NBA Player News

Shamet has been a solid floor spacer for the entirety of his career, but he won’t be more than a depth piece for New York. And that’s if he can make the roster, as an Exhibit 9 contract is non-guaranteed. If Shamet can lock down a roster spot, his role will likely be too small for him to impact fantasy basketball significantly.

Williams is seeing additional rebounding opportunities with Chet Holmgren out and was one rebound away from a double-double. He also had five steals on the night. Williams wasn’t particularly efficient as he had 27 points on 26 shots and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. He’ll continue to have a healthy role for Oklahoma City with Holmgren out for the foreseeable future. The Thunder are back on the floor Wednesday against the Trail Blazers in the second night of a back-to-back.

SGA continues to have big names. It’s needed now more than ever as the Thunder are missing Chet Holmgren and others. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points and seven assists weren’t enough to hold off the Spurs on Thursday even without Victor Wembanyama. Oklahoma City will continue to lean heavily on SGA in the early part of this season, which is good for his fantasy value. The Thunder take on the Trail Blazers Wednesday in the second night of a back-to-back.

Barnes stepped up in the absence of Victor Wembanyama. He had 20 points on 12 shots and knocked down three 3-pointers. Barnes was +17 in 32 minutes, which led the team. He’s a deep league option only, but can still step up with a big game occasionally. Wembanyama will likely be back on Thursday against the Jazz, which will cut into Barnes’ opportunities significantly.

Paul is quietly having an excellent fantasy season as a top 50 fantasy player. The 39-year-old put up another double-double on Tuesday. His production level isn’t in any danger of slowing down as long as he stays in the starting lineup. The Spurs will be back on the floor on Thursday against the Jazz.

Johnson went without a steal or a block, but otherwise had a big night Tuesday. He came off the bench and had 22 points on 15 shots in 29 minutes. Johnson knocked down 6-of-12 attempts from behind the 3-point line and both of his free throw attempts. He hadn’t had more than three 3-pointers in any game this season entering play Tuesday. While he scored 22 points, he’s merely averaging 11.9 points per game this year. The Spurs are back in action on Thursday against the Jazz.

Some Washington managers were worried this would happen when it was announced that Luka Doncic (knee) would play. After going off for 27 points as one of the main options on Sunday, Washington’s output took a significant hit with Dallas’ starting lineup intact. The good news is that he remains a 7th-round player in 9-cat formats, but Washington’s ceiling is limited when the Mavericks are at full strength.

Boston’s days of fantasy relevance may be coming to an end soon. With CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins in the return-to-play protocol, they could return by the week’s end. Boston may still have value for Wednesday’s game in Cleveland, but he’s likely to slip off the radar in most leagues shortly after.

No Pelicans player has shouldered a heavier workload than Ingram in recent weeks. In addition to getting his offense, he’s been asked to do a lot more playmaking for others. He finished Tuesday’s loss with five turnovers and averaged 4.9 per game over the last two weeks. Hopefully, a few of New Orleans’ injured players will return by the weekend. If so, that may help Ingram from an efficiency standpoint.

On a night to forget for the Pelicans, Murphy led the team in scoring with 19 points. As Tuesday’s blowout wore on, New Orleans looked like an exhausted outfit, understandable given how many key players they’re currently without. And things won’t get any easier as the Pelicans visit Cleveland on Wednesday. Due to his recent return from a strained hamstring, Murphy should be considered questionable for that one.

Although his minutes were lower than usual due to the game being a blowout, Irving provided solid value in points, assists, 3-pointers, and percentages on Tuesday. He remains a top-10 player in 9-cat formats and a top-20 player in 8-cat. Given Irving’s track record, it’s understandable if some managers anxiously await an extended absence for the star guard. But it hasn’t happened yet