NBA Player News

Per Broussard, Saunders isn’t planning to make a hire until after the draft. It’s not clear who might be on Saunders’ list, but he’s crafting the front office the way he wants to and has ownership’s blessing to do so.

Antetokounmpo hasn’t found many bad matchups this season, and he certainly didn’t run into any issues against the Lakers’ backups. He only played 29 minutes, and the lopsided score was the only thing that was able to slow him down. It was a nice “get right” game for Giannis after two subpar performances against elite defenses on Sunday and Tuesday. Milwaukee will wrap the week up in Sacramento. Antetokounmpo had a 33-point triple-double against them when they faced off in January.

GTJ continues to be a reliable scoring option off the bench for Milwaukee, and he was able to step up on Thursday and have one of his best performances of the season. He tied his season-high for scoring and fell one three-pointer shy of tying his season-high. This was the fifth-straight game that Trent Jr. scored in double figures, which has led to strong fantasy production during this stretch. He’ll look to keep it going in Sacramento on Saturday.

Butler continues to fit in flawlessly with Golden State, and he was able to record his second triple-double as a Warrior in this game. It wasn’t his most efficient shooting night, but he was able to make up for it with his well-rounded production on both ends. He may continue to be a focal point of the offense if Stephen Curry (pelvis) remains out against the Hawks on Saturday after exiting early on Thursday. Butler turned in a 24/8/10 line without Steph on Tuesday.

With Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski both healthy, Post returned to the bench after starting five of Golden State’s last six games. However, he was still able to be productive as a reserve; he scored 12 points on four three-pointers in just the first half. He added two more triples in the second half, and he may get the chance to build on this performance over the weekend. Stephen Curry exited early with a pelvic contusion and is set to undergo an MRI. If he misses Saturday’s game in Atlanta, Post may return to the starting lineup.

Though it has been a disappointing season overall for Quickley, mostly due to a lack of availability, he has put together a strong stretch of production over the past two weeks. During that time, he has provided third-round value in nine-cat leagues. Fantasy managers had high hopes for Quickley, but numerous injuries and playing on a lottery team really hurt his chances of living up to the preseason expectations. Still, it is good to see him finishing strong to build momentum heading into next season.

After sitting out the second night of Toronto’s back-to-back on Monday, Poeltl was back in the lineup against Golden State. His production has been limited by a lack of minutes in some of his recent appearances, but that wasn’t the case in this game. Poeltl’s 28 minutes on Thursday were the most that he has played in a game since February 2. Unfortunately, this was the last non-lottery team that Toronto will play for a while, so managers may have to deal with more limited performances from Poeltl.

Jones was forced to leave the game with just two minutes left due to what the team is now calling a left midfoot sprain. He had X-rays, but they came back negative. An exact timeline for Jones’ absence is unclear, but it seems likely that he will miss Saturday’s game against the Lakers. Josh Giddey should return to the starting lineup in his place.

Playing against his former team for the first time, LaVine wasn’t able to have a big night. He only scored three points in the first half, all of which came at the free throw line. This ended up being LaVine’s worst game since being traded to Sacramento, which was disappointing that it came against his former team. LaVine should bounce back against the Bucks on Saturday, but this was a missed opportunity for him.

With Domantas Sabonis sidelined, Lyles has been able to step up as a solid offensive option off the bench for Sacramento. He did plenty of damage early on and had 14 points with four three-pointers in the first half. He ended up setting a new season-high for scoring despite not hitting any triples in the second half. Jonas Valanciunas only played 15 minutes on Thursday while Lyles logged 24 minutes. Clearly, even if Lyles still isn’t playing a massive role, he has been the preferred option over the last few games.

With Damian Lillard (calf) sidelined, Rollins got the starting nod at point guard for Milwaukee. He didn’t have an efficient shooting night across his 29 minutes, but he was still able to contribute value in other categories. Rollins has been the starter most of the time that Lillard has been sidelined, but that hasn’t happened often. It may not have happened on Thursday if the Lakers had their normal rotation available. Rollins is only worth considering as a streaming option when Lillard isn’t available.