NBA Player News

With Deandre Ayton sitting out Friday’s preseason finale, Clingan moved into the starting lineup opposite Utah’s Walker Kessler. And the lottery pick out of UConn was spectacular, producing a dominant performance as a rebounder and shot blocker. Clingan’s fantasy value to begin the regular season may not be significant due to Ayton’s presence, but he can be an asset in a backup role. Given the expectations for the Trail Blazers, it would be unsurprising if Clingan was moved into the starting lineup later in the season.

What a way to start the year for AD. He dominated this entire game, and it showed up in the box score. He was able to make an impact in every category, though he didn’t launch as many 3-pointers as rumors suggested he would. The main thing for Davis has always been health, and if he can stay on the floor this season, managers will see plenty performances just like this one. AD was a consensus first round pick after he played in a career-high 76 games last season. If he can get anywhere close to that mark, he’ll be one of the best players in fantasy hoops.

Outside of Anthony Davis, Hachimura was the best offensive option for the Lakers in this game. He got off to a quick start with a 3-pointer and a dunk in the first two minutes and didn’t look back. He was the second-leading scorer on the team and third in the whole game. Unfortunately for category league managers, Hachimura doesn’t contribute much value outside of points consistently. He was able to contribute some defensive stats in this game, which was a nice bonus, but it’s difficult to justify rostering Hachimura, outside of light days like this one.

Reaves’ numbers didn’t pop, but he was able to do a little bit of everything in this game despite a substandard shooting performance. He contributed numbers across the board and fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Reaves didn’t make any of his five 3-point attempts and missed his only free throw, which is out of character for him. However, there is no reason for managers to be concerned at this point. Reaves should still be in for a solid season as the Lakers’ third option behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James, and he may still outplay his Yahoo ADP of 88.4.

As expected, Edwards took a lot of shots on offense and was the leading scorer for Minnesota in this game. He didn’t have his best performance, but he was still able to pour in plenty of buckets across his 41 minutes of playing time in this game. Edwards has had high expectations ahead of each of the last two seasons, and while he is clearly one of the best shooting guards in the league, he hasn’t solidified his status among the elite players in fantasy basketball. This was a fine start to the season, but he’s going to have to be better to justify the early draft pick.

Randle may end up being the Timberwolves’ second scoring option as the team builds chemistry, but he wasn’t able to get much going in his first regular season game with the team. He got a few late buckets that made the numbers look a bit better, but overall, his production wasn’t quite as fruitful as we’re accustomed to seeing. As the season goes on, he’ll take on a larger role and find more shots within their offense, alongside Anthony Edwards. Still, his first game with his new team after a long tenure with the Knicks didn’t pop in the box score.

Mere minutes before their game tipped off, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Gobert had declined his player option and agreed to a new three-year, $110 million deal with Minnesota that will keep him with the team through the 2027-28 season. Gobert didn’t have the sort of performance that made everyone understand why he got such a massive extension, but he didn’t have to. He’s one of the best defenders in the league, and he will continue to be a big reason why the Timberwolves have a chance to make a run back to the Western Conference Finals this season.

KAT played just 24 minutes in his first game with the Knicks, which limited his production. That can be attributed to the lopsided score, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t disappointing for fantasy managers. Still, there is no reason to hit the panic button this early. Towns is the starting center for the first time since before Rudy Gobert joined Minnesota, and he should be far more effective moving forward. KAT provided first round value in 9-cat leagues in every season prior to Gobert’s arrival, and while he may not provide that level of production, he should be far better than he was in this game.

The hype entering this season was centered around New York’s starting unit, but McBride showed up in this game. With Mitchell Robinson sidelined for at least the first two months of the season, McBride will be the team’s best reserve player early on. Though Tom Thibodeau will play his starters a lot, there is still enough minutes for McBride to make an impact in fantasy hoops. He’s rostered in just 9% of Yahoo leagues, which means that he will be a coveted target on the waiver wire this week. He should have season-long value, so he’s worth the investment.

In his first game with New York, Bridges got off to a slow start with his new shooting form. However, he was able to hit some shots down the stretch and ended up hitting over half of his shot attempts. Still, there is a reason to be considered about Bridges in fantasy hoops between his lack of production in other categories and his new, strange shooting form. That doesn’t mean that he’s definitely going to be disappointing for the rest of the year, so don’t overreact too much to just one game. He’s still going to play 82 games, and he should improve as he adjusts to playing with this new team.

With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined for a while, Horford will be the team’s starting center for a while. Though their first game was slightly limited by the lopsided score, he was still able to contribute value across the board. Horford hasn’t ever finished outside the top-100 in his career, and while his minutes will be limited and he probably won’t play back-to-backs, that won’t change this season. Especially until Porzingis returns to the floor, Horford will have plenty of value in 9-cat leagues. He’s reaching the end of his career, but he’ll be looking for another ring before he calls it quits.