Thanks to the surprising heroics of Malik Monk, the Charlotte Hornets were able to pull off a riveting overtime upset of the Miami Heat. Monk is officially back on the fantasy basketball radar after scoring a career-high 36 points against Miami on Monday. The guard set the franchise's single-game record for scoring off the bench, while joining Dell Curry as the only Hornets players with multiple 30-point games when they didn't start the contest.
Monk's big night was made possible due to an injury to scoring guard Terry Rozier, who was lost to a right ankle sprain in Saturday's win over the Bucks. Rozier's absence last night shifted gifted rookie LaMelo Ball into the starting lineup, allowing Monk to be the top playmaker off the pine for Charlotte.
Fantasy basketball managers are now tasked with discerning whether Monk's recent surge is an outlier or a trend. It appears to be the latter, albeit with a caveat, as Monk had averaged just 11 MPG and 4.2 PPG prior to Saturday. For as long as Rozier is sidelined with his ankle ailment, Monk (rostered in a mere 1% of ESPN leagues) should continue to enjoy rewarding usage as the team's top bench scorer.
It wasn't just Monk who delivered a strong line last night for Charlotte. Center Cody Zeller played a larger role with P.J. Washington suffering a foot sprain in the game. The big man posted his second double-double in the last four games. Zeller has been quite productive as a post scorer and rebounder since returning from injury a few weeks back and is notably a free agent in roughly 80% of ESPN leagues.
Monday recap
Highlights
Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers: 23 points (7-9 FG), 18 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks
De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings: 38 points (14-24 FG), 4 rebounds, 12 assists
Lowlights
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers: 6 points (1-7 FG), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs: 5 points (2-10 FG), 1 rebound, 5 assists
Monday takeaways
Devin Booker hit a game-winning 3-pointer for the Suns with 1.6 seconds left in a rousing win over the Mavericks on Monday. Booker's big shot and strong statistical showing is especially notable since he had missed much of the last week with a hamstring injury. Booker is now 5-of-15 for his career on go-ahead attempts in the final five seconds of a game. Only Russell Westbrook has made more such shots since Booker entered the NBA in 2015. Chris Paul turned back the clock against Dallas with 34 points, his most in any game in more than three years. Paul finished one rebound and one assist shy of his first triple-double with the Suns.
The Knicks might have unearthed a gem in rookie guard Immanuel Quickley, as the Kentucky product keeps scoring at an impressive clip from the bench. Last night, Quickley scored 16 points in a season-high 30 minutes. Outplaying starting point guard Elfrid Payton in recent games and tabbed as the team's lead creator in a close loss to the Bulls last night, Quickley is already pushing for more work with New York.
Chicago's Thaddeus Young has become the team's best passer in recent games with at least eight dimes in three straight contests. Now averaging 4.4 APG on the season, this is a somewhat shocking shift in playmaking for a 14-year veteran who has averaged only 1.7 APG for his career. With Chicago lacking a pure point guard in the rotation, Young's rise in passing production might just be legitimate.
Cleveland's Allen and Taurean Prince started in place of injured starters Andre Drummond and Larry Nance Jr. last night. Allen enjoyed his sixth career performance with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds -- and his first such line with the Cavaliers. Prince struggled to hit shots, but was productive on defense and the glass.
Nassir Little had a big game for the Trail Blazers in a blowout loss to the Bucks. Little scored a career-high 30 points in just his seventh career start. His previous high was 12 points. However, he is playing just 11.4 MPG this season, suggesting this outburst might be an outlier.
Injuries of note
Orlando's Aaron Gordon will reportedly miss at least a month due to a severe ankle injury. Evan Fournier has produced eight more fantasy points (per 36 minutes) with Gordon off the court this season. Rookie point guard Cole Anthony, meanwhile, sees his usage rise by nearly 4% with Gordon sidelined.
OG Anunoby will miss Tuesday's matchup against the Magic due to a calf injury. Guard Norman Powell is listed as doubtful, meaning Terence Davis could start and play a sizable role tonight.
James Wiseman is listed as being out for Golden State's game against the Celtics due to a wrist sprain. Forward Eric Paschall figures to play a larger role with Wiseman sidelined.
Analytics advantage for Tuesday
The Clippers have ruled Patrick Beverley out for tonight's game against the Nets in Brooklyn. Reggie Jackson makes for an ideal streaming candidate given he has averaged a team-high 66.2 touches per game during the last five outings, while sporting a stellar 122 offensive rating. With the Nets posting an historically bad defensive rating (to go along with their historically productive offense since acquiring James Harden), Jackson is in a good spot to deliver solid results.
Top players to watch on Tuesday
Bradley Beal, the league's leading scorer, hosts Damian Lillard, the third-leading scorer, in a fun matchup tonight. The projected point total for this matchup between Washington and Portland sits at a season-high 240.5, so this could be a solid fantasy climate for those interested in building strong DFS rosters.