The unofficial second half of the NBA season opens up on Thursday with six games set to take place. It's also happening on trade deadline day, which makes everything that much more interesting.
Might Chris Paul take to the court for the first time since mid January when his Los Angeles Clippers travel north to take on the Golden States Warriors? How will DeMarcus Cousins perform in his first game as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans?
These are the two biggest storylines heading into Thursday's action, but let's take a gander at the most-important fantasy-related notes for the day's slate of action.
Trades
It's extremely important to keep up with the trade deadline prior to the start of Thursday's action. The deadline itself is at 3:00 pm ET and could involve a couple of the teams set to take to the court Thursday evening.
Iman Shumpert (Cleveland Cavaliers), Derrick Rose (New York Knicks), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson (Detroit Pistons), Wilson Chandler (Denver Nuggets), Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver Nuggets) and Darren Collison are all said to be on the trade block. All these teams are slated to play on Thursday. That's the first thing we should keep an eye on.
Chris Paul's Return
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers announced that Paul has been medically cleared to return to the court after undergoing surgery to fix torn ligaments in his thumb last month. Originally expected to be out 6-8 weeks, it looks like Paul will be returning early. In fact, he could suit up Thursday against the Warriors in Oakland.
It will be interesting to see whether Paul will be able to go. It is something we should also definitely keep an eye on during the day. If Paul were to return, he'd then be tasked with going up against two-time reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry with the Warriors having more than a week of rest.
That's not good for the Clippers, but it surely will give Paul the game time he needs to help the squad moving forward on the season.
Nikola Jokic's Absurd Recent Play
Jokic and his Denver Nuggets start the unofficial second half of their season against a Sacramento Kings squad that just traded away DeMarcus Cousins. Talk about money in the bag right there.
Over the course of his past 22 games, Jokic is averaging 22.2 points, 10.8 points and 5.6 assists per game. That's some elite-level performances right there. Look for Jokic to have a huge game against a Cousins-less Kings squad.
Lou Williams Makes Rockets Debut
Following a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Williams should make his debut with the Houston Rockets when they take on New Orleans on Thursday. It will be interesting to see who he takes minutes from. Williams who was traded for Corey Brewer and a first-round pick, was averaging 18.6 points in 24.2 minutes with the Lakers. For his part, Brewer was averaging less than 16 minutes per game.
With the ability to play both guard positions, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Williams take substantial minutes from Patrick Beverley with James Harden switching to the two and Eric Gordon seeing action at the three. This lineup would enable Ryan Anderson to play the stretch four. In that small-ball scenario, Trevor Ariza is the player left out in the cold. We'll definitely get out first look at what will happen here on Thursday.
Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans Make Kings Debuts
Not only did the Kings trade Cousins over the weekend, they waived Matt Barnes. With Rudy Gay lost for the season due to a torn Achilles, that leaves the small forward position wide open here. Look for Evans to see a ton of action at the wing early in his return to the Kings.
On the other hand, Hield should start for Sacramento out of the gate. He's a higher-upside player than Ben McLemore and was the key for Sacramento in the Cousins trade. From both a DFS and dyno aspect, we're going to want to see how Hield performs in his first substantial action as an NBA player.
DeMarcus Cousins
It goes without saying the biggest story for Thursday's slate is Cousins' debut with the New Orleans Pelicans. He will get the start alongside Anthony Davis, forming the best front-court tandem in the NBA.
Both Cousins and Davis are averaging 27-plus points and 10-plus rebounds per game. They are also two of only four players in the association averaging 20-plus shot attempts per outing. Both remain elite-level fantasy plays, but it is going to be interesting to see how the shot attempts and scoring is divided between the two All-Star big men.