I will say it plain, because opening night is Tuesday and wires move fast once the games count. The best add in fantasy basketball right now is a Boston reserve most of your league has never watched play. His name is Hugo Gonzalez and Friday night told you everything.
Gonzalez scored 21 points off the bench on 6 of 10 shooting with 3 of 7 from three as Boston beat Philadelphia 125-120 in overtime. A reserve scoring 21 points off the bench in a preseason finale is exactly the kind of breakout line our fantasy basketball HQ page flags first in Last Night's Breakouts. Boston trailed by 14, won the fourth quarter 31-21 to force overtime tied at 115-115 and got 77 points from its bench. Gonzalez was the spark for all of it.
Here is why this is not a one night story. Boston moved Jaylen Brown for Paul George this summer and George has never been a safe bet to stay on the floor. A team built that way needs bench scoring every night, and Gonzalez just proved in a real test that he can carry a second unit. Joel Embiid finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and Tyrese Maxey added 22 for Philadelphia, and Boston's bench still won the night.
The honest check is the rotation. Boston's starters will take their minutes back on opening night at Detroit, and a reserve's line always shrinks when the games count. That is the price and it is still worth paying. You are adding the role and the shot, not just the 21 points, and roles like this one get more valuable every time George sits.
Make the add today, before Tuesday's tip makes Friday's line old news for everybody else too. And if you want the full picture before you spend the move, the fantasy basketball HQ page tracks that same 21 point bench breakout alongside the rest of the opening week wire.
By Kingston O'Neal, who does not wait for opening night to make opening night moves.