DEN 122, MEM 116: Jerome Tops All Fantasy Scorers With 41 ESPN FP
Tommy Flanagan
Journeyman Electrician · Boston Celtics fan
Nuggets Survive Grizzlies Scare, But the Real Story is Denver's Bench Going Nuclear
122-116, Denver. Jokic did Jokic things. Murray stayed steady. And then some dudes you've never heard of turned into scoring machines. This wasn't a blowout, but it also wasn't close enough to sweat. Nuggets got the W, and your fantasy team probably made out okay if you had any Denver skin in the game.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikola Jokić | 40.0 | 51.5 | 26/15/11 | 28.7/12.3/10.7 | -2.7 |
| Jamal Murray | 40.0 | 41.7 | 23/6/7 | 25.7/4.4/7.6 | -2.7 |
| Ty Jerome | 41.0 | 36.7 | 19/1/7 | 19.7/2.2/6.0 | -0.7 |
| GG Jackson | 36.0 | 33.5 | 21/5/3 | 9.0/3.6/1.2 | +12.0 |
| Christian Braun | 33.0 | 29.4 | 14/7/6 | 9.9/4.3/2.8 | +4.1 |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. | 33.0 | 24.6 | 21/3/0 | 14.1/2.6/1.3 | +6.9 |
| Jahmai Mashack | 26.0 | 24.6 | 9/3/2 | 3.9/1.3/1.0 | +5.1 |
| Olivier-Maxence Prosper | 30.0 | 23.0 | 14/5/0 | 6.4/2.9/0.7 | +7.6 |
| Jaylen Wells | 29.0 | 21.2 | 17/1/0 | 12.1/3.4/1.7 | +4.9 |
| Cam Spencer | 20.0 | 20.9 | 2/2/9 | 11.6/2.7/5.6 | -9.6 |
Jokic and Murray Did Their Jobs (Nothing Flashy, Everything Effective)
Nikola Jokic (51.5 Yahoo FP) and Jamal Murray (41.7 Yahoo FP) both came in a few points under their season averages, which is honestly boring in the best way. Jokic went 26/15/11 on efficient shooting (8-17 from the field, 10-14 from the line) and didn't need to go absolutely nuclear to win. Murray hit his spots with 23/6/7 and was perfect from the free throw line (8-8). These are the kinds of nights that don't make highlight reels but make your fantasy lineup cash. They didn't need to be extraordinary because the rest of Denver's offense showed up for once.
The Bench Party That Actually Mattered
Here's where this game gets spicy: Denver's role players went off in a way that felt unsustainable but also kind of fun to watch.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (24.6 Yahoo FP) was the most surprising, exploding for 21 points on 7-8 shooting with 4 threes in just 27 minutes. That's 6.9 points better than his season average. The guy was 2-for-his-last-10 from three before tonight, so don't get cute trying to add him off waiver wires thinking he's found something. This was a one-off performance where shots fell.
Christian Braun (29.4 Yahoo FP) was legitimately solid though, dropping 14/7/6 in 39 minutes of work. He's been getting consistent burn lately, and this is closer to who he actually is as a fantasy asset. If you've got him rostered, keep him. He's turning into a low-end bench guy who actually moves the needle on nights like this.
Julian Strawther and Bruce Brown also chipped in with solid contributions, keeping Denver's offense humming when Memphis was trying to claw back into the game.
GG Jackson Had a Moment (And Memphis Fans Are Still Mad About It)
GG Jackson (33.5 Yahoo FP) dropped 21/5/3 for the Grizzlies, finishing a whopping 12.0 points above his season average. This is the kind of outlier performance that makes fantasy managers sweat about "Was this a breakout or a fluke?" Based on Jackson's 9.0 PPG season average, this was absolutely a fluke. He's getting real minutes though (28 tonight), so the ceiling is higher than we thought, but don't expect 21-point nights regularly.
Ty Jerome Did Ty Jerome Things (And That's Apparently Valuable)
Ty Jerome (36.7 Yahoo FP) was Memphis's point guard and put up a line that looked weird on the surface: 19/1/7/1/1. Low assist-to-point ratio is odd for a PG, but he launched 11 shots and made 4, then went 8-9 from the line. The 3-for-3 from three also helped. Jerome's basically punching above his season average every night this season (19.7 PPG), so if you somehow have him, you're catching the wave of a guy who's finally getting his shot.
The Bench Guys Memphis Got Production From (Don't Panic, Don't Chase)
Jahmai Mashack (24.6 Yahoo FP) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (23.0 Yahoo FP) both had solid nights. Mashack in particular was 5.1 points above his average, but his season average is 3.9 PPG. These aren't guys to chase. They're the basketball equivalent of your league's pickup lottery tickets that hit once and disappear for three weeks.
The Real Casualty (Santi Aldama)
Santi Aldama (0 Yahoo FP) didn't play, and honestly? That's the story nobody's talking about. If you're holding him in a 12-team league hoping for a breakout, you're getting a cold dose of reality. He's already down 0.5% in ownership league-wide, and that's probably going to keep sliding. Grizzlies have other guys they're trusting more right now.
What Actually Matters Going Forward
Denver looked fine. Not great, but fine. The bench overperformed, Jokic and Murray handled business, and they got a road W. Don't overreact to Hardaway or the Memphis role guys. They played well tonight because Denver's defense was a little loose and Memphis was in comeback mode.
For Memphis, Ty Jerome is the only guy here worth actually paying attention to. He's been playing real minutes and scoring real points all season. The rest of tonight was noise.
If you own Jokic or Murray, you're cashing every night. If you picked up any of these Grizzlies bench guys after tonight, be ready to drop them in two weeks when they go back to playing 10 minutes a game.