Day 37: Andre Drummond is very good at what he does

(Illustration courtesy of Danny Haas)

Yesterday's Timberwolves-Spurs game that was to be played in Mexico City was postponed due to smoke that wouldn't stop seeping into the arena. Whoops! Apparently a generator outside the stadium malfunctioned, causing the white smoke to flood the stadium that neither the Wolves or Spurs felt like playing in under the circumstances. And so, the NBA's first attempt at playing a game in Mexico since 1997 did not come to pass. The game will be played in Minnesota at a later date.

For fantasy, there are two ways to look at something like this. If you're in a tight matchup and you happen to own a Timberwolf or Spur, then you're probably pretty steamed at Mexico's electricians right now. On other hand, if you happened to be facing someone who had Kevin Love and Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, this was like a magical early Christmas gift for you, because a huge chunk of your opponent's potential stats just went out the window. And of course, if you happened to ditch a player on the Spurs or the Wolves the other day, (like, say, Danny Green or Tiago Splitter or Corey Brewer), you're probably feeling pretty good right about now, knowing that you've maximized your statistical output for the week.

Of course, how happy you'd feel is dependent on which players you also owned. Players like...

• Andre Drummond continued his stellar play of late, going for 24 points, 19 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. In his last three games, Drummond has posted 65 points, 56 rebounds, 6 blocks, 10 steals and only 3 turnovers. Yes, he has a huge, huge gaping weakness in his foul-shooting, where he's so bad that he may single-handedly cost you that category. And his disinterest in passing the ball is almost comical; the dude has 5 assists in his last 18 games. Nick Young has 21 assists in 18 games, so... just saying. But you know what, who cares? Andre Drummond has emphatically asserted himself as one of the best centers in the entire league this season, and the little that he offers in assists and free-throw percentage is outweighed by what he offers in field-goal percentage, rebounding, blocks, steals and now even points.
• Brandon Jennings had a nice night in Milwaukee, posting 17 points and 11 assists with 2 three's, 2 rebounds, a block and 3 steals. Jennings has quietly had a terrific first season with the Pistons, and is averaging 8.4 assists a game -- which is way above his previous career-high. (He should send a thank-you letter to Drummond and Greg Monroe, who had 18-and-17 last night.) The only real downside with Jennings is that his field-goal percentage is pretty terrible, and he shoots at such a high volume that he's constantly doing everything he can to lose that category for his owners. All the same, he's still a very productive point guard on a nightly basis.
• Larry Drew decided to bench his starters for most of the second half, which allowed Ersan Ilyasova to play 37 minutes off the bench and produce 22 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 three's. Ilyasova is having an absolutely miserable season, and there's such a musical chairs element to the Milwaukee Bucks right now that it's hard to have faith in him on a nightly basis. Still, an outing like this shows that he's still capable of being awesome once in a while, meaning that he does deserve to be owned. For what it's worth though, I would immediately be looking to trade him if I owned him and he started to play well for a few games, because he's as injury-riddled as anyone in the NBA.
• Timofey Mozgov was just meh on Wednesday, scoring 8 points and adding 3 rebounds in 17 minutes. So, there goes that little experiment. In Brian Shaw's crazy minutes-spreading system, Mozgov is going to struggle to do anything on a nightly basis. And let's not forget that JaVale McGee is slated to return at some point.
• Andrew Bynum had 14 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 20 minutes, in what was actually a pretty good line considering he spent the last 15 minutes on the bench. Bynum has played pretty well in his last two outings and is worthy of a pick-up, though until he gets his minutes restriction lifted, he might be a pretty frustrating guy to own.
• LaMarcus Aldridge went bonkers against the Thunder, posting 38 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Aldridge is one of the most reliable bigmen in the NBA. In fact, he may actually be THE most reliable big man, considering the injuries of Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol and the inconsistent play of Serge Ibaka, Roy Hibbert, Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah. Add in the fact that he's one of the few bigmen who will help you in assists and not hurt you in free-throw shooting, and you have the recipe of a fantasy basketball superstar.
• Enes Kanter returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday and put up 20 points and 10 rebounds. Why he was momentarily sent to the bench, I don't know. But Kanter was so ineffective off the bench that I can't imagine he'll do anything but start the rest of the way. This may be the last opportunity to buy low on him.
• Dwight Howard had a nice night against the Suns, going for 15 points and 18 rebounds and he even hit 7 of his 9 foul-shot attempts. Howard is still a productive player in the NBA, though he's on something of a cold streak in turns of swatting shots, as he has only 2 blocks in his last 6 games. Still, he's a great player most nights if you don't mind his paltry free-throw percentage.
• Kyle Korver returned to the Hawks lineup and was great, scoring 23 points on 6 three's and adding 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Korver has tied an NBA record by hitting a three-pointer in 89 consecutive games, and he has a chance to break that record on Friday. In fantasy basketball, it's hard to have a more dependable source of three's than the guy who's about the break the all-time record for games with a three.
• Paul Millsap continued to be terrific on Wednesday, going for 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal, 3 blocks and a three. Damn. Millsap has looked spectacular of late, and the most amazing aspect of his stats is that he's a 41.2% three-point shooter this year. He may not be the most consistent rebounder out there, but he's capable of producing in every single category, which is just as good.
• Is anyone else annoyed at how few NBA games ESPN has aired this year? As a dude without NBA League Pass (and by extension NBA TV), I kind of rely on ESPN and TNT to provide me with regular basketball goodness. So it's kind of irritating that ESPN keeps airing college basketball games at Wednesday and Friday instead of NBA games. But... that's just me. Maybe.