NBA Player News

Rubio has been away from the team all season to work on his mental health, and Woj reports that if he plays professionally again, it will likely be in Spain. The buyout has no ramifications for fantasy hoops.

Smith was also probable for Monday’s loss to the Jazz, ultimately playing 15 minutes as Nikola Vucevic’s backup. Expect a similar workload for Stix on Wednesday, and that isn’t enough to make him a viable option in fantasy leagues.

Giddey and Williams are back on the injury report, but the probable tag suggests they’ll be available. The former’s status is significantly more impactful to fantasy basketball, while Williams’ value did not increase much on Monday despite the Bulls being without Zach LaVine.

Embiid got into a verbal altercation with a columnist who’d written a critical column on the former MVP, making mention of his deceased brother and young son. That led to Embiid shoving the writer before the two were separated. Embiid’s suspension won’t begin until he’s medically cleared to return from the knee injury that has kept him from appearing in any games this season.

LaVine sat out Monday’s loss to the Jazz, with Ayo Dosunmu replacing him in the starting lineup. Dosunmu would be worth streaming if LaVine cannot play against Dallas, as he logged 35 minutes and scored 25 points on Monday.

Nembhard was back in the lineup on Monday after a one-game absence, starting and playing 29 minutes in a win over the Mavericks. If he cannot play against Orlando, T.J. McConnell and Jarace Walker will see an increase in playing time.

Gordon only played four minutes on Monday night before exiting, which gave us a good look at what things will look like with Peyton Watson filling the void. He finished with 16 points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and a 3-pointer in 31 minutes, which makes him a high-priority streaming option for the next few weeks. Hunter Tyson should be the backup power forward, though he didn’t do much in his 15 minutes on Monday.

Both guys missed Monday’s game, though Love has yet to play at all this season. Josh Richardson and Alec Burks should once again soak up the reserve minutes on the wing, while Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson will fill out some of the frontcourt minutes. Larsson is coming off playing 25 minutes in their last game, though he has largely been stuck on the bench this season.

Another absence for Carter Jr. should mean another start for Goga Bitadze, who logged 27 minutes on Monday. Bitadze contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block during his time on the floor and should be considered as a streaming option until WCJ returns. Moritz Wagner can be considered in deep leagues, since he finished with nine points, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block in 21 minutes off the bench. Neither are great options, but they will have some boosted stats as long as Carter Jr. is out.

New York recently agreed to standard deals with Ariel Hukporti and Matt Ryan, which opened the door for Buie to take over a two-way spot. The former Northwestern standout will likely spend most of his season in the G-League.

Russ got his second straight start on Monday and ended up having arguably his best game of the season. This was his second game scoring in double figures, and he scored more than 20 in both. With Jamal Murray dealing with a concussion, Westbrook has played more than 30 minutes in their last two games. Opportunity doesn’t always mean success for Russ, as he did struggle immensely against the Jazz on Saturday. They’ll be taking on an elite Thunder defense on Wednesday, which seems like a recipe for a bad game from Russ. He played well in this one, but it’s smart to play it safe and not expect it to continue.