NBA Player News

Barrett didn’t have a great shooting night, but he still had a chance to win the game on a final shot, though he wasn’t able to get it to go. Part of that can be attributed to some contact from Russell Westbrook (or good defense, depending on how you look at it), but the rest of the night didn’t go well. Still, it was encouraging to see RJ continue to have success as a playmaker. He is averaging a career-high 7.6 assists, which should continue until either Immanuel Quickley or Scottie Barnes returns to the lineup.

With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined, Walker slid into the starting lineup for the second time this season and provided Indiana a taller starting lineup. It was also a great opportunity for him as a former top ten pick to make dynasty managers feel comfortable with his development. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to take advantage of the situation. Walker has had some productive games this season, but his other start, which came in November, was also disappointing. He’s only 21 years old, but he needs to show some sort of progression at some point for dynasty managers to continue to value him highly.

Since his first few games with Golden State, Butler hadn’t been as aggressive as a scorer in recent games. However, he had some success on Thursday and had his second 25-point game since being traded to the Warriors, with the first coming in his debut for them almost a month ago. It’s unlikely that this continues to be the norm for him, though it wouldn’t be surprising if he started to pick things up with the playoffs approaching. Golden State will close out the week against Detroit on Saturday.

This was an ideal game for Brooklyn. A competitive loss is what every tanking team craves. It was also an encouraging performance for Johnson, who had his highest-scoring game in over two months. Though Brooklyn isn’t that far out of the Play-In Tournament, it would be surprising if they truly made a push to make it. Johnson was in and out of the lineup over the final few weeks of last season, and managers should expect that to happen again this year. Luckily, it didn’t start until late March last season, so there should be more time before that is a risk.

Nembhard took over primary playmaking duties for Indiana with Tyrese Haliburton (hip) sidelined, which allowed him to record a double-double for the first time this season. It wasn’t a new season-high for assists, since he had nine points and 11 assists in a game against the Heat last week. It was a productive night for him, and if Haliburton misses time past this game, Nembhard should continue to rack up the assists. However, this was only Haliburton’s second absence of the season, and there is no indication that this is an injury that will keep him out for multiple games at this point.

Williamson shot a pedestrian 5-of-15 from the field, but he buoyed his scoring total by hitting 10-of-12 shots from the charity stripe. He’s shined since the All-Star break, appearing in six of seven games for New Orleans while averaging a healthy 26/7/6. So long as he can stay healthy, he’ll be a fantasy force every time he’s on the court.

Brooklyn jumped out to a 25-5 lead on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough for them to get the win over Golden State. Martin was a big part of their early success as he scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half. Martin hasn’t been much of a factor in fantasy basketball this season outside of a few big scoring nights. However, he has played a consistent role for the Nets lately, and he may see his minutes increase as the season winds down. Martin is a player to keep an eye on as “silly season” approaches.

Murphy III got off to a blistering start, scoring 11 of New Orleans’ first 19 points. He opened the game by bullying Jalen Green for a monster jam and hitting a deep three-pointer. His offense quieted down a bit after that, but his hot start propelled him to a game-high point total. Expect he and Zion Williamson to lead the charge on offense every night for the shorthanded Pelicans.

Niang’s tenure in Atlanta has been inconsistent as he has alternated between scoring in double figures and scoring less than 10 points basically every other game since he made his debut for the Hawks one month ago. However, Thursday’s performance was one of his best. This was his third 20-point game with Atlanta, and he has provided them with much-needed floor spacing off the bench. This was also his fourth game with at least four three-pointers for the Hawks. He has been an incredible addition for them, but that hasn’t resulted in much fantasy production.

Siakam stepped up his scoring with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined and had a big scoring night. It ended up being his second game with at least 35 points over Indiana’s last four games, and he shot at least 60 percent from the floor in each. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate his eight three-pointers from that night. Siakam continues to be a fantasy stud for the Pacers, and it was encouraging to see him step up with Haliburton out of the lineup. He’ll look to stay hot in a rematch in Atlanta on Saturday.

Okongwu struggled in Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee, which made his performance against Indiana encouraging. He has played well overall as of late, as he has recorded a double-double in three of Atlanta’s last four games. This performance was Okongwu’s fourth 20-point double-double since he took over the starting center job in January. Okongwu ranks just outside the top-50 in nine-cat value over the past month, and he has seen his value rise in recent weeks. Moving into the starting lineup has helped Okongwu ascend to fantasy stardom.