NBA Player News

Braun has been a solid piece off the bench for Denver all season, and he was able to have a big game in this one. This was his highest-scoring game since November and his second double-double of the season. Braun hasn’t been effective in the box score for most of the year, but he has had some big games recently. He was expected to fill the Bruce Brown role from last season, so they’ll need him to keep playing at a high level if they want to repeat as champions.

GTJ has been incredibly disappointing in his first season with the Bucks, but he is starting to get it going. He has scored in double figures in three straight games and averaged 11 points, two steals and three triples during that stretch. Monday’s game included a new season-high for both points and 3-pointers. This modest production doesn’t make him worth picking up at this point, but if he can start to figure things out, he’ll be a huge help for the Bucks as they try to turn their season around.

Following a three-game absence due to a concussion, Lillard was back in the lineup for this game. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but all was forgiven when he knocked down a game-winning layup in the closing seconds. Prior to the final game of last season, Dame had gone 150 straight games with at least one 3-pointer, but he already has three such games this year. The numbers don’t look as bad, but the highs have been high and the lows have been low for Dame. He has hit just one triple over his last three games, and he’ll look to get back on track against the Bulls on Wednesday. He was able to record his first double-double of the season and set a new season-high for assists.

Lopez has shown us recently that he definitely still has it, but it hasn’t come consistently. Two games before this one, he had 29 points, eight rebounds, eight “stocks” and five triples. He followed that up with a modest five points in a loss before going off again in this game. The norm should be somewhere in the middle, but he has been very hit or miss so far this season. There aren’t many players that can hit 3-pointers and blocks shots at the same rate as Lopez, and when he gets going, he can have some special performances.

After scoring 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting in the three games prior, Black had his best offensive game of the season on Monday. The 20 points and nine assists were season-highs for the second-year guard, as were his three 3-pointers. Black’s issue has been inconsistency, which has prevented him from taking advantage of the additional opportunities that have come his way with Paolo Banchero sidelined. As an 11th-round player over the last two weeks, Black has only been worth the risk in extremely deep leagues.