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This isn’t surprising at all to see him go off after Young led Orlando Pro Summer League in scoring last year. Young threw down the early favorite for the best Summer League dunk, but he did hurt his back on the fall. Young stayed in the game, but he was grabbing his lower back at times. He’ll be fighting for his minutes in the second unit this season. The video of his jam is in the link below.

The Pelicans are taking it easy with Murphy. Dejounte Murray has already suffered a broken hand while Wiliamson missed Game 1 with an illness. Murphy’s return is most likely to affect Brandon Ingram, who racked up 33 points on Wednesday.

Barrett appears to be trending in the right direction. The injury he suffered in his final preseason matchup ahead of the 2024-25 campaign is on the mend and his team could use the extra fire power if Immanuel Quickley can’t suit up. He averaged a career-best 21.8 points in 32 games with Toronto in 2023-24.

Quickley was cooking with hot grease in his 2024-25 debut before getting hurt. He rattled off 13 points in 14 minutes. His workload could be on the downstroke, though, as RJ Barrett appears to be working toward a return to the lineup soon.

The 76ers clearly needed more offense during their 124-109 loss to the Bucks. Tyrese Maxey scored an inefficient team-high 25 points while Kelly Oubre chipped in with 21 of his own. George’s return will surely cut down KJ Martin’s minutes significantly.

Jones had a good night shooting the basketball, making both 3-point attempts on the way to a 12-point night. The 2023-24 season was his best regarding 3-point shooting, with Airplane Mode making 1.1 per game at a 34.1% clip. Those numbers should indicate that nights like Wednesday aren’t the norm for Jones. However, there’s a chance he offers modest offensive value while Kawhi Leonard remains sidelined.

The absence of Kawhi Leonard means Powell will have every opportunity to make things happen as a scorer. Wednesday night was rough, as he was 1-of-7 from beyond the arc and shot below 50% from two. The assist production was positive, as Powell didn’t offer much value outside of points last season. He’s worth rolling the dice on until Leonard returns, as it’s unknown when Kawhi will be healthy enough to play.

Fantasy managers knew Harden would have to take on an increased workload, and that’s how things played out in the opener. With Kawhi Leonard (knee) sidelined and Paul George now in Philadelphia, The Beard shouldered the responsibility of being the Clippers’ primary scoring and playmaking option. Between the shot attempts, near triple-double, and turnover count (eight), fantasy managers likely had flashbacks watching Harden in action on Wednesday.

Nurkic only played nine minutes in the first half of Wednesday’s game, as both teams went small for extended periods. It’s also worth remembering that the veteran center didn’t see much action during the preseason, as he was returning from a finger injury. So, fantasy managers can blame Nurkic’s workload on the matchup and Phoenix exercising caution regarding his playing time. Fantasy managers who have him rostered need to remain patient.

The first regular season game at the Intuit Dome was a thriller, and Durant was one of the reasons the home fans didn’t celebrate a win. He made a colossal fadeaway shot with 21 seconds remaining to force overtime, with Bradley Beal taking over during the extra period to deliver Phoenix the victory. Durant played 44 of a possible 53 minutes; that’s unlikely to happen very often this season. This is a good thing, given how much basketball KD has played throughout his career.

After a 2023-24 season in which injuries limited his impact, Beal got the 2024-25 campaign off to a good start. He shot the ball efficiently while recording a full stat line, giving fantasy managers the value they hoped to receive last season. If Beal stays healthy, he should be in for a good season, especially with the Suns addressing their deficiency at the point guard position this summer. The additions of Tyus Jones and Monte Morris mean the Suns’ main scoring options can focus primarily on that instead of worrying about facilitating.