstring injury which is going to mean some extended playing time for a number of the Houston guards. Knight is probably not in a position to take on a lot of playing time and likely won’t benefit too much.
Gerald Green (12%) – Stream: Green was disappointing Thursday but looks set to take on some more responsibility in the absence of Paul. That being said, Green still really only puts up value in three-pointers and remains more of a streaming option.
Danuel House (8%) – Drop
Nene Hilario (4%) – Drop
Los Angeles Clippers def. Dallas Mavericks 125-121
Clippers
Patrick Beverley (47%) – Drop: Beverley has the ability to put up some value on occasions but is more of a deep league player at this stage.
Avery Bradley (36%) – Drop
Boban Marjanovic (21%) – Drop: Unless he is announced as the starter, Marjanovic is not going to be a standard league option on most nights.
Mike Scott (7%) – Drop
Tyrone Wallace (7%) – Drop
Mavericks
J.J. Barea (44%) – Stream: Barea had 19 points to go with eight assists Thursday, turning in another solid performance. Despite not starting, Barea is still the backup point guard to own in Dallas. As long as Dennis Smith Jr. is out, Barea is worth a look if you need points and assists.
Dirk Nowitzki (37%) – Drop
Dwight Powell (23%) – Drop
Dorian Finney-Smith (22%) – Drop: Much like a number of other Maverick players, there is simply not enough playing time to go around, leaving Finney-Smith on the outside looking in.
Jalen Brunson (15%) – Drop: Brunson was outplayed by Barea and despite the starting tag, is not the point-guard to be streaming in during Smith Jr.’s absence.
Maxi Kleber (13%) – Drop
Devin Harris (7%) – Drop: In what was another typical, random performance by the veteran, Harris scored 13 points while producing very little else.
Salah Mejri (2%) – Drop
Got a question about this today’s fantasy basketball fringe report? Hit Adam up on twitter @adamking91 or give a shout out to @Fantrax
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