Fact or Fiction: The Knicks need Giannis Antetokounmpo if their goal is to win a title
Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Fact or Fiction: The Knicks need Giannis Antetokounmpo if their goal is to win a titleAs currently constituted, the Knicks can absolutely win the Eastern Conference. But can they beat the West's best?
Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner will start Thursday's game against the Celtics.Already without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks also won't have AJ Green again due to a shoulder injury. Trent moves into the starting lineup for Thursday's game, with Jericho Sims being moved to the bench. While he doesn't possess the highest fantasy ceiling, Trent is worth a look in deep leagues due to the opportunity.
Kevin Porter Jr. had 18 points (6-of-10 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), 10 rebounds, 13 assists, one steal and one three-pointer against the Celtics on Thursday.There's a lot of slack to pick up with Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the lineup. That's certainly playing into some of the numbers Porter and his teammates have put up recently, not that fantasy managers are complaining. Porter was one assist and three rebounds shy of a triple-double last week against the 76ers. He was able to pull of the triple-double Thursday against the Celtics, but the bigger takeaway is Porter has consistently put up solid numbers this year and Giannis being out has only added to has value in the short-term.
Bobby Portis had 27 points (11-of-13 FGs), 10 rebounds, one steal and five three-pointers against the Celtics on Thursday.Portis is averaging 11.2 points per game this year, but with Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the lineup he's put up at least 22 points in two of his last three games. The 30-year-old power forward was very efficient with 27 points on 13 attempts and five made three-pointers. He's still in a reserve scoring role, but with Giannis sidelined there's more of a runway for Portis to hit his ceiling.
NBA trade rumor roundtable: Discussing Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and more as trade season nearsThere could be some league-altering moves this winter... so what do our writers expect to see?