Christmas day saw five games in the NBA including the Los Angles Lakers thumping the Golden State Warriors despite losing LeBron James to a groin injury. Ivica Zubac stepped up once again in the absence of JaVale McGee, putting up his third strong game in a row. I’ll take a closer look at all five games and if there are any players that could help your team out as we head in 2019.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe
Players to stream
Austin Rivers
Nerlens Noel
Ivica Zubac
Kyle Korver
Milwaukee Bucks def. New York Knicks 109-95
Bucks
George Hill (34%) – Drop: Despite playing 28 minutes Tuesday, the veteran simply doesn’t have the production to warrant a roster spot.
Donte DiVincenzo (18%) – Drop
Thon Maker (14%) – Drop: Make matched his season-high with 12 points while adding a pair of blocks. His playing time tends to increase in blowout games, meaning his production here should be viewed as his ceiling.
Sterling Brown (10%) – Drop
D.J. Wilson (9%) – Drop
Tony Snell (9%) – Drop
Knicks
Trey Burke (39%) – Drop
Allonzo Trier (31%) – Watch: Trier returned after missing seven straight games with a hamstring injury, finishing with eight points on 4-of-10 shooting. Trier has shown the ability to score off the bench and given the Knicks are looking to develop their young players, he is worth watching.
Damyean Dotson (24%) – Drop
Luke Kornet (6%) – Drop: Kornet has seen some additional run of late but offers very little outside of limited scoring and rebounding. As soon as Mitchell Robinson returns, Kornet could slide out of the rotation.
Houston Rockets def. Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109
Rockets
Austin Rivers (21%) – Stream: Rivers played 31 minutes in his debut for the Rockets, finishing with 10 points including two triples. Rivers has the ability to score in bunches when given the playing time and it appears as though that could be the case here. Until Chris Paul returns, Rivers is worth a look if you need points and threes, although there is some obvious risk attached.
Gerald Green (13%) – Drop: Green can be used for streaming three-pointers but it appears as though Austin Rivers could cut into that opportunity.
Danuel House (8%) – Watch: House started Tuesday and managed to contribute across the board, albeit in low volume. He should be a big part of the rotation, at least until Chris Paul returns, and is worth watching to see if he can put a couple of decent games together.
Nene Hilario (4%) – Drop
Thunder
Nerlens Noel (35%) – Stream: Noel had four blocks and one steal in just 11 minutes Tuesday, thus emphasizing his streaming potential.
Hamidou Diallo (13%) – Drop
Patrick Patterson (9%) – Drop
Terrance Ferguson (8%) – Drop
Abdel Nader (1%) – Drop
Boston Celtics def. Philadelphia 76ers 121-114 (OT)
Celtics
Daniel Theis (14%) – Watch: As long as Al Horford is healthy, Theis is likely not going to see enough consistent playing time to hold value.
76ers
Wilson Chandler (19%) – Drop: Despite 15 points Tuesday, Chandler is simply too far down in the pecking order to put up consistent production and can be left on the waivers.
T.J. McConnell (18%) – Drop
Mike Muscala (18%) – Drop
Landry Shamet (16%) – Drop: Shamet has cooled recently, having now scored no more than seven points in four of his past six games. He will likely get things going again and could have some streaming value but at this stage, owners can move on.
Furkan Korkmaz (12%) – Drop
Los Angeles Lakers def. Golden State Warriors 127-101
Lakers
Ivica Zubac (25%) – Stream: Zubac picked up his third straight start Tuesday, torching the Warriors for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Across his three stars he is averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks, all while shooting over 75 percent from the field. As soon as JaVale McGee returns, Zubac will likely lose a heap of value but until then, he is worth streaming in.
Lance Stephenson (20%) – Drop
Mortiz Wagner (15%) – Drop
Tyson Chandler (14%) – Drop
Svi Mykhailiuk (12%) – Drop
Warriors
Jordan Bell (41%) – Drop
Kevon Looney (27%) – Drop
Jonas Jerebko (19%) – Drop: Jerebko remains the one Warriors backup who could have some value but at this stage, his playing time is far too inconsistent.
Andre Iguodala (16%) – Drop: Iguodala dropped a season-high 23 points Tuesday to lead all Warriors scorers. Owners should not get too excited about this performance as the game was a blowout and the production should be viewed as more of an outlier.
Quinn Cook (14%) – Drop
Alfonzo McKinnie (9%) – Drop
Shaun Livingston (6%) – Drop
Damion Lee (4%) – Drop
Utah Jazz def. Portland Trail Blazers 117-96
Jazz
Dante Exum (18%) – Drop: Exum scored 15 points Tuesday, adding four assists in a solid effort. There is certainly some upside there for Exum but he would require an injury to Ricky Rubio to receive sufficient playing time in order to have value.
Kyle Korver (16%) – Stream: Korver hit another two triples Tuesday and is a fringe streaming option, more likely on those days with a light schedule.
Royce O’Neale (8%) – Drop
Thabo Sefolosha (5%) – Drop
Georges Niang (3%) – Drop
Ekpe Udoh (3%) – Drop
Raul Neto (3%) – Drop
Trail Blazers
Evan Turner (36%) – Drop: Turner is really the only Trail Blazers bench player who could possibly have standard league value and even that is a stretch. He can get some points and assists on occasions but also turns the ball over almost two times per game.
Zach Collins (32%) – Drop: As long as Jusuf Nurkic is healthy, Collins simply isn’t going to see enough playing time to have consistent value.
Moe Harkless (26%) – Watch: Utah is apparently not a good matchup for Harkless and he is still worth watching to see if he can work his way into some regular production.
Seth Curry (13%) – Drop
Nik Stauskas (12%) – Drop
Caleb Swanigan (8%) – Drop
Meyers Leonard (8%) – Drop
Wade Baldwin (6%) – Drop
Jake Layman (5%) – Drop
Got a question about today’s fantasy basketball fringe report? Hit Adam up on twitter @adamking91 or give a shout out to https://twitter.com/Fantrax@Fantrax
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