NBA Player News

It was Shump’s first game of the season and there were no guarantees he was going to play tonight. But he did, and he even made a nice mid-range fadeaway after snagging an offensive rebound. He’s not going to be a fantasy-relevant player unless the Nets are shorthanded but let him build some steam first. It was good to see the veteran wing back on the court.

Alexander-Walker came off the bench and only played 24 minutes, but still managed to have the second-most shot attempts for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have plenty of other mouths to feed with Mike Conley, Julius Randle and Naz Reid. It takes a perfect storm for Alexander-Walker to outproduce all of them, making him difficult to count on in fantasy when the Timberwolves have an otherwise healthy roster.

Edwards’ 26 points were a game-high. He had no trouble playing or even scoring after briefly leaving Friday’s game against the Lakers with an ankle injury. Edwards hasn’t played his best lately, but even in relatively low-scoring games he’s been able to score in the 20s. He’s been a top-25 player on a per-game basis in December.

Poole committed five fouls, but still managed to play 36 minutes in the contest. His shooting wasn’t very efficient as he had 21 points on 19 shots and he dished out seven assists, but also turned the ball over three times. After an excellent start to the season, Poole’s production has tapered off a bit and this was just another unspectacular game for the 25-year-old shooting guard.

White had been in a bit of a shooting slump, but now has 23 and 15 points in his last two games. He impacts the game in a variety of of ways as he also chipped in with five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in this one. The 30-year-old point guard is having a career-year in many ways and is a top-20 player in fantasy this season.

Isaac returned to action after a two-game absence, playing 15 minutes off the bench. While the offensive impact was minimal, the defensive production keeps Isaac on the radar in some deep leagues. Orlando plays two games in Week 8, beginning Thursday with Oklahoma City, and the time off should benefit Isaac.

Suggs had a rough night against the Knicks, shooting 1-of-12 from the field in the first half. He was better after halftime, but the Magic guard’s night came to a frustrating end when he fouled out with 3:59 remaining in the game. While Suggs has been a top-50 player over the past week, he’s made just 35.6% of his shots. The looks haven’t been as clean as they were with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in the lineup, negatively impacting Suggs’ scoring efficiency.

Few basketball fans, if any, projected matchups between Wagner and Karl-Anthony Towns to be “must-see TV” before the season began. But they have been, with both players producing highlights and quality stat lines in the teams’ two meetings. Wagner went off for a career-high 32 points on Sunday, playing 25 minutes off the bench. Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues, he’s worth adding with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner sidelined with torn oblique muscles.

The oblique injuries Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner suffered have made it necessary for others to increase their production, including da Silva. Before Sunday, he hadn’t been much of a threat offensively. However, the performance against the Knicks will draw some attention for a rookie rostered in 2% of Yahoo leagues. With Orlando off until Thursday, da Silva isn’t a must-add on Monday morning. However, the playing time as a starter makes him worthy of deep-league consideration.

Hart has been one of the biggest surprises in fantasy basketball this season, providing top-20 value in 9-cat formats. While there may be skeptics about his ability to continue this trend for the remainder of the season, this may not be unrealistic. Hart isn’t a prolific scorer, but his production in other categories makes him so valuable.

Bridges finished Sunday’s game with a complete stat line and shot the ball well, but the production outside of points was modest. He recorded “ones” in the other categories, which won’t do most category-league managers much good. However, Bridges is getting back to where he was expected to be before the season began, providing 6th-round value in 9-cat formats over the past two weeks.