NBA Player News

Scrubb, who signed a two-way contract with the Celtics in mid-July, will likely miss the 2023-24 season due to the knee injury. While his absence won’t impact fantasy basketball, this is a brutal turn of events for Scrubb, who played well enough for the Celtics’ Summer League squad to earn the two-way deal.

This was absolutely a tale of two halves for Brown, as he entered the break with 21 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Do those numbers look familiar. Well, that’s what he finished with. He played 19 minutes in the second half and contributed seven missed shots and two turnovers. That’s it. Brown was so effective before halftime, which makes his second half fall off so surprising. This was his first game back after a two-game absence with a shoulder strain, and his return pushed Sam Hauser (11 minutes) back to the bench. Brown will look to shake off the poor second half and get back on track in Denver on Tuesday, which will kick off a three-game week for them.

Following an eight-game double-double streak, Tatum went their last four games without one before getting back on track in this game. It wasn’t enough for them to secure a win over the top team in the West, but Tatum was still able to make an impact, especially at the free throw line. They have a three-game week coming up, starting in Denver on Tuesday. That will limit the fantasy impact that Tatum is able to make, but he should continue to be effective when he suits up.

Porzingis returned from a four-game absence in their last game, and he was able to log 29 minutes in this one. It wasn’t enough for them to get a win, but it was encouraging to see Porzingis nearly record a double-double. He has been a top-50 player in fantasy basketball this season, though his main issue has once again been availability. He has only missed a few games since making his season debut on November 25th, and he should be available for their next few games at least. Their next back-to-back will be on January 17th and 18th.

SGA has been on a tear throughout OKC’s league-best 15-game winning streak, and that continued against one of the best defensive teams in the league. During this streak, he has scored at least 30 points in 11 of their games, though this was only his second double-double of the season. SGA has been the third-best player in fantasy basketball behind Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama this season, but if he continues to play this well, he’ll certainly have a strong case for MVP at the end of the season. They have a three-game week coming up, starting in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Kuminga will miss at least their next 11 games, and it could be longer before he returns to the floor. Steve Kerr said that Moses Moody and Kyle Anderson should see an increased opportunity as long as Kuminga is sidelined, though Kerr’s rotations have been inconsistent this season, which will make it difficult to rely on either as streaming options.

Wiggins has been a solid rotation piece for the Thunder this season, but that hasn’t resulted in much fantasy production from him. However, he has scored 34 points over their last two games, which has helped the Thunder beat two of the best teams in the East. Wiggins has been in and out of the starting unit, though he has mostly been a reserve for OKC this season. With only three games next week, it would be difficult to justify Wiggins as a streaming option, even if he has played well recently.

Dort hasn’t been a great fantasy option this season, but he came up big for them late in this game, which resulted in decent fantasy numbers. Dort had a perfect fourth quarter, shooting 4-of-4 from the floor with three 3-pointers to help the Thunder complete the comeback and win their 15th straight game. This was Dort’s fourth straight game with at least three triples, and he been a solid source of defensive numbers as well. They’re now 30-5 as a team, and they’ll head to Cleveland to take on the 30-4 Cavaliers on Wednesday, which will be the first game of a four-game road trip for them.

Apparently, Ayton has been working really hard recently and may have earned a random rest day. Perhaps Portland offers PTO, and he’s using one of his days. Fantasy managers may not be too upset if that happens, since that would likely allow Donovan Clingan to start, with Robert Williams filling out the backup center minutes.

Kawamura should be available to play after a few recent absences, but even when healthy, he doesn’t play much of a role for Memphis.