NBA Player News

According to the New York Post, Plumlee could be the third-string center behind Joakim Noah and Willy Hernangomez. Plumlee has already signed a three-year deal with the Knicks, but only the first year is guaranteed.

That slow stretch that LeBron had a month ago is clearly behind him. He has been a top-five player in 9-cat leagues over the past two weeks with averages of 28.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 3.3 triples per game while shooting 57.8% from the floor and 85% from the free throw line. This was his seventh straight game with at least 20 points, and he has made at least 50% of his shots during that stretch. He’ll look to keep it going in Dallas on Tuesday.

Howard barely played during his rookie season, but he has had a few decent performances in year two. However, none of them compare to this one, as he set new career-highs for points, assists and 3-pointers in the loss. Howard hasn’t seen his minutes increase dramatically despite Orlando dealing with so many injuries, but that could change after a night like this. Still, we’ll need to see him string a few good games together before he becomes worthy of a roster spot in standard leagues. Keep an eye on the rotation in New York on Monday.

Queen is still on a two-way contract, and he barely saw the floor prior to the middle of December. However, with Orlando dealing with injuries to Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, Queen has been able to be part of the rotation a few times in recent weeks. He set a new season-high for assists in this game and scored in double figures for the second time this season. It’s great to see him play well, but he isn’t a player to consider rostering in standard leagues.

The rookie was able to have some strong performances early on this season, but he hasn’t been very productive since November. The Jazz were missing four of their top five scorers in this game, which allowed for plenty of other guys to take on larger roles. Filipowski was one of those, and he ended up scoring in double figures for the first time since November 17th. The rookie has plenty of upside in dynasty leagues, but he isn’t worth rostering in redraft leagues at this point.

About 24 hours after he grabbed 16 rebounds against the other Florida team, Kessler eclipsed that and tied his season-high for boards in this game. Utah won on Saturday through an excellent offensive effort, but they got it done on the defensive end in this game as they allowed a season-low 92 points in the win. Kessler’s block numbers have been down recently, but he has been dominant on the glass over the last two weeks. They have four games next week, starting against Atlanta on Tuesday, which will give Kessler plenty of chances to swat some shots.

Mitchell had a quiet first half in this game and entered the break with just two points on 1-of-4 shooting. This was his second straight game with less than 20 points, which hasn’t been a common theme for him this season. However, it hasn’t negatively impacted the team, as they’ve won 10 straight games, with Mitchell scoring less than 20 in four of those. They host the Thunder on Wednesday, which will be a matchup of the two hottest teams in the league. If they want to maintain their winning streak, Mitchell will have to be better.

For the third time in their last five games, Garland finished with exactly 25 points. He only scored 30 total over their previous two games, but he had 23 assists during that stretch, which made up for the lack of scoring. Garland’s bounce back season has been a big reason for Cleveland’s success this season, and he’ll look to keep it going against an elite defensive team on Wednesday, which is also a matchup between the two best teams in the league when they take on the Thunder. Unfortunately, they only play two more games after that next week, which will limit Garland’s impact.

Smith Jr. didn’t play a large role as a rookie, and he has played even less in year two. However, in the game where LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller returned to the lineup, Smith Jr. decided it was the perfect time to set new season-highs for points, rebounds and 3-pointers. It is encouraging for dynasty managers to see him play well, but he isn’t a player to consider adding in redraft formats.

Miller had missed six of their previous seven games due to a sprain in his left ankle, but he picked up right where he left off in this one. This was his sixth game with at least six 3-pointers this season and was able to start up a new 20-point streak. He went 12 straight games with at least 20 points prior to his ankle injury, and he’ll look to keep this new one going against the Suns on Tuesday, where they’ll also be trying to snap their 10-game losing streak, which is currently the longest in the league.

Sarr was able to record the fourth double-double of his career in this game, with two of those coming in his last three games. He went consecutive games without a block for the first time in his career, which isn’t something that managers should have to deal with often. He has had a strong first season in Washington, and his shooting percentage is starting to rise due to some strong performances recently. Sarr will continue to be a solid option in fantasy as a rookie, but he’ll need to bring the blocks back in order to approach a top-100 finish.