By Raphielle Johnson
With Aaron Gordon out indefinitely due to dog bites to his face and hand, the Nuggets had a void to fill in their starting lineup for Thursday’s game against the Grizzlies. In the past, Justin Holiday received the call to fill in for Gordon, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone went in a different direction this time. Second-year forward Peyton Watson, who’s rostered in five percent of Yahoo leagues, was moved into the starting lineup, and he came through with one of the best games of his young NBA career.
Playing 23 minutes, Watson tallied 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, and four 3-pointers, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line. While Gordon can be a credible supplementary playmaker alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, opposing teams don’t have to respect his perimeter shot. Watson may not have the largest sample size, as he entered Thursday shooting 13-of-38 from three, but he is shooting nine percentage points better than Gordon.
This is not being used as an argument that Watson should replace AG in the starting lineup; this was just one game, and Gordon’s positives outweigh the negatives. However, while he recovers from his injuries, Watson can provide a dimension that opposing teams haven’t had to account for in the past. Also, reserves Julian Strawther and Christian Braun played well against Memphis, combining for 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three 3-pointers. With Watson being the spot starter, he’s the player
deep-league managers should consider targeting. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add Strawther (1% rostered) and Braun (3%) to watch lists in deep leagues.
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Let’s take a look at a few other top pickups from Thursday’s slate:
Trayce Jackson-Davis (26%)
The Warriors rookie recorded his third double-double in five games, finishing the…
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