NOP 120, SAC 94: Raynaud Posts Strong 47.3 Yahoo FP
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Jasmine "Jazz" Porter
University Student · Oklahoma City Thunder fan
Pelicans Roll Past Kings 120-94, But the Real Story is Raynaud's Breakout Night
Look, Sacramento got absolutely cooked tonight, and honestly it wasn't even close. New Orleans just straight up dominated from start to finish, and while the blowout is fun to watch when you're not invested, the fantasy implications are what actually matter here.
Let's get to the top performers first:
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maxime Raynaud | 45.0 | 47.3 | 21/19/1 | 9.9/6.7/1.0 | +11.1 |
| Jeremiah Fears | 44.0 | 38.3 | 20/4/3 | 13.2/3.6/3.0 | +6.8 |
| Trey Murphy III | 46.0 | 36.9 | 21/2/7 | 22.2/5.7/3.8 | -1.2 |
| Zion Williamson | 38.0 | 34.0 | 18/5/6 | 21.5/6.2/3.5 | -3.5 |
| Dylan Cardwell | 36.0 | 32.7 | 6/11/1 | 5.4/7.6/1.2 | +0.6 |
| Derik Queen | 28.0 | 25.5 | 8/5/1 | 12.2/7.3/4.2 | -4.2 |
| Nique Clifford | 17.0 | 25.0 | 10/5/6 | 6.6/3.0/1.6 | +3.4 |
| Karlo Matković | 27.0 | 24.3 | 12/9/1 | 4.9/3.2/0.7 | +7.1 |
| Herbert Jones | 21.0 | 23.8 | 8/4/6 | 8.9/3.6/2.7 | -0.9 |
| Precious Achiuwa | 25.0 | 22.6 | 8/3/0 | 7.2/5.4/1.1 | +0.8 |
Maxime Raynaud Just Showed Up as a Real Fantasy Player
Okay, so Maxime Raynaud wasn't on anyone's radar coming into this, right? 9.9 PPG on the season, not exactly screaming "fantasy monster." Then tonight he drops 21 points on 8-14 shooting, grabs 19 boards in 38 minutes, and suddenly you're looking at 47.3 Yahoo points. That's a +12.3 rebound advantage alone.
Here's the thing though: Sacramento was absolutely terrible tonight. Like, historically bad. When your opponent rolls over and dies, your role players get inflated stats. That said, 19 rebounds is legit. Even in a blowout. If Raynaud is getting this kind of volume on the glass consistently, he's worth a look in deeper leagues. The shooting floor (8-14) suggests he can actually contribute too, not just vacuum up garbage time boards.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a league winner. But in 12-team leagues and deeper, this is a guy who could have some nights where he catches a team playing poorly and just gets fed. Grab him if he's available, but don't panic if he drops to 5/8 next week. Volume matters more than one game.
The Pelicans Role Players Went Off (But For Different Reasons)
Jeremiah Fears came off the bench and went 8-14 from the field. 20 points, 4 assists, 3 steals in just 30 minutes. That's efficiency you can't ignore, and he was +6.8 from his season average. This feels more sustainable than Raynaud because the shot-making was legit (8-14 isn't flukey). He's hitting his threes too (2-2 from deep).
Trey Murphy III had his third-best night of the season at 21 points and 7 assists, but honestly he went -1.2 from his average for a reason. He's averaging 22 points on way more volume, so 21 in limited minutes is basically right on par. Not a story here unless you're worried about his minutes (28 tonight, which is a slight dip from his norm).
The sneaky pickup is Karlo Matković though. 12 points, 9 rebounds in just 18 minutes. That's a +7.1 on scoring and +5.8 on boards. If he's getting actual minutes going forward and not just in blowouts, he could be a deep league stash. Right now he's barely owned, so if your waiver wire is thin, grab him. Worst case, you drop him after one bad game.
Sacramento's Bench Couldn't Hold the Fort
The Kings were without basically their entire starting rotation (I'm not seeing Sabonis, De'Andre Hunter, LaVine, or Malik Monk in the box score), so this was basically a second unit vs. the Pelicans' full arsenal. That explains the scoreline.
Maxime Raynaud was the only King who actually showed up with a pulse, and Dylan Cardwell grabbed 11 boards which is solid, but honestly nobody else on Sacramento's bench did enough to matter for fantasy. Nique Clifford had 6 assists which is nice for a bench guy (his season average is 1.6), but he shot 4-16. That's not winning fantasy games.
The Waiver Wire Move Nobody's Talking About
Precious Achiuwa played 20 minutes for Sacramento and grabbed 3 steals. Ownership is basically non-existent (1.0%), but he's bouncing around right now and minutes are a question. Don't waste your add. He's the definition of "check back in two weeks."
Herbert Jones out of New Orleans is worth a second look though. 6 assists from a wing, 3 steals, and he's All-Defensive this year. When the game gets closer (and it will, since New Orleans can't play Sacramento every night), he's your guy for per-36 minute rates in category leagues.
Bottom Line
New Orleans is just too talented when everybody's healthy. Sacramento's absence of their main guys made this a non-game, so take all the individual performances with a grain of salt. Raynaud and Cardwell got inflated stats. Fears actually shot well though, so he's worth monitoring.
For your rosters, priority one is figuring out Sacramento's availability. If Sabonis, LaVine, and the rest of those guys are back soon, everyone from tonight gets reset. If they're out longer, then Raynaud becomes a temporary streamer in 12-team leagues. New Orleans is what it is, just a deep team where everyone eats a little.