1 week agoWashington Wizards guard
Bradley Beal (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls. He's dealing with right shoulder soreness, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him sit this one out. Beal has missed each of the last five games due to a lingering leg injury.
Gary Payton,
Jordan McRae, and
Troy Brown would see increased playing time if Beal sits out. Brown has the most fantasy value out of that trio.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Washington Wizards
1 week agoNew York Knicks forward
Bobby Portis scored 20 points with eight rebounds, one assist, one triple, and one steal in a 128-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Portis scored 20 for the second time this month. The only problem with the 24-year-old is his inconsistent playing time, which makes for spotty fantasy showings. Still, he's a good play in deeper leagues, as a source of points, rebounds- and on some nights- assists. Portis could be a solid DFS play on Thursday against Phoenix, who he scored 20 against earlier this month.
--Tim Capurso - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoNew York Knicks guard
RJ Barrett scored 22 points with eight rebounds, five triples, three assists, one steal, and one block in a 128-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Knicks may have lost big, but that shouldn't dampen the fact Barrett has put together his best overall two-game stretch this year. He's averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 triples, and 1.5 steals per game on 55/52.4/81.7 percent shooting splits. Perhaps Barrett is starting to put his game together. He'll look to keep it going on Thursday against the Suns, who limited him to 10 points in their most recent meeting.
--Tim Capurso - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoCleveland Cavaliers point/shooting guard
Darius Garland dished out a career-best 10 assists during Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, ultimately recording the first double-double of his young professional career. He scuffled to the tune of just 5-for-16 shooting, but finished with 14 points. The rookie has been finding an offensive rhythm over his last 10 games, averaging 16 points per contest, while having made multiple triples in each outing. Set to turn 20 years old in less than two weeks, the Cavaliers’ rookie guard has played his way into season-long consideration everywhere but in the shallowest formats due to the organization’s dedication to his development.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoCleveland Cavaliers center
Tristan Thompson failed to record a made field goal during Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, marking the first time this season that he finished with a goose egg in that column with the last such instance coming April 5, 2018. The timing of the dud was particularly strenuous as the team was already playing short in the frontcourt with both
Kevin Love and
Ante Zizic sitting out, which forced
John Henson into duty. While Thompson did corral eight rebounds, owners will undoubtedly be hoping that he can get back to his double-double ways Friday against the Grizzlies, who have been susceptible to strong performances from opposing centers this season.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoLos Angeles Clippers point/shooting guard
Lou Williams has made a career out of scoring piles of points in a short span and Tuesday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers was no different: in just 20 minutes off the bench, Williams shot 10-for-13 overall en route to a 24-point showing. In his quest for a three-peat as NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Williams has reeled off an average of 24.8 points per contest over his last six games. In addition to the scoring, the 15-year veteran is on pace to set a new career best with 6.2 assists averaged on a nightly basis.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoCleveland Cavaliers point/shooting guard
Collin Sexton saw his lightest minutes allotment (28) in nearly a month, yet still managed to pace his squad with a 25-point performance during Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Sexton shot 10-for-18 from the field overall, including going 4-for-6 from long range, continuing a stellar stretch that has seen him average 21.8 points per contest over his last 12 outings. He delivered little else in the stat sheet Tuesday, but the second-year guard has proven himself a valuable commodity for his scoring ability alone. On paper, he has an advantageous matchup Friday versus Memphis, but he was held to just nine points the last time that the two teams faced off.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoLos Angeles Clippers small/power forward
Kawhi Leonard was utterly dominant during Tuesday’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, collecting a season-high 43 points on 14-for-22 shooting. Without
Paul George (hamstring) available, Leonard was once again the focal point of the offense and benefited from Cleveland’s inability to slow his offensive repertoire. The six threes that he sank mark his most made triples in a single outing in 2019-20, while he also packed the stat sheet with four assists, three rebounds and two steals across his 29 minutes. Leonard has gone for at least 30 points in each of his last three outings, which makes George’s status for Thursday’s game against the Magic all the more pertinent; the 15.8 points per game that Leonard has averaged versus the franchise in his career mark his third-lowest scoring mark of any opponent.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoGolden State Warriors point/shooting guard
D'Angelo Russell was thoroughly flummoxed by the Dallas Mavericks during Tuesday’s defeat, finishing 5-for-17 from the field overall, including going 0-for-6 from long range en route to 13 points. He led the team with eight assists, but also turned the ball over six times, his second highest total this season. While Russell remains the unquestioned No. 1 scoring option for the Warriors, his goose egg in the made triples column marks just the third time this season he has failed to sink a shot from deep. Next on the docket is a difficult matchup versus a stingy Nuggets defensive unit, although Russell should have little issue reaching his traditional shot volume.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoGolden State Warriors shooting guard/small forward
Jordan Poole once again took the initiative as a reserve during Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, finishing with a team-best 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting. After going without a double-digit scoring performance for over a month, Poole has now reeled off two such performances, adding five assists, three made triples and two rebounds across 28 minutes. After having made nine starts earlier this season, Poole has become a project for Golden State, one who has shot just 27.2 percent from the field overall. His current role is up in the air with
Damion Lee expected back for the team’s contest Thursday, which could eliminate much of the offensive upside that Poole has put on display.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoBrooklyn Nets guard
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points on an efficient 12-for-19 shooting, but his club managed to still lose by a score of 118-107 to the Utah Jazz. Irving made it a double-double as he added 11 assists with five rebounds and two steals with a block as he played 32 minutes after playing just 20 in his return just a couple of days ago. Irving has been smoking hot in his two games since returning where he has connected on 22-for-30 shooting from the floor. Owners have to be more than pleased with this output and can keep their fingers crossed that he stays healthy.
--Gianni Costantiello - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoBrooklyn Nets forward
Taurean Prince came into Tuesday's game averaging 17.3 points and 3.3 makes from three over his last three games to only provide six points while shooting 0-for-4 from downtown. Prince's owners know he is streaky and you take the good with the bad, but this was very disappointing as he managed to add just five rebounds and no defensive numbers in Tuesday's loss to the Jazz. Prince still needs to be hung onto in competitive 12-team leagues, but, it is not a must and if there are better options available, take be afraid to let the Prince loose.
--Gianni Costantiello - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoHouston Rockets shooting guard
Eric Gordon produced his best offensive game of the season on Tuesday, scoring a season-high 23 points off the bench in a loss to Memphis. He shot 9-for-19 from the field and 4-for-13 from behind the arc in 32 minutes of action, adding four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Gordon has done a solid job since returning from injury, shooting 37.5 percent from outside since returning from injury and his minutes look to be on the up as well. With that said, the Rockets finish off a back-to-back set on Wednesday with
Russell Westbrook (rest) returning to the mix, so Gordon will likely take a backseat in that one.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoUtah Jazz guard
Donovan Mitchell returned from a one-game absence due to an illness to score 25 points and to help his club pick up its 15th win in 16 tries on Tuesday over the Nets. Mitchell started slow but scored 12 of his 25 points in the final frame and added four assists with a steal and three makes from three in 36 minutes of action. We can assume he was shaking off some rust early on and this was the first time the guard recorded 20-plus point in four games. We can expect him to trend up on Thursday when his club will take on the Pelicans, who could be without
Jrue Holiday (elbow).
--Gianni Costantiello - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoUtah Jazz shooting guard/small forward
Joe Ingles matched his season-high on Tuesday when he scored 27 points with some solid extras in the 118-107 win over the Nets. Ingles was smoking hot as he nailed 10 of his 14 shot attempts which included six triples and also handed out four assists with three rebounds and a steal across 30 minutes of action. Ingles has been just awesome since entering the starting unit and is averaging 15.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds and is making 3.3 makes from three at a 50.9% clip in his 15 games as the club's starting shooting guard this season.
--Gianni Costantiello - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
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