Line of the Night: I mean, I know Kyrie Irving was good last year… but Damian Lillard is making it look like that’s just what rookie Point Guards are supposed to do. Lillard had 37 points on 15-25 from the field with 7 threes, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals (2.87 WARP). His average ADP on Yahoo was 86 and he is now ranked 27 on the Player Rater. (Just ignore the fact that Portland lost the game)

Honorable Mentions: Opposite Lillard on the court was Stephen Curry who had 22 points, 5-5 from the line, 3 threes, 12 assists, and 3 steals (2.22 WARP) and a W for the Ws.

Kevin Durant‘s Thunder rolled over the Lakers who just can’t buy a win (literally). Durant had 42 points, 16-25 from the field, 4 threes, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, but no steals, and a surprising 75% from the line brought him down to only 2.50 WARP. Russell Westbrook helped out with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals (1.75 WARP).

Carmelo Anthony brought his A game against the Bulls with 39 points, 4 threes, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists (2.01 WARP), but Luol Deng matched him almost shot for shot with 33 points, 13-18 from the field, 4-4 from the line, 3 threes, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists (2.06 WARP) and the Bulls hung on for the win. (It didn’t hurt that Jason Kidd had another Biggest Loser-worthy game) Here’s what should scare you about the Bulls, though: They were up by 21 at half time but Deng still played 42 minutes of a 48 minute game. Carlos Boozer played 35. Joakim Noah got a rest and only played 29, but for a team that was up by 21 points after 24 minutes, you have to wonder what Thibodeau is doing to these guys… Getting Rose back is not going to somehow subtract from the minutes that Deng, Boozer, and Noah have played already… If you’ve got one of those guys (especially Deng or Boozer), I’d maybe take a look at what you might be able to get for them… Aim high, and don’t settle, but maybe just ask around.

Did someone say Kyrie Irving? The altitude in the Mile High City didn’t seem to affect him as he had 28 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals (2.03 WARP). As good as Damian Lillard has been, Irving has stepped up his game again this year and is providing first round pick value (though he was drafted at 13 overall, so not as big a deal there).

Paul Millsap continued to pile on the stats with 20 points, 4-4 from the line, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals (1.76 WARP).

Brandon Knight brought a little more up to what has been an up-and-down season with 20 points, 3 threes, 5 assists, and 2 steals (1.68 WARP).

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: After one limited game back from injury, Devin Harris (13% owned) went back to starting for the Hawks and put up 24 points on 7-8 from the field, 4 threes, 5 assists, and 2 steals (1.77 WARP). I wouldn’t grab him just yet, but I will say that he has had a positive WARP in every game where he’s gone over 30 minutes and even in most games with 25+. So if he starts getting those minutes consistently for the Hawks, then swoop in and snatch him up (see what I did there?).

Pick Up Lines: Randy Foye (33% owned) should probably be owned in more than 33% leagues and not just because he put up 25 points going 8-12 from the field with 6 threes, and 2 steals (1.69 WARP). Rather, because Mo Williams had a pin put in his thumb that doesn’t come out for 6 weeks, at which point, he’ll start rehabbing. 6×7 = 42 + 74 = 116. That leaves 54 days of Mo Williams at the most, but it also means for the next 42 days, Randy Foye will be starting alongside the so-far-ineffective Jamaal Tinsley. Even with a somewhat inconsistent day-to-day season, Foye is overall a positive value.

I want to caution people not to get too excited… but Al-Farouq Aminu (14% owned) had his 3rd positive WARP game out of 4 with 12 points, 5-7 from the field, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals (1.61 WARP). I’m still a long way from trusting him, even with his hot start to the season, but I’m sure a lot of people will remember those numbers and jump back on the bandwagon.

Andre Drummond (31% owned) continued to increase his ownership numbers with games like 8 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks (1.28 WARP). That came in only 17 minutes for the Pistons and they seem content to just let him ride along in that range and be very efficient in his gathering together of points and rebounds and blocks.

Tiago Splitter (14% owned) is up to 69 on the Player Rater over the last 2 weeks after another nice game with 13 points, 5-7 from the field, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals (1.20 WARP). Starting Center for the Spurs getting 27 minutes per game and he’s only 14% owned? What more does he have to do?

Speaking of starting Centers getting 27 minutes a game: Kosta Koufos (27% owned) has that going for him too, and while he’s only ranked 89 over the last two weeks his numbers like 21 points and 6 rebounds (1.13 WARP) are somehow more appealing to owners (as evidenced by his nearly double ownership rate over Splitter. Yes, I totally mangled the English language there, and no, I don’t care).

Then there’s the starting Center who only gets 22 minutes per game and has to play with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka… Kendrick Perkins (7% owned) had his best game of the year (fantasy-wise) with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks (1.11 WARP). That’s sweet, but ain’t nobody got time for that.

Biggest Loser: Omer Asik‘s 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists are just about what we’ve come to expect now that he’s not putting up multiple double-doubles in a row, but when you add the 1-8 from the line that’s a lot to take even from a guy you expect to shoot poorly from the line. Asik may have made fantasy owners grown with his -1.07 WARP, but I’m sure he’s laughing all the way to the bank (or maybe to the strip club with James Harden).

Jason Kidd was runner-up for Biggest Loser for the second day in a row with his near-0fer: 0 points (0-6 from the field), 4 rebounds, and 0 assists (-1.05 WARP). Just when he was fantasy-relevant again, he falls off completely. I guess the combo of Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson was just too much to handle.

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Daily rankings and stats come from the FBC H2H Player Rater (beta version). They are based on the stat Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP) an estimate of the number of wins a player produces per week in H2H leagues over a replacement (waiver wire) player.

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