This week, the Knicks came back from the brink despite some foul trouble and poor shooting from Jalen Brunson; the Pacers found out what Boston already knew – 20-point leads aren’t comfortable against the Knicks; and Minnesota held MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check to claw its way back into the series. Other Fantasy basketball related stories we’re tracking include…

Julius Randle Turning Things Around

Julius Randle has had a tough go since being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The injury-prone forward shot better this season, but had a reduced role on the Wolves. However, he’s really made up for that in the postseason, and was a big part of a huge win in Game Three on Saturday when Minnesota sent OKC a very loud message.

Randle bounced back from a brutal showing in Game Two (six points on 2-of-11 shooting – really his first off game of the postseason) to pour in 24 points (9-of-15) while adding a pair of treys. He really regressed in rebounding this season, and it’s been even worse in the playoffs, but with nearly 23 PPG he’s come up way bigger this spring after averaging under 19 during the regular season (his worst scoring effort since he was a Laker, just before his breakout in 2018-19).

Since the playoffs began, Randle has looked a lot more like Robin to Anthony Edwards’s Batman, which bodes well for Minnesota as it seeks to square its Western Conference Finals matchup against the Thunder on Monday.

Among the best signs for the Wolves was that Randle – after pulling disappearing acts in the second half of the first two games – was highly visible down the stretch in Game Three. That’s a trend that must continue, because Edwards cannot carry this team on his back alone during crunch time.

Coming out of Kentucky as the seventh overall pick in 2014, Randle was considered ready for the league because of his strength, but questions remained about his defense and leadership. Concerns about his defense have been answered as he was better this season, but he still derives most of his value on the offensive side. Further, Randle has developed into a fine leader.

Pascal Siakam Needs to Step Up

As discussed above, the Indiana Pacers let a 20-point lead slip away on Sunday, blowing a golden opportunity to put the Knicks in a 3-0 hole in this series. Instead, we may suddenly have a real battle in the Eastern Conference Finals after Indiana looked like it was going to run away with the series after winning the first two games on the road.

One of the keys to winning Game Three for the Knicks was that they were able to slow down Pascal Siakam, holding him to 17 points after he had exploded for 39 in Game Two.

In his first full season as a Pacer, he wasn’t quite as good as he’d been down the stretch after the trade in 2023-24, but he did manage a few more blocks than he had in recent years. In the playoffs so far, Spice P has more or less maintained his scoring pace, despite some spotty free throw shooting.

Siakam, who offers similar Fantasy value to Nikola Vucevic, will need to step up on Tuesday in Game Four or this series will be right back at square one, with each team still seeking its first home win in this round. Crazy stuff!

Could Siakam play hero in the ECF? Well, he’s currently listed at +10000 on FanDuel to sink the game winning field goal at time expires in the series.

Waiver Wire Pick of the Week

Terrence Shannon Jr., SG, Minnesota Timberwolves (ESPN: 0.4 per cent; CBS: 4 per cent): This is more of a dynasty pick than anything else, but Shannon showed what he can do given the chance to play more than usual in Saturday’s blowout win, pouring in 15 points in just 13 minutes (and it wasn’t merely garbage time, either) — and he could continue to see extra PT going forward. Taken 27th overall last year after having some legal issues in his last season at Illinois, he played sparingly as a rookie this season and before this weekend, had been squeezed for PT even more in the playoffs. Still, Shannon showed flashes of solid three-point and free throw shooting in his limited action. His assist percentage in particular was intriguing, as it landed him near the top 75 percentile among shooting guards (not far behind Jeremy Sochan), impressive given the paucity of PT.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Pink Floyd developed into one of the top progressive rock bands on the planet. In 1971, they released their sixth album, Meddle, which included “Seamus,” often cited as one of the band’s worst songs ever. But even the worst Floyd tune can kick the ass of most band’s best material, right?

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