NBA Player News

Kristaps Porzingis has already been ruled out, so if Holiday is absent for Game 3, the Celtics will be down two starters. Boston holds a 2-0 series lead, but Indiana is undefeated at home in this season’s playoffs. Holiday has been big through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, sporting averages of 21.5 points and 9.0 assists. Derrick White would presumably start at PG in Holiday’s place, while one of Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser would join the starting five alongside Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Nurkic posted 10.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and matched a career-high with 4.0 assists per game last season. The Suns’ coaching staff has expressed want him to work on stretching the floor with outside shooting more this season. Whether his injured finger will affect that plan remains to be seen.

Sharpe was limited to 32 games last season due to a core muscle injury. Now, he’s back on the shelf. This time, it’s due to a small tear of his posterior labrum, and the Blazers announced that Sharpe would miss 4-6 weeks. Given the diagnosis, he’s only viable in deeper fantasy leagues allowing IL+ designations. As for who stands to benefit, Toumani Camara stands to pick up additional rotation minutes off the bench. While a starter for most of last season, Camara was expected to lose time due to the presence of Sharpe and the offseason acquisition of Deni Avdija. Avdija is expected to be a starter; Sharpe’s absence will also boost his value.

Selected with the fourth overall pick, the hope for Castle is that he can combine with Victor Wembanyama to serve as critical pillars for the Spurs franchise moving forward. The former UConn standout is off to a good start, with multiple veterans praising him for his early adjustment to the NBA. “Man, Steph is so good,” Spurs guard Chris Paul said. “You can always tell some players when they came into the league how they were coached in college. You can tell Steph was well coached.” At first glance, he appeared to be a rookie who would be more valuable to fantasy managers later in the season if San Antonio fell out of contention for a postseason berth. However, Devin Vassell (foot) is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, opening up a spot in the starting lineup. Castle and Julian Champagnie are two possibilities to fill the void, making that a competition to track when San Antonio opens its preseason schedule on Monday against the Thunder.

James’ first preseason action was nondescript overall, an unsurprising development given his limited run during one season at USC. The defensive activity was a positive to take away from Friday night, as Bronny was rarely out of position and led the Lakers with three blocked shots. It’s doubtful he will help a fantasy roster this season, but watching him develop as a pro should be fun.

The first-round pick out of Tennessee made his unofficial NBA debut on Friday, and he had a decent night in Palm Desert. Knecht shot 2-of-7 from beyond the arc, but that was as part of a rotation that lacked LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Playing off of those two stars should result in cleaner looks. That should also help with the turnovers, as Knecht committed five on Friday. More often than not, he’ll be in the role of “finisher,” either around the basket or in catch-and-shoot situations, so that high number should not concern fantasy managers too much.

The Lakers were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis on Friday, resulting in Reaves taking on a more prominent role within the offense. His leading the team in assists may have been slightly surprising, as D’Angelo Russell (14 points, three assists, one steal, one block, and two 3-pointers in 21 minutes) was also in the lineup, but Reaves is capable of making plays for himself and others. He’ll need to clean up the finishing, as two of his four 2-point misses occurred in the restricted area. However, Reaves is a career 80.3% shooter from within three feet of the basket, so Friday’s effort should not concern fantasy managers.

With LeBron James (expected to play on Sunday) sitting out Friday’s preseason opener, Christie was moved into the starting lineup. And he had a good night, recording a complete stat line while shooting better than 50% from the field. With the Lakers signing Christie to a four-year extension this summer, there’s a clear expectation that he’ll earn rotation minutes under new head coach JJ Redick. That may not be enough to make Christie viable in most fantasy leagues, but there may be times when he’s worth the risk as a streamer.

With Anthony Davis getting the night off (he’s expected to play on Sunday), Hayes was tabbed to fill the resulting void in the starting lineup. He was his usually active self, doing a solid job as a finisher and rebounder. With Christian Wood (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (feet) both sidelined and unlikely to be ready for the start of the regular season, Hayes is in a position where he can lock down the backup center role. However, that won’t do much for his fantasy value, as he’s behind a bonafide first-round pick in Davis.

Shannon was one of the Timberwolves who benefitted from Chris Finch’s decision to shut down the starters after the first quarter. Also, Anthony Edwards was not active for the team’s preseason opener. Shannon had a solid night attacking the basket and was also impactful as a playmaker for others. Getting the minutes needed to be an impactful fantasy option once the games count will be difficult, but Shannon is undoubtedly a worthwhile target in dynasty leagues.

With Anthony Edwards inactive and Mike Conley only playing eight minutes (all in the first quarter), Dillingham had ample opportunity to show what he could do for his new team. The lottery pick out of Kentucky wasn’t bashful as a shooter on Friday, but he made sound decisions with the basketball overall. Dillingham’s four assists were countered by just one turnover, and 45% from the field isn’t an alarming percentage to put up in your unofficial NBA debut. The availability of Edwards and Conley will heavily impact his fantasy value during the season.