NBA Player News

The Lakers could use some more depth and shooting on the wings, but they have very little cap space, so this is the tier of players they can work with. Lamb could make some sense in LA, and he could possibly even compete for a starting spot, but he’ll need to earn a contract first.

After halftime, Edwards flipped the proverbial switch, scoring 20 points in the third quarter to help Minnesota grab control of the game. That was four shy of his career-high for points in a quarter, and the explosion salvaged what was on track to be an underwhelming night for the Timberwolves star. Over the past two weeks, Edwards has provided fourth-round value in eight-cat formats, one round better than his nine-cat production. Minnesota plays three games during Week 22, starting with the Nuggets on Tuesday.

Brooks Jr. provided a nice boost off New Orleans’ bench to lead his team in scoring while delivering plenty of quality peripherals in the process. Brooks Jr. is one of a handful of Pelicans players who should see big minutes down the stretch of a lost season.

Hardaway has reached double figures in three straight and four of his last five outings. And with the veteran guard scoring 52 points in his last two outings, this qualifies as one of THJ’s most productive stretches of the season. While Hardaway has offered 12th-round value in nine-act formats over the past two weeks, Malik Beasley remains the superior choice for fantasy managers mining the Pistons roster for three-pointers.

Duren recorded his 37th double-double of the season on Sunday and his 13th since the All-Star break. The Pistons’ center offers limited defensive value, which lowers his fantasy ceiling. Over the past two weeks, Duren has been an eight-round player in nine-cat formats, one round worse than his season-long value. He’ll provide points, rebounds and a high field-goal percentage, but Duren will need to bring more to the table if he’s to be a top-75 player (or better).

A late addition to the starting lineup due to Tobias Harris (Achilles) being scratched, Beasley did what fantasy managers have come to expect from him. The veteran guard provided points and three-pointers with solid percentages and not much else. Over the past two weeks, Beasley has offered 11th-round value in nine-cat formats. Beasley is a deep-league option at best, whether he comes off the bench or is inserted into the starting lineup.

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.