NBA Player News

Nance Jr. has averaged 25.3 minutes per game across his last four outings, so his available playing time should be divided among Jonas Valanciunas and Cody Zeller. Valanciunas should be the biggest beneficiary of Nance Jr.'s absence, and Zeller is nothing more than a desperation, deep-league streamer.

Nembhard didn’t return to Sunday’s game against the Grizzlies after scoring 14 points in 15 minutes in his first game back from a lengthy injury spell. However, it appears like he won’t miss any time. Indiana might be cautious with his workload given that he was only able to play in one half his last time out.

Entering this game, Edwards had scored at least 20 points in all 19 of his appearances. However, that streak came to a screeching halt in this game as he failed to score in double figures at all. They took control of the game with Edwards on the bench, which isn’t a bad thing for the team, even if it isn’t great for fantasy managers. This won’t be the case often, and Edwards should have no issues getting back on track against the other Los Angeles team on Wednesday.

DiVincenzo is known for being a shooter, and while he was able to knock down some 3-pointers in this game, he made his biggest impact as a passer. He set a new season-high for assists and tied the second-highest assist output of his career in this game. It has been a disappointing year for DiVincenzo, but he played well in this one. However, this isn’t necessarily going to jumpstart his production. He shouldn’t be considered a must-roster player just because of this performance.

Randle led a balanced attack from Minnesota in this game, and he was one of five players to score in double figures for them, though three of those were reserves. The starting lineup struggled, but the bench provided enough of a boost for them to get the blowout win. Randle’s numbers are down this year, though he has been more efficient than he ever was with the Knicks. This wasn’t a spectacular performance for him, but it was enough for them to get a second straight victory.

Davis has been matchup-proof for most of the year and dominated every team they’ve played. However, he really struggled in this one. He only had two points after halftime, and he scored less than 20 points for the fourth time in their last six games. Davis was a top three player in fantasy basketball for the first month of the year, but he has struggled recently, just like the team has. They’ll look for him to get back on track in Miami on Wednesday.

It has been an incredibly rough stretch of games for LeBron, who failed to hit a 3-pointer for a fourth straight game. This was by far his worst of the year as he scored a season-low 10 points and turned it over six times. Typically, he has been able to make up for the lack of scoring by dishing out assists, but he wasn’t able to do that either. It was the second night of a back-to-back, which might simply not be an option for a player that turns 40 this month. We’ll see if he can get back on track in Miami on Wednesday.

After missing their last game, Russell was back in the lineup for this one. With Austin Reaves still sidelined, Russell was able to get the starting nod in this one, and he took advantage of the opportunity. It has been a frustrating season for D’Lo, but with both Anthony Davis and LeBron James struggling, he stepped up. It wasn’t enough to make this a close game, but it was encouraging to see Russell set a new season-high for scoring. He has put together a few strong performances recently, so hopefully he can maintain this momentum.

Giddey was finally able to record his first triple-double as Bull, and he almost had one in the second half alone. He had 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists after the break as Chicago broke the game open. This was his best performance since being traded this summer, and it reminds managers of what he can do in fantasy when he’s clicking. He’ll look to keep it going in San Antonio on Thursday, which will be game two of a four-game week.

With Coby White sidelined, Julian Phillips got the start, but it was Buzelis that ended up taking advantage of the opportunity. He had the best game of his young career, which is exciting for dynasty managers. His role will likely be inconsistent for the rest of the year, barring some trades at the deadline opening up extra minute for him. That makes him difficult to roster in redraft formats, even if he played well in this one. Keep an eye on him, since he could earn extra minutes if they continue to deal with injuries.

Vooch stayed hot in this game despite not needing to do much. He only took 11 shots, which was one of his lowest outputs this season. Still, he was efficient and had his seventh 20-point double-double of the year. He continues to shoot the ball at an incredibly high percentage, which held true in this game. Vooch will continue to provide elite value in fantasy basketball until he cools off, though it may be a while before that happens.