CHA 109, HOU 99: Durant Delivers 45.1 Yahoo FP
Tyler Okonkwo
Student & Retail Associate · Houston Rockets fan
Hornets Steal One in Houston, But KD's 45-FP Masterclass Still Owns This Game
Man, this one stung. Kevin Durant just reminded everybody why he's one of the most dangerous players in the league, dropping 45.1 Yahoo points on Charlotte in a Rockets loss. The thing that gets me? Durant went off on 11-21 shooting and still had 5 steals. That's not luck, that's elite two-way basketball, and fantasy players who own him should feel great about riding this wave even in a loss.
But let's be real for a second. The Hornets won 109-99 because Charlotte figured out something Houston couldn't solve all night. That's the basketball story. The fantasy story is messier and way more interesting.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | 46.0 | 45.1 | 31/3/1 | 26.0/5.4/4.4 | +5.0 |
| Jabari Smith Jr. | 42.0 | 36.4 | 17/7/2 | 15.1/6.8/1.9 | +1.9 |
| Miles Bridges | 36.0 | 34.2 | 18/6/4 | 18.3/6.1/3.5 | -0.3 |
| Josh Green | 44.0 | 32.2 | 14/1/2 | 4.5/1.9/1.1 | +9.5 |
| LaMelo Ball | 27.0 | 30.2 | 20/6/4 | 19.1/4.9/7.5 | +0.9 |
| Moussa Diabaté | 29.0 | 29.4 | 7/12/4 | 8.3/8.5/1.6 | -1.3 |
| Alperen Sengun | 22.0 | 27.3 | 7/9/5 | 20.9/9.4/6.2 | -13.9 |
| Kon Knueppel | 25.0 | 25.8 | 24/4/2 | 18.8/5.5/3.5 | +5.2 |
| Amen Thompson | 24.0 | 25.5 | 8/5/7 | 17.8/7.6/5.5 | -9.8 |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | 26.0 | 23.3 | 2/4/1 | 8.4/6.1/0.7 | -6.4 |
The Real Damage: Rockets' Big Two Went Quiet
This is the part that keeps me up at night as a Rockets fan. Alperen Sengun posted 27.3 Yahoo points but shot 3-11 from the field. That minus-13.9 versus his season average is brutal. The dude is supposed to be dropping 20-plus and running the offense through the post. Instead he got 7 points on poor efficiency. Charlotte's defense (or maybe just bad shot selection) completely stalled him out.
Amen Thompson had an even worse night, sitting at minus-9.8 from his season norm. He threw in 7 assists which kept the line respectable, but 8 points on 3-7 shooting when you average 17.8? That's not the playmaking spark we need. Both of these guys getting clamped up in the same game tells me something's wrong with Houston's offensive flow tonight, not just individual performance.
Josh Green Is Having a Moment (And Nobody Saw It Coming)
Okay, real talk: Josh Green dropping 32.2 Yahoo FP on 4-4 shooting is absolutely absurd and I have no explanation for why this guy is still available in so many leagues. He's at 98.9% ownership according to ESPN, so maybe people already got wise. But if he's sitting there in your league, your GM isn't paying attention.
Green went for 14 points, 4 steals, 3 threes in just 22 minutes. The plus-9.5 versus his 4.5 season average shows he absolutely had a game within the game tonight. Perfect shooting nights are fluky, yeah, but the steal rate and defensive activity are real. Don't overreact and trade for him off one game, but don't sleep on him either.
Hornets Get Production From Everywhere (Except Where It Matters)
LaMelo Ball continued his solid season with 30.2 Yahoo FP, just barely above his average. 20 points on 7-19 shooting isn't clean, but 5 threes and 4 assists got the job done. He's been rock solid for fantasy purposes this season and tonight was more of the same, even if Charlotte needed him to be more efficient.
Miles Bridges was Miles Bridges, putting up 34.2 Yahoo FP right in line with expectations. Moussa Diabaté actually had a sneaky good night with 29.4 points off the bench. The true standout weird performer was Kon Knueppel, who went for 25.8 Yahoo FP with 24 actual points on 8-13 shooting. That's plus-5.2 from his average and exactly the kind of bench scoring that steals games.
The Waiver Wire Takeaway
Josh Green aside, there's not much to chase here. Jabari Smith Jr. stayed consistent for Houston with 36.4 Yahoo points, so he remains a hold in all formats. Ryan Kalkbrenner hit some 3-pointers defensively for Charlotte but it's hard to build a case for adding him based on one game.
The real story is that Houston's star power underperformed when they needed it most, while Charlotte got enough from their bench and complementary pieces to sneak out a win on the road. For fantasy purposes, that's the kind of loss that makes you reconsider if you're overcommitting to guys who can't perform under defensive pressure.