NBA Player News

Bates agreed to a two-way contract with Cleveland in August, and after showing off how much muscle he added at media day, he will now be sidelined for at least the first two weeks of the regular season. This won’t have much of a fantasy impact, since he was expected to spend most of his time in the G-League anyway.

McBridge will miss a fourth straight game, and Wednesday night is also the first game of New York’s road trip. Cameron Payne and Tyler Kolek will play more minutes off the bench, but neither offers much streaming value in this spot.

Simons has missed the last two games for Portland and hasn’t participated fully in recent practices. If he were to miss Wednesday’s game, Scoot Henderson will continue to start in his place. Shaedon Sharpe has been the main beneficiary of Simons’ absence, though, with Dalano Banton also getting more minutes and shots off the bench.

Green’s status for Wednesday is uncertain due to an illness. He’s yet to miss a game this season, and reserves Amen Thompson and Tari Eason will play additional minutes if that changes on Wednesday.

Ayton has missed the last three games and hasn’t been participating fully in recent practices. He’s set to miss his fourth game in a row with Donovan Clingan to remain in the starting lineup and Robert Williams to play a bigger role off the bench.

Fantasy managers should be used to this by now. Look for Antetokounmpo to play against the Bulls, as he’s been cleared after each instance of showing up on the injury report due to the right knee issue.

Maxey has been out for two weeks with the hamstring injury, but now he’s close to returning. If he can’t go on Wednesday, Jared McCain will continue to see decent usage with Kyle Lowry also out.

Mann didn’t play Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back, but he’ll suit up on Tuesday against the Nets. Vasilije Micic will be bumped from the rotation as Mann steps in as the backup point guard.

Lowry injured his hip during Monday’s loss to Miami, in which he played 19 minutes as a starter. With Tyrese Maxey (hamstring) potentially returning as soon as Wednesday, he can resume his duties as starting point guard once cleared to play.

Merrill moves into the starting lineup with Isaac Okoro (ankle) out on Tuesday. With Caris LeVert (knee) also set to miss the game against the Celtics, Merrill figures to play a lot tonight. He’s firmly on the streaming radar tonight and should some 3-point production for fantasy managers in deeper formats.

Edey injured his ankle during Sunday’s win over the Nuggets, exiting during the third quarter. His extended absence opens up additional minutes for Santi Aldama and Jay Huff, with the former offering a higher fantasy ceiling.