Some big dills around the league this week:

• James Harden has taken a break from ethical basketball, getting to the line a league leading 48 times on his way to a 127 point lead

• SGA went a perfect 28/28 from the line and scored 40, 41, and 51 points to lead the league in scoring last week despite only playing 3 games.

• Nikola Jokic hit a record setting 31/21/22 Triple Double Joker however stuggled to make his free throws making only 53%

• Trae Young lead the league in assists by 14 while going 29/30 from the free thow line, that was almost offset by his putrid 5/25 3point shooting.

• Speaking of hitting 5 3s. Bam has been ending this season with top 20 numbers over the past month. This has been achieved by hitting an extra 3 every other game and pushing from 18-23 ppg.

SG

562

Desmond Bane

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT8.0

PTS107.0

REB41.0

AST25.0

STL6.0

BLK3.0

TOV9.0

This week we have yet another first time pickle, who has made the cut by just being a well-rounded fellow. A solid scoring contributor with massive rebounding for a guard, what sets this cat above the rest is that he has provided meaningful contribution in all 9 cats with a 33 percentile contribution in blocks being his worst category. We think that's just wonderful. With the final week of the regular season under wraps we've got just one more pickle to award, and we are proud to declare Desmond Bane to be the bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Josh Giddey after a season of being banished to the Chicago Bulls has been on a rip over the past 2 weeks. He's upped his 3s, points, rebounds and assists by 50% from his season average and he managed to break 50% from 3.

• Steph Curry had an absolute bomb of a game against the Magic, hitting 12 3s for 56 points. He even went an impressive 17/17 from the line. We even got to see him dunk this week.

• Jalen Duren managed to put together an impressive week with 68% shooting combined with 49 rebounds and 7 blocks. He was also able to salvage his ft% with a 6/6 showing against the Nets. After struggling to provide value for much of the season he could be coming in clutch come playoff time.

• Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bol Bol were within 2 pickle points of one another in this weeks ranking. In order to drop this low KD had to shoot 73% from the line and Booker got 3 steals, zero blocks and 14 rebounds. Bol Bol got 72 points while shooting 48% from 3.

• Zach Collins had been crushing it since being traded from Wemby's shadow to the Bulls. seeing an increase from 14 mpg to 33, he is expectedly setting season highs in points rebounds and assists.

PG

641

Tyrese Haliburton

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT17.0

PTS88.0

REB11.0

AST48.0

STL13.0

BLK2.0

TOV4.0

As this seasons pickle parade begins to wind down we have an absolute spicy big mary of a performance. Combining a smooth 62% (60% from 3) from the field for 88 points this dominant scorer hit 17 3s this week. He also combined for 48 dimes and 13 steals while only having 1 turnover per game. Hell just for badness he went 5/5 from the line. With the performance of the year (so far) we are elated to crown Tyrese Haliburton the bread and butter pick of the week. See you next week for the final pickle of the season!

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Anthony Edwards Attempted 71 3pt shots during the extended fantasy week out of 132! fg attempts. the second most attempted 3s was by Curry who had 59. Curry shot slightly better than Edwards 32%.

• Evan Mobley had an enourmous week with 104 points on 58% shooting, 59 rebounds and 13 blocks. The only mark against his record was a gnarly 70 ft% on 20 attempts.

• Draymond Green had his best week so far of the season, showcasing impressive steal numbers and assists while keeping his shot attempts at well below 10 per game.

• Kyrie Irving has been riding a high shooting rate with a surprisingly low number of assists since the big Mavericks trade. Posting 124 points and 15 3pts with only 5 Turnovers over the 4 games

• Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George (Utah) combined for 88 assists on the week and both managed to shoot under 70% from the line. They ranked 1st and 3rd in total assists.

PF

561

LeBron James

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT16.0

PTS133.0

REB37.0

AST35.0

STL6.0

BLK6.0

TOV24.0

Declaring himself a "natural-born wide receiver" after receiving a beautiful lob pass from a fat, pale natural-born quarterback, Lebron James appears to be revitalized since the arrival of new teammate Luka Doncic. Since the trade he's exchanged a couple assists per game for an extra 3 points and increases to both Steal and block rates. Still defying father time, LeBron managed to put together a multicat monster of a fantasy line combining excellent scoring with good 3s and assists. This was combined with meaningful contributions across rebounds, steals and blocks on great shooting efficiency. Even though he failed to pickle last season we are still very pleased to bring back the king as our week 16 bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Scottie Barnes likely had an excellent fantasy output with a unique combination of steals, blocks and ft% whick putting together respectable points, boards and assists

• Naz Reid had a break-out week with a 90 point campaign featuring 16 3pts, 90 points, and 34 rebounds.

• Dyson Daniels has been improving his offensive output over the last few weeks during the Hawks latest injury outbreak. He's still producing elite steals, strong blocks for a guard and contributed 28 assists on the week.

• Michael Porter Jr. had an incredible 105 points this week shooting 58% from 3. He did this while managing to stay under 2 ast per game. Absolute legend.

• Pascal Siakam went a flawless 23/23 from the line and shot 53% from the field for 94 points on the week. While he has been seeing 3 fewer shot attempts per game that his recent tenure on the Raptors there has been a clear increase in his shooting efficiency.

SF

607

Amen Thompson

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT3.0

PTS76.0

REB37.0

AST34.0

STL10.0

BLK9.0

TOV19.0

Fresh off a 5 game week while contending with a number of key injuries the Houston Rockets managed a 1-4 record which is considerable improvement over last season. Leading the team in Assists, steals, blocks and turnovers while having the second highest points, rebounds and field goal percentage was Amen Thompson. He played 192 minutes last week, which is above 38 mins per game. Amen has been displaying XLNC in his growing role in Houston, showing tremendous growth across all 9 categories. Over the last 30 days he's been averaging 17 points which is considerable growth from his average of less than 10 last season. So for showing such amazing growth potential and no longer being A Minor, we here at picklytics are proud to declare him bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Joker lead the league with 50 assists, second was lebron with 40, he also came top 10 in points, rebounds steals, and turnovers.

• Austin Reaves aka 'the Grim Reaver' has been putting up solid contributions as the 3rd option on the Lakers, seeing about 50 fga over the past week. He should see an uptick in usage for the next week or two and his year over year increase in 3 points made can only get better with Doncic in the backcourt.

• Kevin Durant remains just inside first round value but has slowed in all categories except blocks from last year. Following this progression in 6 years he should be performing at a Tim Hardaway Jr leve3l.

• Ivica Zubac lead the league in rebounds last week while going 10/10 from the line. While historically an extremely good FG% guy, we are seeing an extra 4 points and 3 rebounds a game. Could this be the absence of Mason Plumlee or the addition of James Harden?

• Guerschon Yabusele has been the 2nd brightest spot on the 76ers roster after Maxey and he's made it on the back of impressive steal numbers. Steal numbers so Impressive they make up a third of his total for the season. I'd move along cause there's nothing to see here.

C

574

Kristaps Porziņģis

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT16.0

PTS85.0

REB31.0

AST14.0

STL6.0

BLK10.0

TOV3.0

Well some weeks you get the big thing, this week it's the big Ping! Kristaps Porziņģis with his delightful Latvian accented g has managed to put together a four game week after missing time with 6 different injuries. If he was a horse he'd be glue by now, but he's no horse this right here is a bonafide Unicorn. He plays high, he gets 3 triples against the Bulls, he goes low and its 4 blocks vs the Pelicans and 5 blocks against the 76ers. He's finally up over the 30 minute threshold and his unique blend of 3 point shooting and rim protection have managed to find him a place amongst the picklytic greats. May his long balls fall and his DTD's be in the past. We are proud to announce Kristaps Porziņģis as our bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week (Wizards Alumni Edition):

• Daniel Gafford the 16 minute wonder has been getting full run with Lively out and has been putting the work in with double doubles in 4 of his last games. He managed an incredible showing against the hornets with 31/15 with 7 blocks. He ended the week with 14 blocks, second place was Anthony Davis with 8.

• Jordan Poole has had uncharacteristicly sticky hands wioth 10 steals on the week and been moving the ball much better than past seasons. This uptick in assists can be explained by his TO rate being 1/3rd of his season average, giving us a peek in a what a poole lead offense would look like if the rest of the lineup didn't have stone hands.

• Tyrese Maxey has been a solid contributor all season perpetually showing up in the top of the BIGDAWG ratings. He's just been so consistent which is probably the only bright spot in the 76ers season

• Deni Avdija has been providing solid contributions in all categories. Honestly if there was an all mid team, he should make first team

• Kyle Kuzma shoots 42% from the field and 59% from the line, the only thing he appears to be good at accumulating is Turnovers. Somehow Marvin Bagley III has been even worse. Honestly the wizards lineup is worse than being punched in the mouth by Draymond

SG

573

Donovan Mitchell

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT16.0

PTS122.0

REB15.0

AST22.0

STL6.0

BLK2.0

TOV6.0

Overdrafted is a phase that gets thrown around highly when it comes to players who have not yet hit their skill ceiling. This week's winner has been accused repeatedly of having his charisma exceed his skill when showing up on draft boards. I've had this discussion repeatedly over the past 3 years of what exactly Anthony Edwards needs to do to elevate his fantasy game to first round value. Well, this week Anthony delivered what the Truthers has been dreaming of. Leading the league with 21 threes and a lucky 133 points, he also hit 96% of his free throws at huge volume while providing excellent rebounding for a guard. He did league the league in turnovers, but countered with an uptick in assists and field goal percentage. While it is unlikely he will continue to shoot 50% from 3, he is hitting 4.3 for the season just behind Steph Curry, LaMelo Ball and some dude named Daeqwon Plowden (who his 5 3s in his only game). After waiting a very long time to see the rise of this heir apparent, we are delighted to christen Anthony Edwards with the bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Rootin' Tootin' Scootin' Henderson brought forward his first full week as a top contributor, achieving an 101 point week, with 31 assists and 16 threes.

• Alperen Sengun stuffed the stat sheet across points, rebounds, assists and steals. His block rate is Sabonis-esque, but there's never been a better season to punt blocks

• Jalen Green has been making shots, resulting in a 130 point week, he shot 60% from the field and 63% from 3, as well as 96% of his free throws, this brings his season average to a tepid 43/36/87%

• Trey Murphy III has led the Pelicans to a 3 game winning streak playing over 36 minutes a night. He has been providing great contribution across all categories, with a huge leap across points steals and free throw shooting from last season.

SG

592

Anthony Edwards

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT21.0

PTS133.0

REB30.0

AST21.0

STL5.0

BLK3.0

TOV20.0

Overdrafted is a phase that gets thrown around highly when it comes to players who have not yet hit their skill ceiling. This week's winner has been accused repeatedly of having his charisma exceed his skill when showing up on draft boards. I've had this discussion repeatedly over the past 3 years of what exactly Anthony Edwards needs to do to elevate his fantasy game to first round value. Well, this week Anthony delivered what the Truthers has been dreaming of. Leading the league with 21 threes and a lucky 133 points, he also hit 96% of his free throws at huge volume while providing excellent rebounding for a guard. He did league the league in turnovers, but countered with an uptick in assists and field goal percentage. While it is unlikely he will continue to shoot 50% from 3, he is hitting 4.3 for the season just behind Steph Curry, LaMelo Ball and some dude named Daeqwon Plowden (who his 5 3s in his only game). After waiting a very long time to see the rise of this heir apparent, we are delighted to christen Anthony Edwards with the bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• Zach LaVine led the league in scoring with 135 points on the week, he's been carrying the Bulls offense averaging 28.7 pts over the last 30 days

• Anthony Edwards managed to put his best showing of the season, dropping 17 3 pointers and 105 points.

• Bam Adebayo seems to be finding some rhythm in his game, he attempted 10 3s this week and led the league in steals, however he's been showing an uncharacteristic Ben Simmonds level of Free throw shooting.

• Anfernee Simons attempted 43 shots from deep and hit over half of them. Questionably he also managed to only draw a single free throw in 77 shot attempts.

PG

629

Devin Booker

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT13.0

PTS133.0

REB23.0

AST44.0

STL8.0

BLK0.0

TOV12.0

This week we have another first time pickle grabber. Despite being the top 2nd round pick for the last 4 seasons running, he has never been able to truly elevate above his peers. He did achieve lesser accolades such as an appearance on the cover of NBA 24. Devin Booker was a monster on the ball this week. Attempting a shocking 102 shot attempts and leading the league combined with 44 assists, he came second in league scoring with 133 points. No Blocks? No problem when you are hitting 13 4s and being in the top 20% for steals. We are glad to elevate Devin Booker to join the esteemed ranks of the bread and butter pick of the week.

Some big dills around the league this week:

• with the conclusion of the Jimmy Butler era in Miami, there is a big role to be filled in the heats starting 5, is Nikola Jovic ready to step bigger role having eclipse with the lack of front court players or could we see Kel'el Ware step into a rim protecting role? Where will jimmy end up? This could be an opportunity for the Suns to get even older!

• Wussell Restbrook is showing signs of life again seeing a large uptick in both steals and assists, reinforced by a 64% from the field. The secret to this was setting what is at least a season best he only missed 6 3s this week.

• CJ has been red hot from deep, hitting 19 3-pointers on only 35 attempts.

• Jamal Murray had a great bounce back week, going 11/11 from the line and grabbing 9 steals.

• Derrick White tied with Wemby for most blocks on the week at 11, the fack he is a 6'4" is what makes this most impressive, 2nd highest blocks for a guard was SGA with 5.

• At this point I need to start excluding Jokic from player comparisons, he lead the league in scoring and assists again, and came in 2nd on rebounds. He also went 24/27 on free throws and hit 10 3s.

C

532

Karl-Anthony Towns

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT6.0

PTS124.0

REB72.0

AST14.0

STL6.0

BLK1.0

TOV8.0

I've been waiting for this moment for the last 3 years, a previous ironman dethroned after getting the longest covid, getting hit by a bus and having multiple season ending injuries it's finally time. The big kat in manhattan strung together an amazing 4 games, featuring 4 massive double doubles, one with 44/16, and two with over 20 rebounds. Thats not to mention he has some all time great facial expressions and a truly impressive 72/1 rebound:block ratio. For his commitment to displaying all the emotions of the game, we are honored to proclaim Karl-Anthony Towns the week 10 bread and butter pick of the week.

C

638

Victor Wembanyama

Volume

Efficiency

FG

FT

3PT19.0

PTS121.0

REB42.0

AST14.0

STL2.0

BLK20.0

TOV13.0

This week's top performer has given us and absolute masterclass across 4 counting categories. Leading the league in both 3s(19) and blocks(20) while adding 121 points and 42 rebounds. This sophomore continues to develop consistency in his long game while absolutely mashing competition down low. It is with great festive cheer that Picklytics is proud to declare Victor Wembanyama as the bread and butter pick of the week.