NBA Player News

Lamb went from out to doubtful to available tonight which is nice, but he’s still not the most reliable fantasy option around.

Brown shot just 1-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-2 from beyond the arc, but he made up for his poor scoring with monster peripheral contributions. Across his last two, Brown has averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 swats. New Orleans is dealing with a multitude of injuries, which means Brown could be in line for big minutes down the stretch.

Smith Jr. and KJ Simpson led the Hornets in playing time, but it was Smith Jr. who had the better night as a scorer. Simpson turned in nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Smith Jr. posted his 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including a 3-of-5 mark from downtown and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. With LaMelo Ball out for the season and Charlotte eyeing a potential chance at drafting Cooper Flagg, Smith Jr. should see significant minutes down the stretch.

Nurkic was the nominal starting center, though he logged limited minutes and ceded playing time to the likes of Taj Gibson and Moussa Diabate. His 22 minutes were enough time to help fantasy managers, as he concluded with a big double-double, meaningful defensive contributions and even a pair of triples. Nurkic is worth streaming when Mark Williams is out, but be weary of Charlotte’s minutes distribution.

Johnson’s improved play since the All-Star break has been a positive development for fantasy managers who kept the faith. He has provided ninth-round value in nine-cat formats since the break, averaging 15.4 points per game on 54.6 percent shooting from the field. However, with Johnson’s limited production outside of points and rebounds, this may not be sustainable for an entire season. Despite his post-break improvements, Johnson remains outside the top 200 in season-long value in eight- and nine-cat formats. However, this is something for fantasy managers to concern themselves with for draft season, not Week 22, in which the Spurs will play four games.

The Spurs received little production from their starters on Sunday, with Vassell being the only one to score in double figures. He shot 50 percent from the field, continuing to improve his efficiency on the offensive end of the floor. Over the past two weeks, Vassell has offered third-round value in nine-cat formats and fourth-round value in eight-cat formats. With the Spurs playing four games during Week 22, Vassell managers are in a good spot, provided San Antonio doesn’t cut his playing time for draft lottery reasons.

Butler did not provide much scoring on Sunday, but category league managers received excellent value in the assist and steals categories. He’s dished out eight assists or more on five occasions since joining the Warriors, so the production in that category was unsurprising. However, the four steals matched his season-high, with Butler hitting that number for the first time since February 10. Over the past two weeks, Butler has provided fifth-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats.

Curry didn’t do much on Sunday, which was bad news for fantasy managers counting on an elite performance to close out Week 21. However, the Warriors did not need much from their superstar, as the team scored 148 points and shot nearly 58 percent from the field. For Curry managers who have a championship to compete for in Week 22, the Warriors play four games. Hopefully, he can rebound from Sunday’s pedestrian performance.

Moody has reached double figures just twice in his last seven games, scoring 20 points on both occasions. While Sunday was a good night for him, the recent dip in production has negatively impacted Moody’s fantasy value. Over the past two weeks, he’s ranked just inside the top 150 in nine-cat formats and just inside that threshold in eight-cat. Moody is only rostered in 14 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and that’s unlikely to change heading into Week 22, even with Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) exiting Sunday’s win during the first half. Kuminga played seven minutes, finishing with four points and one rebound.