Ricky Rubio put on a shooting and playmaking show worthy of Linsanity in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd on Sunday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard established a career high with 37 points thanks to making all but one of his nine 3-point attempts in the upset over the New York Knicks.
Rubio became just the sixth player since lineups were first tracked in 1970-71 to record at least 35 points and 10 assists off the bench, joining Spencer Dinwiddie, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, Brian Winters and the legendary Pete Maravich. Maybe more fittingly -- given the opponent -- Rubio became the first player with eight 3-pointers and 10 assists in a game off the bench since John Starks in 1992.
Rubio now ranks eighth overall in the NBA in total assists, just ahead of LaMelo Ball and teammate Darius Garland. He has at least one steal in nine of 11 games and in his role as Cleveland's top playmaker off the pine, Rubio could deliver a lesser but still valuable version of the assist and steal opus T.J. McConnell compiled for the Indiana Pacers last season.
The other big statistical story from Cleveland's strong start to the season and solid win in Manhattan Sunday night was the continued stellar play of top pick Evan Mobley, who tallied a career-high 26 points and became the first Cleveland rookie since Kyrie Irving in 2012 to tally at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game. Mobley handled and distributed the ball like a guard out of short rolls at times, offering a glimpse of the superstar potential the 20-year-old possesses.
Weekend recap
Highlights
Saturday
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: 38 points (14-21 FG), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 30 points (11-19 FG), 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Sunday
Ricky Rubio, Cleveland Cavaliers: 37 points (13-18 FG, 8-9 on 3s), 10 assists
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers: 12 points (4-10 FG), 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks
Lowlights
Saturday
Kevin Porter Jr., Houston Rockets: 6 points (2-14 FG), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 TO
Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers: 8 points (1-13 FG), 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 TO
Sunday
RJ Barrett, New York Knicks: 6 points (3-13 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 TO
Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz: 6 points (2-13 FG), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 TO
Weekend takeaways
Toronto's Pascal Siakam scored 15 points in a loss to Brooklyn on Sunday in his first action of the season. Siakam missed Toronto's first 10 games as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. The first bit of business is mentioning that Siakam is still a free agent in around 11% of ESPN leagues and will likely produce at a level worthy of being rostered in all formats. It was a good sign to see Siakam hunt his shot so aggressively, with a robust usage rate of 26.4% and 12 shots in his 25 minutes of run.
Indiana's Myles Turner became the first Pacers player since himself in 2017 with at least 15 rebounds and five blocks in a single game. Thanks to such dominant rim protection, Turner currently ranks ninth overall on the Player Rater. Rookie Chris Duarte dropped 15 points in the win for the Pacers and has been a bright spot for a team already hit hard by injuries on the perimeter.
Cole Anthony is establishing a new identity as a scoring force for Orlando. The Magic upset the Jazz on Sunday thanks in part to Anthony netting 33 points on 20 shots to go with five combined steals and blocks. Still a free agent in a quarter of ESPN leagues, Anthony has undoubtedly been one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Tyler Herro has been a fantasy hero through the first several weeks of the season. The clear early favorite for Sixth Man of the Year, Herro tallied 29 points in a key win over the Jazz on Saturday night, and the Kentucky product now has 192 points off the bench this season, good for the fourth most through nine team games since 1975-76 and the most since Ricky Pierce had 199 in 1990-91.
Golden State's Jordan Poole produced 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half of Sunday's win over Houston. Poole hit a scoring swoon a few weeks ago, but has averaged 24.0 PPG with 4.3 3PG during the past four games, all wins for the Warriors. Poole is a free agent in 49% of leagues.
Injuries of note
Minnesota's D'Angelo Russell is listed as questionable to play against the Grizzlies due to an ankle injury. Patrick Beverley would play a larger role if Russell can't go.
Deandre Ayton will miss the Suns' game against the Kings on Monday. With Ayton off the floor this season, Jae Crowder has enjoyed the largest leap on the team in fantasy points per 36 minutes.
Analytics advantage for Monday
Assist percentage is an estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while on the floor. Will Barton is currently posting a career-high assist percentage of 20.2%, a clip rarely hit by NBA wings.
With Michael Porter Jr. due to miss Denver's matchup against Miami due to back tightness, Barton will take on additional playmaking and scoring possessions. Averaging a career high in shots, assists, 3-point attempts and steals per game this season, Barton -- a free agent in more than half of ESPN leagues -- is a strong fantasy free-agent find to begin the week.
DFS discussion
Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James won't play for the Lakers this evening due to a core injury. Anthony Davis is listed as questionable. It could be a nice game to roster Anthony at reasonable pricing given the team's potential need for scoring pop and the fact the Hornets have allowed the eighth-most DraftKings points per game to power forwards on the season.
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle will miss Philadelphia's matchup with the Knicks tonight due to health and safety protocols. Danny Green is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Ben Simmons is still not ready to play. This leaves Maxey and Seth Curry as key fantasy options to consider ahead of tonight's matchup with the Knicks, especially since Maxey is a bargain on most platforms.