Houston

Rockets

Finney-Smith hasn’t played yet this season after undergoing offseason ankle surgery. The 32-year-old small forward is getting closer to his season debut, though. He at least has a chance to play Thursday given his questionable listing. Even if Finney-Smith isn’t available on Christmas Day against the Lakers, his return isn’t far off.

Sengun popped up on the injury report as questionable with a calf injury Wednesday night ahead of the Rockets’ Christmas Day matchup with the Lakers. If the 23-year-old center can’t go, it’ll be bad news for Houston. Steven Adams and Clint Capela would handle the center minutes for the Rockets.

Thompson finished Tuesday’s defeat with a solid stat line. He’s scored at least 18 points in four of his last six appearances and has been a third-round player in eight-cat formats over the last two weeks. Thompson and the Rockets play two more games in Week 10, starting with the Lakers on Christmas Night in the final game of Houston’s road trip.

Şengün finished three assists shy of his second triple-double of the season, but he’s up to 15 double-doubles. Like Kevin Durant, his production took a hit because Ime Udoka decided not to put his starters back into the game during the fourth quarter. The Clippers led by a comfortable margin, so the plug was pulled. Şengün and the Rockets will look to redeem themselves when they visit the Lakers on Christmas Night.

Durant and Houston’s other starters didn’t see much time in the fourth quarter, as the game was well out of reach when they would usually re-enter the fray. He shot the ball reasonably well and blocked a few shots, so it wasn’t lost for those with Durant rostered. Still, some fantasy managers will wonder what could have been if Houston had been able to avoid getting blown out. Next up for the Rockets is the final game of their road trip on Christmas Night against the Lakers.

Adams did not play in Sunday’s loss to the Kings, which was Houston’s second game in as many nights. His return means that Clint Capela will likely fall out of the rotation. He should not have been streamed on Sunday, so this doesn’t change anything in fantasy basketball.

Reunited with “Terror Twin” Tari Eason, Thompson finished a blocked shot shy of a complete stat line on Sunday. If there’s something to watch, especially as Eason’s minutes increase, it’s how his return will affect Thompson defensively. Combined, those two can wreak havoc defensively, which may boost the fantasy values of both if it leads to increased steals and blocks. Over the last two weeks, Thompson has been a third-round player in eight-cat formats, so it isn’t like he was struggling with Eason on the sidelines.

One day removed from scoring eight points in his least productive game of the season, Şengün got back on track in Sacramento. He’s now scored at least 28 points in eight games, one more than his tally during the entire 2024-25 campaign. Over the last two weeks, Şengün has been a top-25 player in eight-cat formats, which aligns with his season-long value. The Rockets open a three-game Week 10 on Tuesday against the Clippers.

Making his first appearance since November 14, Eason was under a minutes restriction on Sunday. However, the production in limited time on the floor was highly encouraging. Eason shot 75 percent from the field and made all three of his three-point attempts. For the season, he’s making nearly 51 percent of his 4.8 three-point attempts. That’s a far cry from Eason’s career percentage (36.4), so it’s fair to question if he can continue to shoot the ball that well. However, there’s no denying that Eason has improved in that area, and it raises his fantasy ceiling once his minutes increase. He’s rostered in 26 percent of Yahoo! leagues; it won’t be long until Eason is once again trustworthy in 12-team formats.

While Sunday’s result was disappointing for Durant and the Rockets, as they appeared to hold a commanding fourth-quarter lead, he did make some history. Not only did he move into tenth place on the career made field goals list, passing Hakeem Olajuwon, but KD became the sixth player to record at least 30,000 points and 6,000 assists in a career. Durant finished Sunday’s loss two assists shy of a triple-double, and he has been a top-10 player in eight-cat formats over the last two weeks. Houston plays three games in Week 10, starting with the Clippers on Tuesday.