Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Moses Moody Takes His Chance

The Warriors entered Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans having lost several rotation players to injury. Stephen Curry was the biggest name as an ankle injury suffered on Sunday will sideline him for at least both back-to-back games against New Orleans. De’Anthony Melton and Andrew Wiggins were also ruled out with back injuries. In the case of the former, he missed a significant portion of last season due to a similar injury. Removing Curry and Wiggins from the game has opened up two starting spots and there will be a third change, with Steve Kerr moving Jonathan Kuminga to the bench for space reasons.

Replacements: Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and Moses Moody. While the first two are in more than 50% of Yahoo leagues, Moody entered Tuesday with 10%. He was solid as the Warriors overcame a 20-point deficit en route to an 18-point win, scoring 14 points with two rebounds, one assist, one block and four 3-pointers in 17 minutes. Playing time is a concern, but credit to Moody for taking his chance. Lindy Waters III’s play was one of the reasons why Moody’s minutes were lower than expected.

Listed in less than one percent of Yahoo leagues, Waters had 21 points, a career-high nine rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and three 3-pointers in 31 minutes. It was a great night for Waters, who provided some much-needed production (and energy) from the bench. While this performance should give him another chance in Wednesday’s rematch, Waters is not a must-have player in fantasy leagues. Hield (28/1/1/2 with seven 3-pointers) scored 16 in the fourth quarter, and Podziemski (19/3/5/1/2 with three 3-pointers) recorded full stats. Expect the percentage of their respected players on the roster to increase heading into Wednesday’s 11-game set.

As for Kuminga, he had his best game of the season, playing 28 minutes and recording 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, one block and one 3-pointer. Managers who still have him in their squad shouldn’t panic as he will have time to make an impact.

Let’s take a look at a few more players whose performance has impacted fantasy basketball:

Christian Brown (40%)

Brown didn’t have great stats in Tuesday’s overtime win in Brooklyn, but it was another solid effort from Denver’s fifth starter. He played 39 minutes, scoring 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two 3-pointers. Brown’s performance over 39 minutes was a testament to Michael Malone’s confidence in him and the team’s continued struggles on the bench. While not a requirement in standard leagues, fantasy managers have a lot to think about regarding Brown, who was ranked as a top-50 player in the first week of the season, according to Basketball Monster.

Jordan Clarkson (37%)

After Tuesday’s loss to the Mavericks, Jazz coach Will Hardy made two changes to his starting lineup. One of them was due to a terrible injury to Taylor Hendricks (more on that below), and the other was due to the team’s improved offensive play. Clarkson replaced Collin Sexton in the starting five in Tuesday’s loss to the Kings, and the veteran defenseman has been one of Utah’s bright spots.

Shooting 8 of 16 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free throw line, Clarkson finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and two 3-pointers in 26 minutes. Fantasy managers won’t get consistent defensive play from Clarkson, but he has added value as a starter. As for Sexton, he missed all seven of his field goals and finished with four points, two rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes. He remains in 87% of Yahoo leagues, a number that should drop after Tuesday’s performance.

Kevin Huerter (25%)

After scoring two points in the season opener against Sacramento, Huerter has scored 14 or more points in three straight games. He followed up his 18-point performance Monday with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals, one block and two 3-pointers against the Jazz. Considering the Kings’ other four starters, Huerter would be fifth in the pecking order. Red Velvet’s ranking among the top 50 players in the first week of the season is a pleasant surprise, but it’s unlikely to stay that way throughout the season. However, there is a path to fantasy relevance: knock down threes at a decent clip while improving your defensive stats.

Russell Westbrook (23%)

After scoring 17 points in Denver’s first three games on 5-of-25 shooting, Westbrook broke out in an overtime win over Brooklyn on Tuesday. Shooting 5 of 12 from the field and 10 of 10 from the free throw line, he had 22 points, one rebound, five assists, one steal and two 3-pointers in 21 minutes. Although Westbrook paid dividends to the managers who broadcast him during the four-game night, he does not qualify as a must-play player. Keep an eye on him, especially since Denver’s bench has been underperforming so far.

Ziere Williams (3%)

Tuesday’s game was the first of back-to-back games for Brooklyn, which visits Memphis on Wednesday. Ben Simmons (back) did not play, moving Noah Clowney into the starting lineup. While Clowney had a rough night with Nikola Jokic, there was valuable streaming information to be found elsewhere in the lineup. Williams had his best night of the season, shooting 7 of 8 from the field and finishing with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block and four 3-pointers in 22 minutes.

Ziaire was essentially throwing fantasy darts, and the risk paid off for those who made the move. Simmons should be available Wednesday, so there’s no need to add Williams right now. But Tuesday’s performance put him in the spotlight for Brooklyn’s next matchup on Sunday/Monday. Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said Tuesday that Simmons will not play in both back-to-back games “until further notice.”

Cody Williams (3%)

As noted above, the Jazz had to deal with losing Hendricks for the rest of the season during Tuesday’s loss in Dallas. Williams was picked to fill the void against the Kings, as the rookie played 30 minutes and finished with nine points, two assists, two steals and three 3-pointers. The Jazz also have Bryce Sensabaugh, but he only played 16 minutes. Williams is certainly worth adding now, especially since Utah’s next game is Thursday and is part of a four-game slate.

Utah lost Lauri Markkanen in Tuesday’s loss to back spasms, and his departure led to more minutes for rookie Kyle Filipowski (1%). In 25 minutes, he had 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and two three-pointers. Depending on Markkanen’s status moving forward, Filipovski could find some value in deeper leagues sooner rather than later.