Fantasy 30: Leonard's hot streak, Whiteside's shot-blocking, more

ByJOE KAISER
January 18, 2017, 3:41 PM

— -- Another week of NBA action is in the books and, like always, there's no shortage of information. From trade rumors and injuries to hot and cold streaks, fantasy values are shifting on a day-to-day basis.

Here's a list of the most fantasy relevant news and notes for all 30 teams around the league:

Atlanta Hawks: It has been a big January for Tim Hardaway Jr., who had his fourth 20-point game of the month in Monday's one-point win over the Knicks. Impressively, the fourth-year shooting guard is shooting 54.2 percent in eight games this month while averaging 16.9 points, 3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.9 threes per game. He takes over Kyle Korver's role as the team's primary 3-point threat.

Boston Celtics: While Isaiah Thomas continues to get the bulk of the attention in Boston, and deservedly so for his All-Star caliber play, it's easy to overlook how well Kelly Olynyk is playing. The versatile center has averaged 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.2 threes in the past five games, logging an average of 25.6 minutes in that span. He's suddenly a top 150 fantasy player as long as he can stay healthy, which has been difficult for him throughout his NBA career.

Brooklyn Nets: ESPN's Zach Lowe reported in his "Ten things" column last week that the Nets would be willing to field offers for second-year forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. "Hollis-Jefferson's shot is still busted, and all indications are the Nets will listen when teams call about him, league sources say." Hollis-Jefferson is averaging 7.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2 APG and 1.1 SPG on the season and a move to another team could hurt his fantasy value, as it's doubtful he'd get the same type of minutes he's been able to have on the 8-32 Nets this season.

Charlotte Hornets: Marvin Williams notched a season-high 21 points in the loss to Boston on Monday and has served as one of the few bright spots in the Hornets' current five-game losing streak. The veteran forward has averaged 15 PPG and 5.2 RPG over the recent rough stretch.

Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler wasn't quite himself in his first two games back from an illness that cost him two games, particularly at the free throw line where he made just 10 of 17 attempts, but Butler was his normal self on the defensive end of the court. In fact, the Bulls star led the NBA during the past week with 3.5 steals per game after swiping four against the Pelicans and three against the Grizzlies. Butler's 1.7 SPG this season is tied with five others for seventh in the NBA.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love played only 16 minutes of Monday's game against Golden State before leaving early due to lower back pain. This has been an ongoing concern for Love throughout the season, and it remains to be seen just how serious this injury is. Since Cleveland trailed by 29 points at halftime Monday, it's entirely possible that the Cavs opted to play it safe and sit Love out for the second half of a lopsided game. That being said, this is worth keeping an eye on.

Dallas Mavericks: Only Ricky Rubio dished out more assists per game during the past week than Deron Williams, who had 12 assists against the Suns and followed that up with a 10-assist game against the Timberwolves. The 32-year-old point guard is averaging 6.9 APG on the season, which would be his highest mark since dishing out 7.7 APG in 2012-13 with the Brooklyn Nets.

Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic notched a career-high 30 points in the big win over Orlando on Monday, adding 11 rebounds and five assists along the way. It's difficult to pinpoint the biggest strength in Jokic's game because the soon-to-be 22-year-old already does so much well. He scores, he rebounds and he passes. In fact, in the past five games he has averaged 22.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting a ridiculous 68.6 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Detroit Pistons: A shoulder injury has kept Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out of the lineup the past two games, but when on the court the 23-year-old has been one of Detroit's biggest bright spots in an otherwise disappointing first half of the season for the Pistons. KCP is on pace to set new career-highs in assists (3.0), field goal percentage (42.6), 3-point percentage (40.4), free throw percentage (83.7) and 3PG (2.2) while remaining on last year's pace in terms of scoring (14.5 PPG).

Golden State Warriors: One of the big stories in Golden State in recent weeks is the improved aggressiveness and overall play of veteran center Zaza Pachulia. Somewhat of an afterthought on the star-studded Warriors, Pachulia has averaged 7.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.4 steals in the past five games while shooting 55.6 percent and 90 percent from the free throw line. It's doubtful that Pachulia can keep this going during the rest of the season but he's a solid streaming option at center for the time being.

Houston Rockets:?In the past two weeks, the Rockets have three players who rank in the top eight in terms of threes made per game: Trevor Ariza (3.3), Eric Gordon (3.2) and James Harden (3.0). Veteran forward Ryan Anderson is right behind them with 2.7 3PG in that span, shedding further light on what's made this Rockets offense so difficult to stop in its first season under Mike D'Antoni.

Indiana Pacers: The rapid decline in Monta Ellis' game this season is increasingly apparent with every week that passes. Ellis attempted just two shots in Monday's win against New Orleans and finished with two points in 19 minutes. He has notched double-figures scoring only twice in the past eight games and has seen his role greatly reduced (19.4 MPG in the past 10 games), leaving him without much fantasy value going forward.

LA Clippers: Chris Paul left Monday's game due to a sprained thumb, and though X-rays came back negative, there's a chance the Clippers could be without their star point guard for a while. Raymond Felton, who poured in 15 points against the Thunder, would be the biggest beneficiary if Paul is to miss time. Luckily for the Clips, they are scheduled to play only two more games this week -- Thursday vs. Minnesota and Saturday at Denver.

Los Angeles Lakers: For all the struggles the Lakers have had during the first half of the season as first-year head coach Luke Walton tries to split minutes between veterans and an exciting young core of talent, a poor defense has been one consistent problem since day one. Entering Tuesday, the Lakers rank last in the league with a defensive efficiency of 110.2. On the other side, the Lakers rank 20th with an offensive efficiency of 103.8.

Memphis Grizzlies: Chandler Parsons doesn't look like the player he was before the knee surgery, showing limited mobility that almost hurts to watch. He has averaged 17.6 minutes in his past five games, impacting the game little more than as a scorer, and it's difficult to imagine his minutes rising significantly any time soon.

Miami Heat: As well as Hassan Whiteside has played this season, posting career-highs with 17.5 PPG and 14.3 RPG, the 7-footer's shot-blocking has plummeted from last season when he averaged 3.7 rejections per game. His 1.2 BPG in his past six games has dropped his season average to 2.2, a full block-and-a-half less than last season.

Milwaukee Bucks: Nobody in the NBA is averaging more blocks per game during the past two weeks than Bucks sensation Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has rejected 2.8 shots per game in that span. Antetokounmpo has upped his season average to 2.1 BPG, ranking sixth in the league -- one spot behind noted shot-blocker Hassan Whiteside. It's also worth pointing out that Antetokounmpo has seen his BPG rise in each of his four NBA seasons, going from 0.8 as a rookie, to 1.0, then 1.4, all the way to where it is today.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Don't look now but Ricky Rubio is up to his old tricks, dishing out assists by the handful. The veteran point guard has handed out 10 assists or more in four consecutive games, leading the league with 13.7 APG during the past week. He has also averaged three steals per game during that span.

New Orleans Pelicans: Stop us if you've heard this before. Anthony Davis left Monday's game early and was unable to return to the court. As great as Davis has been this season -- and great may not be a big enough word to describe his play -- the threat of injury continues to be a big concern for Davis going forward. X-rays on his hip and thumb were negative following Monday's game against Indiana, but it remains to be seen if the Pelicans star will be able to return to the court for Wednesday's game against Orlando. If Davis cannot go, it will give players like Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones an opportunity to take on a larger scoring role.

New York Knicks: With Kristaps Porzingis out for a third straight game due to a sore Achilles' tendon, Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek shook up the Knicks' starting lineup Monday against the Hawks. Ron Baker and Mindaugas Kuzminskas got the start while trusty veteran Courtney Lee moved to the bench in an attempt to bolster the bench scoring. The early returns weren't great, though, as Lee scored only seven points and barely played in the second half of the Knicks' one-point loss to the Hawks.

Oklahoma City Thunder: With Steven Adams out due to a concussion on Monday against the Clippers, the Thunder elected to keep Enes Kanter in a bench role and instead moved Jerami Grant into the starting lineup. Grant started alongside Domantas Sabonis and finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 34 minutes. Meanwhile, Joffrey Lauvergne outplayed Kanter off the bench, finishing with 30 minutes to Kanter's 23 in the blowout loss to the Clips.

Orlando Magic: In six games this month, Evan Fournier is averaging just 9.8 PPG. The veteran scorer had been playing through a heel injury before re-aggravating it last week, and the injury cost him the past two games. This is the type of injury that could hamper Fournier's performance going forward, and for the time being it elevates Jodie Meek's fantasy value as a 3-point specialist. Meeks averaged 36 MPG while filling in for Fournier in the past two games.

Philadelphia 76ers: Jahlil Okafor returned to the 76ers' rotation in a big way Saturday, going for 26 points and nine rebounds in a loss to Washington. He followed that up with somewhat of a stinker (10 points, two rebounds) in an improbable win against Milwaukee on Monday, reinforcing the fact that Okafor is an inconsistent fantasy option even when given the playing time this season. Still, his role on this team -- along with the contributions of Nerlens Noel -- remain something to keep an eye on in the weeks and months to come.

Phoenix Suns: Brandon Knight missed a second straight game due to a sprained right wrist, the same injury he had been playing through in recent weeks. It's been somewhat of a lost season for Knight up to this point, as the move to a lesser role off the bench and the nagging wrist injury have caused his numbers to drop to 12.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 2.6 APG. Don't be surprised if the rebuilding Suns look to ship Knight to another team before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 23.

Portland Trail Blazers: Maurice Harkless returned to the court Monday against Washington after missing one game due to a calf injury, but he didn't look like himself. The 6-foot-9 small forward missed all five shot attempts and was held scoreless in 19 minutes.

Sacramento Kings: Ty Lawson twisted his left ankle in Sunday's game against Oklahoma City and was unable to return, which was a big concern for the Kings and fantasy owners in deeper leagues, but the news appears to be good for the veteran point guard. Lawson is expected to be ready to play in Wednesday's game against Indiana.

San Antonio Spurs: Kawhi Leonard has eclipsed the 30-point mark in each of the past three games and his 33 PPG average in the past week ranked second in the NBA behind only Phoenix's Devin Booker (34.3). More impressively, Leonard shot 60 or better in all of those games, which bodes well as he heads into Tuesday's game against Minnesota, a team he scored 31 points against in the first meeting.

Toronto Raptors:?During the past two weeks, only Isaiah Thomas has averaged more points per game than DeMar DeRozan (30.4). The one big difference between the two? Three-point shooting. While Thomas has made 4.7 threes en route to 31.3 PPG in that span, DeRozan has made just one 3-pointer during that time.

Utah Jazz: Rodney Hood avoided serious injury Saturday when his knee gave out while driving into the lane against Orlando. He was diagnosed with a bone bruise and hyperextended knee, and is expected to miss around two weeks. Joe Ingles started in Hood's absence and played 34 minutes against Phoenix on Monday, while veteran Joe Johnson played 24 minutes off the bench. Both of those players are bigger fantasy assets while Hood is sidelined.

Washington Wizards: Entering the season, Bradley Beal had never made more than 1.9 threes per game during the course of a season. He'd also never attempted more than 4.9 3s per game in a season. Throw that all out the window, because Beal is taking 7.1 3s per game in 2016-17 and making a career-high 2.9. Those numbers have been helped by a recent hot streak, too; Beal's 3.4 3PG during the past two weeks ranks fourth in the NBA behind only Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry and J.J. Redick.