Just four games across the NBA on Thursday with the Minnesota Timberwolves working their way back to .500 for the season thanks to their wily veteran Jerryd Bayless. I will take a look at Bayless and the opportunity he could be presented with as well as a couple of other players worth considering in 12-team formats.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe
Players to add
Jahlil Okafor
Josh Okogie
Ivica Zubac
Players to stream
Jeff Green
Terrance Ferguson
Dragan Bender
Elie Okobo
Jerryd Bayless
Golden State Warriors def. Washington Wizards 126-118
Warriors
Kevon Looney (32%) – Stream: Despite the return of DeMarcus Cousins, Looney has been playing well over the past few games. Cousins is still on a minutes limit and with the Warriors blowing out most of their games, Looney could still have streaming value if you need rebounds and defensive stats.
Andre Iguodala (20%) – Drop
Jonas Jerebko (14%) – Drop
Quinn Cook (13%) – Drop
Wizards
Jeff Green (46%) – Stream: Green has seen his playing time take a hit with Otto Porter working his way back to full health, resulting in a dip in his production. That being said, he has scored in double-digits in four of his past five games and can still have backend 12-team value if you simply need points.
Troy Brown (16%) – Drop
Sam Dekker (11%) – Drop
Chasson Randle (6%) – Drop
Oklahoma City Thunder def. New Orleans Pelicans 122-116
Thunder
Nerlens Noel (33%) – Watch
Terrance Ferguson (15%) – Stream: Ferguson had another productive night Thursday, finishing with 14 points in 35 minutes. He is playing better than Dennis Schroder right now and his playing time appears to be on the rise.
Patrick Patterson (9%) – Drop
Pelicans
E’Twaun Moore (46%) – Drop
Jahlil Okafor (39%) – Add: Okafor was solid yet again Thursday, ending with 18 points and eight rebounds. He didn’t close this one out as head coach Alvin Gentry decided to go with Cheick Diallo, a situation worth monitoring. Anthony Davis remains on the sidelines and both Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle were out for this one. Mirotic sounds as though he could miss at least a week and so Okafor could be in for even more playing time.
Frank Jackson (11%) – Watch
Darius Miller (12%) – Watch: Miller tied his career-high with 21 points Thursday, hitting five triples during his 38 minutes. E’Twaun Moore is banged up and Miller appears most likely to benefit should Moore miss further time.
Cheick Diallo (8%) – Drop: Diallo closed Thursday’s game and managed to record 16 points and four rebounds. Prior to this, he had basically been out of the rotation and we would need to see a few more performances like this before taking notice.
Portland Trail Blazers def. Phoenix Suns 120-106
Trail Blazers
Evan Turner (34%) – Drop
Zach Collins (30%) – Drop: Collins saw extra run in this one with the Suns going small, taking some of Jusuf Nurkic’s playing time away. Nurkic has been amazing for the Trail Blazers and despite this performance, Collins should be left for deeper formats only.
Moe Harkless (26%) – Watch
Seth Curry (14%) – Drop
Jake Layman (13%) – Watch: Another big night for Layman, producing 20 points to go with a full line. He has been playing well of late but it still feels like more of an anomaly rather than what is to be expected moving forward.
Suns
Mikal Bridges (48%) – Drop
De’Anthony Melton (34%) – Drop: Melton suffered an ankle sprain Thursday and will likely miss time. He can be dropped everywhere until we get further updates.
Dragan Bender (14%) – Stream: Bender scored 17 points in Thursday’s loss, continuing to take advantage of the Suns thin frontcourt. As soon as Richaun Holmes and DeAndre Ayton return, Bender will lose all his value. Until that time, however, stream him in if you need some cheap big man stats.
Elie Okobo (23%) – Stream: Okobo played 28 minutes Thursday with De’Anthony Melton going down with an ankle injury. He finished with 12 points and seven rebounds and if Melton misses time, Okobo is worth streaming in to see what happens.
Jamal Crawford (7%) – Drop
Troy Daniels (4%) – Drop
Minnesota Timberwolves def. Los Angeles Lakers 120-105
Timberwolves
Josh Okogie (23%) – Add: Okogie could not match his 21 points from Tuesday but did play a whopping 40 minutes in the victory over the Lakers. He shot just 2-of-14 from the field but clearly has the trust of the coaching staff and is worth considering as a player who can contribute across the board.
Gorgui Dieng (15%) – Drop
Jerryd Bayless (5%) – Stream: Bayless had his best game in what feels like forever, finishing with 16 points and eight assists in 30 minutes during Thursday’s win. Derrick Rose left the game early with ankle soreness and it sounds as though he is going to be questionable heading into Friday’s game against Utah. Jeff Teague and Tyus Jones are both still out meaning Bayless could be in line for decent playing time. He is a player to consider if you need point guard stats, just in case he can repeat this performance.
Lakers
Ivica Zubac (39%) – Add: Zubac moved into the starting lineup Thursday, totaling 10 points and eight rebounds. He has had four straight games with double-digit scoring and appears to be the center to own in Los Angeles right now. He has a good rapport with Rajon Rondo and should be considered in 12-team leagues if you need a big man.
Lance Stephenson (19%) – Drop
Michael Beasley (12%) – Drop
Got a question about today’s fantasy basketball fringe report? Hit Adam up on twitter @adamking91 or give a shout out to @Fantrax
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