NBA Player News

Ayton returned to the lineup on Friday, and the individual production was solid. However, it wasn’t enough to keep the Blazers from suffering their second 60-point loss of the season. At this point in the season, Ayton is Portland’s best fantasy option, but only if the availability isn’t in question. His return on Friday pushed Duop Reath to the bench, and the rookie finished with six points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. He’s worth holding onto, as there’s no telling how Portland will handle Ayton’s availability moving forward.

CP3 didn’t do much scoring in this game, but he was still able to make his presence felt. He set a new season-high for assists while also tying his season-high for steals. What was interesting about his night was that while he did score six points, they all came from the free throw line. Paul failed to make any of his field goal attempts in this game, but he was still able to make a big impact. Paul has managed to be an excellent option in 9-cat leagues once again this season and will look to keep dishing out the dimes with the Clippers coming to town on Tuesday.

Wemby’s 20-point streak came to an end in their last game, but he was able to start a new one in this game. Wemby led both teams in scoring, though it didn’t come on efficient shooting as he made less than half of his 30 shot attempts, which was his second-highest output in a game this season. It wasn’t enough for them to escape Minnesota with a win, and their road trip will come to an end with a 1-3 record. They’ll kick off a three-game week with the Clippers in town on Tuesday.

Barnes got off to a hot start in this game, scoring 15 points in the first half alone. That allowed him to have one of his best performances of the season, but it could have been so much more than what it was. It isn’t often that a player scores 24 points on nine shots while only missing once, because normally a team would feed the player more shots. That didn’t happen, which prevented him from doing way more damage. Barnes hasn’t been a fantasy-relevant player despite starting for the Spurs this season, and he isn’t worth picking up just because of this game.

Coming off his best game of the season, DiVincenzo was able to stay hot in this game. He scored 15 points in the first half and was able to set a new season-high for scoring for a second straight game. DiVincenzo is coming off the best season of his career, so his first season in Minnesota has been rather disappointing to this point. However, he has scored in double figures in five of their last six games and has scored at least 20 in two straight, which are also his only two 20-point games of the season. He’ll look to stay hot in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Gobert has been alternating games recording a double-double, and that pattern held true in this game. He has been struggling to produce for fantasy managers recently, and he ranks outside the top-200 over the past two weeks. However, he was able to play well in a matchup with his teammate from the French National Team in Victor Wembanyama. Unfortunately, while Gobert is more than capable of nights like this, they haven’t come consistently this season. He’ll look to end the pattern of recording a double-double in every other game on Tuesday against the Thunder.

McDaniels’ season has been a disappointing one, and some of his recent performances have been abysmal for fantasy managers. However, he played well in this game and was able to record his second double-double of the season. The bump in steals from 0.9 to 1.4 per game has been nice, but a drop in shooting percentages and points has been frustrating, since he would likely be a top-100 player if he was simply shooting the ball better. He didn’t get any 3-pointers to go, but he’ll look to change that in OKC to start a three-game week on Tuesday.

Green has never been the most efficient scorer, and he’s shot 50% or better from the field in just three of 12 games in December. He’s shooting 40.7% for the season, which is one reason why the Rockets guard is ranked well outside the top 100 in 9-cat formats. He’s considerably better in leagues that punt turnovers, providing 9th-round value, and Green is a top 100 player in FG%-punt builds. Green was ejected from Sunday’s game for his role in a fight between Amen Thompson and Tyler Herro, so fantasy managers will have to wait to see what the fallout is regarding league discipline. Houston hosts Dallas on Wednesday and plays three games in Week 10.

Thompson came off the bench on Sunday with Dillon Brooks (ankle) back in the lineup. The rebounds and assists were solid, but the second-year wing had minimal impact in the reserve role. More concerning for fantasy managers was the fight between Thompson and Tyler Herro, with Amen tossing the Heat guard to the court. His status for Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks may be in doubt, and the Rockets only play three games in Week 10.

Sengun lost out on some shot attempts with Dillon Brooks back in the lineup, but he made up for it with excellent production on the boards. The Rockets center matched his season-high with 18 rebounds, and fantasy managers will also get solid value from the six assists and two defensive contributions. Sengun remains a top-40 player in 9-cat formats, but he’s a top-20 player in 3-point punt builds.

Brooks was back in the Rockets lineup after missing three games with a right ankle effusion. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but the good news is that Brooks played 40 minutes without issues. At best, he remains a deep-league option, but Brooks may be worth a look in more leagues if the NBA suspends Amen Thompson after getting into a fight with Tyler Herro during the fourth quarter. The Rockets play three games in Week 10, beginning with Dallas on Wednesday.