NBA Player News

One day removed from blowing a big lead in a loss to the Nets, the Knicks got their first win of the summer after nearly collapsing again. And Kolek made the two biggest shots, a baseline floater followed by a layup through contact to give New York the win. After focusing primarily on setting up others in New York’s first two games, the second-round pick was more aggressive in looking for his shot. Kolek’s role will be different once the regular season begins, but summer league allows him to do more scoring.

Wemby has missed the Spurs’ last three games, but he is expected to be back in the lineup against the Warriors. That will return Zach Collins to his usual role off the bench, while Charles Bassey will likely be pushed out of the main rotation.

Both players have missed the team’s last two games, and their absence from practice doesn’t bode well for their chance of playing on Sunday against the Raptors. Sam Merrill and Isaac Okoro practiced and both will see extra minutes if they play and LeVert and Wade remain out.

Merrill missed Cleveland’s last game, while Okoro has missed the last two. However, practicing on Saturday gives them a good chance if playing against Toronto on Sunday. If that happens, Ty Jerome, Jaylon Tyson and Craig Porter Jr. will play significantly smaller roles.

An MRI indicated that Vassell has a knee contusion that is similar to Victor Wembanyama’s, so there is chance that Vassell remains out for another game after this one. Malaki Branham should continue to play extra minutes off the bench, but he isn’t worth streaming.

Smith played 25 minutes off the bench in their last game, so if both Butler and Smith both can’t suit up, there will be plenty of minutes to go around. Depending on the status of Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr., Alec Burks and Josh Richardson could play large roles in this game.

After scoring 27 points in their last game, Murray wasn’t able to provide much of an encore in this one. This was one of his lowest-scoring games of the season, though he was able to knock down a clutch triple with 10 seconds left in the game. He also made up for it by doing more playmaking and had his first double digit assist game of the season. Murray is shooting 39.7% from the floor this season, so the poor shooting isn’t new, but the assist and block bonus helped make up for it in this game. Luckily, there next game is a quick turnaround against the Lakers on Saturday. Murray always seems to be at his best against the Lakers, so this is a great chance for him to bounce back.

Watson hasn’t truly shined as the starter in place of Aaron Gordon, but he has been able to consistently provide numbers. During his seven starts, Watson has averaged 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.7 triples per game. That well-rounded production has allowed him to provide top-100 value during that stretch. It’s unclear how much longer Gordon will be sidelined, since the initial diagnosis had him missing “multiple weeks”. Until he’s back, Watson should be streamed with confidence.

Fox has been playing through a left hand injury since the beginning of November, but it hasn’t had a negative impact on his overall production. On Friday, he took a few hits to the hand. While there was no need to exit the game, this is something for fantasy managers to watch. Fox provides top 15 per-game value in 8- and 9-cat formats for the season. The Kings end their Week 5 slate with a home game against the Nets on Sunday.

Sabonis returned to the lineup on Friday after missing two games, picking up where he left off regarding double-doubles. He’s recorded 13, only falling to do so in Sacramento’s season opener. Sabonis is providing 1st-round value in 8- and 9-cat formats, and it isn’t difficult to envision him maintaining that production level throughout the season.

After missing their last three games, Jokic was back in full force on Friday. He recorded his fifth straight triple-double, and he scored at least 30 points in the final three. He was out of the lineup due to the birth of his son, but his time away from the team didn’t slow him down at all. Denver may not have been able to get the win, but Jokic continues to be the best player in fantasy basketball night in and night out. He’ll look to extend his triple-double streak on the second night of a back-to-back against the Lakers on Saturday.