Jalen Suggs has tallied 30 or more fantasy points in each of his last four games.
Five days this week will feature three or fewer games, with three days reserved for the knockout rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup 2024 — quarterfinals Tuesday and Wednesday in addition to the semifinals Saturday.
That presents NBA Fantasy Salary Game players with a new kind of challenge as they look to maximize their point output despite scoring options being few and far between.
Here’s what you need to know for Week 8:
Last week’s story
Nikola Jokić assembled the kind of week fantasy managers couldn’t have conceived in their wildest dreams. He accumulated a ridiculous 314.5 fantasy points across four outings with the Denver Nuggets (12-10), capped by marks of 85.2 and 82.8 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively — the first time all season any player has notched a quartet of games with 70-plus fantasy points.
He set a career-high with 56 points against the Washington Wizards (3-19) on Saturday, but even with the aid of his 16 rebounds and eight assists, the Nuggets managed to lose 122-113 in one of the more stunning outcomes of the early campaign. That snapped a 16-game losing streak for the league-worst Wizards.
Regardless of the lack of correlation between Jokić performances and Denver victories, he remains far and away the top fantasy bet whenever active. His 67.6 fantasy points per game (FPPG) are nearly 10 greater than Giannis Antetokounmpo’s next-closest clip.
Games to watch
There’s an NBA Cup quarterfinal in each conference you should watch with great interest:
Dallas Mavericks (16-8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (18-5), Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Things are finally coming together for the Mavericks. The group started at a rocky 9-8 but has since claimed seven consecutive victories, including three against .500-plus teams. Luka Dončić is at his very best right now with 69 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games, and unsurprisingly, that’s made a huge difference following a five-game absence.
The Thunder, meanwhile, have held a firm grip on first place in the Western Conference. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just snapped his streak of 50-plus fantasy point outings at a staggering nine games and has only continued to lead the charge for the team with the No. 1 net rating in the league. After losing two in a row – the front end of which in a 121-119 thriller against Dallas – Oklahoma City has won seven of eight.
Atlanta Hawks (13-12) vs. New York Knicks (14-9), Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more baffling team than the Hawks, having lost twice to the Wizards but won three combined against the Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4) and Boston Celtics (19-5). The squad excels when Jalen Johnson (No. 15 with 44.0 FPPG), Trae Young (No. 18 with 43.6 FPPG) and Dyson Daniels (No. 55 with 34.9 FPPG) are all producing, but as their record indicates, collaboration has been uneven.
The Knicks have recovered a bit from a rollercoaster opening to their season, winning five of their last seven, including quality triumphs over the Nuggets and Orlando Magic (17-9). Karl-Anthony Towns (No. 9 with 48.3 FPPG), Jalen Brunson (No. 32 with 40.0 FPPG) and Josh Hart (No. 50 with 36.1 FPPG) constitute their three-headed monster, but the Hawks took the previous meeting 121-116 despite that trio combining for nearly 130 fantasy points.
Injury Report
Orlando took the first particularly bad news of the week and delivered it to a pair of teams that didn’t need any more to begin with. Franz Wagner suffered a right torn oblique Dec. 6 and will be out for the next four weeks minimum, set to be re-evaluated Jan. 5 at the earliest. The very same injury has kept Paolo Banchero off the court since Oct. 31 – a cruel twist.
Wagner had stepped up big-time with Banchero sidelined, powering the Magic to third place in the Eastern Conference with 13 wins in 16 games played from Nov. 8 to Dec. 6. He was a true fantasy force by way of 45 or more points in seven of his last 10 games, and averaged 46.8 FPPG across all 20 contests following Banchero’s injury.
Elsewhere, the New Orleans Pelicans (5-20) again find themselves in murky waters as they struggle to stay afloat. Brandon Ingram suffered a left ankle sprain Dec. 7 – in just his second game back from a five-game absence – and is out indefinitely. That’s on top of hamstring injuries to key players Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado, who have been unavailable since Nov. 8 and 11, respectively.
Ingram’s 671.5 TFP were good for 66th in the NBA, and just two days before his injury, he had notched his ninth game of the season with 40 or more fantasy points.
Transaction tips
Now that Wagner and Banchero are out of the picture, stock should be high for Jalen Suggs and Goga Bitadze as they pick up the slack in production. The fourth-year guard and sixth-year center/forward, respectively, combined for 78 fantasy points in Orlando’s first game following Wagner’s injury – a 115-110 win over the Phoenix Suns (12-11).
Suggs’ fantasy season has experienced recent consistency. He’s tallied 30 or more fantasy points in each of his last four games, marking the best stretch since he had 45-plus in four consecutive contests from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1. Suggs has averaged 34 minutes per game across his last four, and you can expect more of the offense to run through him with further playing time.
Fantasy promise has come in flashes for Bitadze. Only once has he strung together four games with 30-plus fantasy points, but he did just submit his best performance all season via a 21-point, 16-rebound double-double Sunday. Both figures represented season highs, and on a salary of $5.1M, also made him the gameday’s top-value fantasy scorer.
Weekly advice
If there’s a horse in the NBA Cup race that you should ride out, it’s the Knicks. They’re the only team of the eight appearing in the quarterfinals with the potential of playing three games this week – should they defeat the Hawks on Wednesday.
Not only did Towns, Brunson and Hart all perform well in their previous battle with the Hawks, but their Monday matchup with the Toronto Raptors (7-17) could produce gaudy numbers given the Raptors’ No. 22 defensive rating and the Knicks’ No. 1 standing offensively.
Or if you want to bet on another high-production squad with weaker opponents ahead, the Suns are a terrific alternative. They play the Utah Jazz (5-17) and Portland Trail Blazers (8-15) on Friday and Sunday, respectively, each of whom comfortably possess bottom-half defenses.
Considering Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal’s sketchy availability, don’t be afraid to invest in Devin Booker and Tyus Jones. Neither of the two have missed a game all season, with the former ranking 20th in TFP and 25th in FPPG, while the latter comes in at 73rd in TFP and 103rd in FPPG.
