NBA Player News

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past three months, you’ve heard of the lanky, 7’4 French phenom, arguably the most hyped rookie of all time. Wenbanyama has been called a “unicorn” and an “alien” for good reason. We’ve never seen a prospect with his elite combination of size, dribbling, rebounding, scoring, and blocking prowess, and that skillset lends itself to a very fantasy-friendly game. Fantasy managers are also buying into the hype, and we’d be surprised if the rookie makes it past the third round of redraft leagues. Wemby is sure to be a starter for the Spurs from Day 1, and, like in the 1997 Draft when the team selected Tim Duncan first overall, this may be a day the team looks back on as franchise-altering.

With White out, both Lonzo Ball and Talen Horton-Tucker may be in line for extra minutes. However, with Zach LaVine, Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu already starting, Billy Donovan may turn to Torrey Craig to fill the void in the starting unit.

Jones was initially listed as doubtful, so his absence isn’t surprising. However, this is a step in the right direction for him, since he hasn’t played since October.

Green missed practice on Monday, and there is a good chance that he is forced to sit out against Denver on Tuesday. Steve Kerr said that Draymond should be considered doubtful for this game after initialy reports said that he is questionable to play. His expected absence will likely result in Jonathan Kuminga making a return to the starting lineup, with Kyle Anderson seeing extra minutes off the bench.

Jerome has had a fantastic season for the Cavs thus far, and he has yet to miss a game to this point. If he is forced to sit out of this one, Caris LeVert and Craig Porter Jr. should be the primary ball handlers off the bench.

Original reports indicated that Wade would remain out for this game, but he has been upgraded to questionable. His absence has allowed Isaac Okoro and Georges Niang to take on extra minutes, but none of these guys have been relevant in standard fantasy leagues this year.

Lively missed their last game, which allowed Daniel Gafford to get the starting nod in his place. Gafford will be pushed back to the bench if Lively returns, with both players splitting the minutes at center.

Marshall will miss a second straight game with this illness, but the Mavs are starting to get healthier. Marshall would likely be back to playing a bench role if he was able to play in this game, which means that there will be more minutes for Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber in his absence.

Thompson has missed the team’s last four games, but he may return to the lineup on Tuesday. Quentin Grimes has been starting in his place and has scored at least 20 points in three straight games. However, Thompson’s return will likely push Grimes to the bench, even if he has been playing better than Thompson has all year.