ATL 117, BOS 106: Dyson Daniels Notches 65 ESPN FP
Tommy Flanagan
Journeyman Electrician ยท Boston Celtics fan
Hawks Steal One in Boston, Dyson Daniels Goes Absolutely Bonkers
Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. The Celtics got punched in the mouth at home and I'm still mad about it. Down 11 points in a game we should've controlled? That's not what you want to see when you've got Jayson Tatum and the reigning All-NBA First Team. But this isn't about my heartbreak, it's about what this loss means for your fantasy roster.
Atlanta came in and showed us something we haven't seen much this season: a complete team performance with actual depth. The Hawks didn't need a 50-point superstar night. They got contributions across the board and it killed us.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyson Daniels | 65.0 | 52.7 | 15/6/9 | 11.9/6.6/6.3 | +3.1 |
| Jalen Johnson | 38.0 | 43.3 | 19/14/7 | 22.9/10.5/7.9 | -3.9 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | 38.0 | 35.7 | 17/6/3 | 16.3/7.9/3.3 | +0.7 |
| Jaylen Brown | 29.0 | 33.9 | 21/7/3 | 29.4/6.8/4.9 | -8.4 |
| Nickeil Alexander-Walker | 40.0 | 33.7 | 21/1/3 | 20.3/3.5/3.5 | +0.7 |
| Sam Hauser | 28.0 | 24.9 | 12/7/1 | 9.2/3.9/1.5 | +2.8 |
| Derrick White | 23.0 | 24.3 | 11/4/3 | 17.4/4.6/5.3 | -6.4 |
| Luka Garza | 21.0 | 23.2 | 11/6/6 | 7.7/4.3/1.1 | +3.3 |
| CJ McCollum | 23.0 | 23.1 | 13/3/3 | 18.5/3.5/3.6 | -5.5 |
| Jordan Walsh | 17.0 | 18.9 | 4/7/1 | 5.7/4.4/0.8 | -1.7 |
Dyson Daniels Put On A Clinic
All right, let's start with the real story here. Dyson Daniels just dropped a 52.7 Yahoo line on us and honestly, it might be the best pure all-around game we've seen from him this season. 15 points on clean 7-11 shooting, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals in 35 minutes. That's not just good, that's "suddenly dangerous in deeper leagues" good.
The thing that jumps out is he's a reigning All-Defensive First Team player, so we all knew he could defend. But running the offense and getting 9 dimes? That's different. That's a guy finding his rhythm. Coming in at +3.1 points versus his season average, this wasn't a fluke either. He was efficient, he was involved, and he controlled the pace.
If you've got a deep bench and Daniels is still sitting in free agency in your league, add him. He's already at 82.5% ownership so he's getting picked up everywhere, but if somehow he's still there, 50 Yahoo FP nights are worth the lottery ticket.
The Jalen Johnson Rebound Game
Jalen Johnson came in with something to prove after underperforming his season average by nearly 4 points last time out. He responded with 43.3 Yahoo, and the box score tells you exactly what he did: he got the rock down low. 19 points on just 6-16 shooting sounds mediocre until you look at the 14 rebounds. That's a guy who was winning the glass battle all night.
Here's what's wild though. His scoring is actually down 3.9 from his season average (22.9 PPG), but the 14 boards got him to 43.3 anyway. That's the difference between a player who understands his role and one who doesn't. Johnson knows he's not gonna win on volume scoring against Boston's defense. He won on effort and positioning.
The 3PM is solid too (he hit 3), so it wasn't like he was working in a vacuum. But this is a "thanks for the rebound night" performance, not a "watch this guy explode" type of game. Still valuable, but don't get ahead of yourself thinking Johnson turned into a 25-point scorer now.
Jaylen Brown Got Clamped And Nobody's Talking About It
I'm gonna get roasted by the fantasy guys who owned him, but Jaylen Brown putting up 21/7/3 while shooting 9-20 and sitting at -8.4 points versus his season average is basically underperformance disguised as a decent night.
Brown came in averaging 29.4 PPG on way better efficiency. Tonight he needed 20 shots to get 21 points. That's not a winning formula. The Celtics' entire offensive flow got disrupted, and Brown paid the price. This happens sometimes when a team's defensive game plan is specifically to make one guy beat them.
The problem for Brown owners is we don't know if this is a one-off or if Atlanta showed something other teams can replicate. If your league is super active, you might see people panic and try to move him. Don't. One bad shooting night doesn't break an All-NBA player. But it's worth monitoring.
The Real Celtics Problem
Here's what killed us tonight and what should worry Celtics fantasy investors: Derrick White and Jaylen Brown both underperformed by a combined 14.8 points versus their season averages. When your two most reliable guys both miss, you're not winning games.
White dropped 11/4/3 on 5-13 shooting, which is just blah. He's usually a 17-point getter and he was nowhere near that tonight. For context, he hit exactly one three-pointer. One. White is supposed to be that secondary scoring punch. He wasn't.
The Celtics' depth tried to carry them. Sam Hauser had a nice night (24.9 Yahoo, +2.8 pts vs avg), and Luka Garza actually looked useful for once with 23.2 Yahoo and a +3.3. But when your stars aren't cooking, role guy performances don't matter in the postseason. And make no mistake, games like this in January matter because they show us who wilts under pressure.
Atlanta's Depth is Actually Real
The thing that impressed me most about Atlanta wasn't any one guy, it was that four different Hawks cracked 30+ Yahoo points. Onyeka Okongwu (35.7), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (33.7), CJ McCollum (23.1), and Corey Kispert (16.9) all showed up.
Alexander-Walker is the interesting one here because he went from 20.3 PPG on the season to just 1 rebound tonight, but made it work by going nuclear from three (5-15 FG, all threes basically). He's now at 82.5% ownership and climbing. In 10-team leagues, he's probably already gone, but in 12-14 teamers, if he's still available, the Hawks just showed they'll run sets for him.
Okongwu is more concerning for Celtics fans because he got 28 minutes and was basically unstoppable in the post (6-12 FG, 2 threes). That's not supposed to happen against a Celtics team with championship defense. But it did.
Waiver Wire Notes
Honestly, the only real move here is Alexander-Walker for deeper leagues, and he's basically already owned everywhere. The Hawks proved their depth is legit, but that doesn't mean any of those guys are sneaky adds. They're already on rosters.
If we're being real, the Celtics depth guys like Hauser and Garza had good nights but this was a loss. You don't ride a loss like this into roster changes. Wait for a win where the role guys prove it's sustainable.
Bottom Line
Atlanta showed they can compete with Boston's star power through depth and defensive intensity. The Celtics showed that when the second stars (Brown, White) don't show up, things get ugly. That's the fantasy story here.
For Brown owners, it's a one-game blip. For White owners, keep an eye on his next few games. And for anyone thinking about pivoting to Hawks depth, just understand that tonight was the Hawks' best-case scenario execution. This won't happen every night.
But Dyson Daniels just put himself on the map as a legitimate fantasy asset in deeper leagues. Remember that.