NBA Player News

Randle has hit double figures in four of his last eight games and the Magic might be ready to turn the young guys loose. Just keep an eye on him in case he starts playing heavy minutes on a nightly basis. Cole Anthony played just 21 minutes tonight.

J-Val got the start, but played only 23 minutes in the blowout loss. Valanciunas doesn’t need to play much more than 20 minutes to have a good fantasy night, though. He was efficient with 16 points on 11 shots and contributed on defense with five rebounds, two steals and three blocks. The Wizards have the day off Saturday before a date with the Magic on Sunday.

Edey played 22 minutes off the bench in the blowout win. While he’s not a fantasy starter at this point, Edey is worth rostering. His play and playing time aren’t consistent yet, but there have certainly been signs that he can be effective. The Grizzlies take on the Trail Blazers on the road Sunday.

After scoring 22 points or more in each of Houston’s first five games, Green has cooled off offensively. He’s surpassed 15 points once in the last four, shooting 32.1% from the field. The decrease in efficiency is why Green has been ranked outside the top 175 over the past week. While he’s never been the most efficient scorer, Green is capable of more than what he’s provided recently.

Starting for the injured Ja Morant, Pippen Jr. posted the first triple-double of his career. He was +21 in 28 minutes in the 24-point victory. Pippen Jr. has played well this year, but has a lot more fantasy value while Morant is out. We should know more about Morant’s timetable to return this weekend, but in the meantime Pippen Jr. has to be in starting fantasy lineups. The Grizzlies take on the Trail Blazers on the road Sunday.

Brooks shot the ball well on Friday, making half of his shots overall and going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Rockets wing has reached double figures in three straight and four of his last five, but he remains nothing more than a deep-league option. Brooks and the Rockets end Week 3 on Sunday in Detroit.

Even with his performance against the Rockets, Mitchell is not worth adding in most fantasy leagues. All six games in which he’s hit double figures in minutes have been blowouts, including his two double-digit scoring nights. Mitchell’s name is worth filing away for the “silly season” if Oklahoma City were to run away with the top seed in the West, but that’s it.

The fifth spot in the starting lineup has been a revolving door, with Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins all receiving the nod at various points this season. It was Wallace’s turn on Friday, but he offered minimal value as the starter, while Joe (14/6/1 with three 3-pointers) and Wiggins (8/5/5/1/1 with two 3-pointers) were more productive. Wiggins has been the best fantasy option thus far, but all three are deep-league options at best.

Holmgren thoroughly outplayed his Rockets counterpart, with Alperen Sengun shooting 3-of-12 from the field and scoring 11 points. Holmgren didn’t play during the fourth quarter, as the Thunder used a 44-point second quarter to remove any doubt regarding the outcome. As expected before the season began, Holmgren is providing top 20 per-game value, and it would be unsurprising if he were a 1st-round player by season’s end.

This was a routine performance for Gilgeous-Alexander, one of two Thunder players to score 29 points in 29 minutes (Chet Holmgren). Thus far, SGA’s production has aligned with his ADP, with the Thunder point guard sitting just outside the top 5 in per-game value. Oklahoma City closes out Week 3 with a game against the Warriors on Sunday.