NOP 113, GSW 109: Santos Fills Stat Sheet With Double-Double
Marcus Thompson Jr.
Fire Lieutenant · Golden State Warriors fan
Warriors Fall Short in New Orleans, But Santos Puts the League on Notice
Final: Pelicans 113, Warriors 109
Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this one. We lost at home to a Pelicans squad that had no business beating us without half their roster. Stephen Curry was nowhere to be found (0 minutes), Kristaps Porzingis sat it out, Jimmy Butler III was a ghost. But here's the thing about fantasy basketball, especially in a game like this: opportunity creates output, and the Warriors role players absolutely took advantage.
Let me break down who actually showed up for 48 minutes of basketball.
Top Performers
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gui Santos | 43.0 | 44.4 | 15/12/4 | 6.4/3.2/1.7 | +8.6 |
| Brandin Podziemski | 35.0 | 41.5 | 16/15/3 | 12.2/5.0/3.7 | +3.8 |
| Zion Williamson | 42.0 | 41.2 | 26/6/0 | 21.9/6.0/3.5 | +4.1 |
| De'Anthony Melton | 32.0 | 37.3 | 28/4/3 | 12.7/2.9/2.3 | +15.3 |
| Moses Moody | 36.0 | 33.5 | 24/5/3 | 11.9/3.4/1.6 | +12.1 |
| Draymond Green | 36.0 | 33.4 | 11/7/6 | 8.5/5.7/5.1 | +2.5 |
| Karlo Matković | 36.0 | 32.1 | 10/8/1 | 5.2/3.3/0.8 | +4.8 |
| Herbert Jones | 33.0 | 31.1 | 5/3/3 | 8.9/3.5/2.7 | -3.9 |
| DeAndre Jordan | 28.0 | 26.6 | 6/8/2 | 5.3/8.3/0.5 | +0.7 |
| Saddiq Bey | 18.0 | 22.7 | 18/6/1 | 16.8/5.8/2.5 | +1.2 |
The Warriors Role Guys Absolutely Cooked
Gui Santos went nuclear for 44.4 Yahoo points. This dude is averaging 6.4 points a night, and he just exploded for 15/12/4 with 2 steals and 3 blocks in 39 minutes. That's +8.6 from his season average. Look, I know Santos has always had potential, but the volume and opportunity tonight were real. He was drawing minutes because our star power was decimated, and he didn't waste them. The question now is: does this stick when everyone's healthy again?
De'Anthony Melton was the real story though. 28 points on 8-21 shooting is the kind of night that makes you remember why you drafted him in the first place. 9-11 from the free throw line tells you he was aggressive and attacking the paint. +15.3 from his season average is massive. That's not a fluke, that's a guy playing with confidence in a role that suddenly mattered. Yahoo gave him 37.3 points, and he earned every one of them.
Moses Moody added 24 points, 5 boards, 3 assists off the bench with a 4-3PM night. Another guy who benefited from the vacancy in our lineup. +12.1 on his season average. I'm not saying Moody's your next star, but when your team's down key pieces and he's getting 34 minutes, he's checking in.
Brandin Podziemski did his thing too, 16/15/3 with 2 steals. That 15 rebounds is wild for Podzz. He grabbed +10 from his season rebound average. Not fantasy-breaking, but solid. 41.5 Yahoo points tells you he was doing the little things.
Draymond Green was steady, like always. 11/7/6 with 2 blocks. Exactly what you want from him, nothing more, nothing less.
The Pelicans' Zion Problem (For Fantasy)
Zion Williamson dropped 26 points on efficient shooting (11-21 FG, 1-3 from three, 3-5 FT). 41.2 Yahoo points. But here's what gets me: 0 assists. Six rebounds isn't going to carry a big man in fantasy when you're not running the offense. He met his season average on scoring, but fantasy-wise, he wasn't the engine. Yeah, he cooked us in the paint and picked us apart, but for fantasy purposes, he wasn't the difference maker. The Pelicans' depth was.
Karlo Matković was interesting. Only 18 minutes, but 10/8/1 with 1 block. That's a deep bench guy who saw opportunity against a shorthanded Warriors team and capitalized. Not a wire pickup situation unless something changes with injury, but he's on the radar now for New Orleans.
De'Anthony Melton and Saddiq Bey were the Pelicans' real offensive weapons outside of Zion. Melton's 28 points, Bey's 18, that's where the game was won.
The Real Story
We got exposed. Missing Curry, missing Porzingis, missing Butler at home to a depleted Pelicans squad is the kind of loss that stings in the regular season but shouldn't derail anybody's fantasy season. What matters is the minutes and roles going forward.
Gui Santos is a hold until Curry returns and we see if his role actually sticks. If he stays at 35+ minutes when healthy, he's a potential buy-low candidate in trades. If he drops back to 15, he's a daily streamer against bad defensive teams.
De'Anthony Melton just proved he can create his own shot when given the opportunity. That's worth paying attention to. He's not your first round pick, but he just showed he can go off any given night.
The Warriors role guys will regress when the full squad returns. That's just math. But tonight? They won their individual battles on a team that needed them to win a game we didn't have the stars to take.
Sometimes that's how fantasy goes. The people you weren't counting on become the only people who matter.