NBA Player News

Redick won’t play on Saturday and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, “I think it would be unlikely that he’ll play in the series.” This is a chronic heel injury which Redick aggravated in mid-May, and it’s likely to become a question of pain tolerance. The Mavs will miss Redick’s shooting but there are no major fantasy implications.

Wallace injured his ankle during the third quarter, checking out with 1:25 remaining. With Alex Caruso also injured, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe can absorb most of the minutes that would have gone to Wallace.

Unfortunately for Jokic and the Nuggets, Monday felt like the end of their second-round series against the Timberwolves in last year’s playoffs. The three-time MVP was outplayed by Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded a line that included 30 points and 15 rebounds. As disappointing as Monday’s defeat was, it’s one game, and Jokic remains the best player in fantasy basketball.

Monday’s game was McBride’s first since November 13, and he gave the Knicks solid production off the bench. Despite his importance to the team, Deuce is a deep-league option at best. The same can be said of Cameron Payne, who played well while McBride was out. Payne played 18 minutes on Monday, finishing with 11 points, one rebound, five assists, and two 3-pointers.

OG Anunoby wasn’t the only Knicks player to have a career night in Denver. Brunson’s 17 assists were a career-high for him, and he only committed two turnovers. While he remains a few spots outside the top 50 in season-long value, Brunson has been a top 40 player over the last two weeks. There’s still some ground to make up if he’s to reach his Yahoo ADP (19), but Brunson will be fine.

Initially questionable for Monday’s game, Towns was more productive than three-time MVP Nikola Jokic on Monday. He continues to provide top-10 fantasy value in 8- and 9-cat formats, cracking the top 5 in the latter after his 30/15 night in Denver. Towns has been playing through some nagging injuries, but even that hasn’t slowed him down.

Anunoby started hot and did not cool down until the game was no longer in doubt. He finished with his first career 40-point game, continuing his march toward being recognized as one of the NBA’s best two-way players. Anunoby provides top-15 per-game value in 9-cat formats, well ahead of his Yahoo ADP (80). The only concern for fantasy managers is availability, as Anunoby surpassed 60 games just three times in his first eight seasons.

Avdija saw more minutes in the second half after Jerami Grant left the game with a knee injury. He finished with 32 minutes and team-high 17 points as Portland lost by 25. Avdija could return to the starting lineup if Grant misses time going forward, which would have him on the streaming radar.