- With team's COVID protocol lists filling up seemingly more and more by the day, there are plenty of opportunities to be snatched by players on rosters that normally would not provide them.
- Paul George may have not fallen to COVID, but instead an elbow injury, but Trevor's pick Terance Mann will be expected to pick up a lot of that slack. He put up 26 PRA against the Nuggets but unfortunately their massive comeback fell just short.
- The Kings are beginning to get fully healthy again, for now, yet they are still being battered in the Pick One with both Al and Colin making Tyrese Haliburton the sixth different King to get at least three selections in the Challenge. The pair were rewarded with 30 PRA as the Kings lost to Memphis.
- Over half of Toronto's roster for their game against Cleveland was hardship contracts leaving those like Ryan's pick Chris Boucher to try to fill in the star power gaps. Boucher's Raptors were demolished by Cleveland but he still was able to find 28 PRA in the rubble.
- Similarly to Mann, Matt's pick Brandon Boston Jr. is going to have a lot more responsibility heaped on him with regular bench players being hoisted into the Clippers starting five. He's had big games before this season, even with the team at full strength, so there may be more games like the rookie-boosted 46 PRA effort he had against Denver in store during the coming months.
- But our top scorer of the day was the Last Man In, Lou's pick Nikola Jokic. Our first 20/20 game of the 2021-22 Pick One was all necessary for Denver to help prevent a second-half meltdown. His 56 PRA in total was the best showing for a veteran on the evening.
- I say veteran because our top scorer was a rookie, yet not one we've heard from in any capacity thus far. 55th overall pick Aaron Wiggins went for a rookie-boosted 62 PRA against the Pelicans. He scored more points in this one than in his previous four starts combined and was second on the team in scoring to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The veteran Bench Bargain came from the other end of the court in New Orleans' Garrett Temple (29 PRA) while Jock Landale continued to shine off the San Antonio bench (rookie-boosted 52 PRA).
(EDIT: Hey, totally spaced that Miami's Omer Yurtseven was technically a rookie because he never got into a game last year for Oklahoma City. He would have been the optimal scorer with a rookie-boosted 64 PRA.)
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