NBA Player News

Friday’s double-double makes it eight straight for Sabonis, who ripped off 61 in a row last season. He’s off to a stellar start, providing top 10 per-game value in 9-cat formats and top 15 in 8-cat. The chemistry between Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, and DeMar DeRozan has been good, and there’s still room for the trio to grow. While not many expected Sabonis to be this productive, he’s unlikely to fall too far as the season progresses.

Thompson was involved early and often in his first game against his former team. He score the first points of the game on a free throw and made 6-of-12 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Ultimately, the Mavericks fell short as the Warriors and Stephen Curry pulled away in the final minute, but Thompson still had a good game. He had more shot attempts and points than teammate Kyrie Irving, which is unlikely to continue, but understandable considering the opponent. The Mavericks have three more games this week starting with the Jazz on Thursday, Spurs on Saturday and Thunder on Sunday.

Doncic was hardly efficient with 31 points on 27 shots. He made just 2-of-10 attempts from behind the 3-point line and turned the ball over five times in the loss. He was +2 in 41 minutes. Doncic has a few more opportunities to put up numbers this week. The Mavericks have three more games this week starting with the Jazz on Thursday, Spurs on Saturday and Thunder on Sunday.

Green was efficient scoring 11 points on six shots. He drained 2-of-4 attempts from behind the 3-point line and made 3-of-4 free throws. Green also contributed in the other areas of the game the way he typically does on his way to completely filling the stat sheet. He’s not a big scorer at this point of his career, but the contributions across all those categories is what keeps him fantasy relevant. The Warriors have only one more game this week against the Grizzlies on Friday.

The Warriors bench wasn’t getting it done for the most part Tuesday. Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski and Kevon Looney were -21, -19 and -9 respectively. Kuminga was a lone bright spot in this one. He had 16 points on 11 shots and made 2-of-5 3-point attempts. Kuminga was -3 in 27 minutes, but gave the Warriors some much needed offense while Curry was off the floor.

Curry was electric as he predictably upstaged Klay Thompson in his return to Golden State. With the Warriors leading by one with less than a minute left, Curry connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the game to put Golden State up by four, essentially icing the game. The Warriors only have one more game this week as they’ll host the Grizzlies in group play Friday.

Nights like this should be the norm for McDaniels regarding the production. Unfortunately, they haven’t been, with the Timberwolves wing ranked outside the top 150 in 9-cat formats. McDaniels is rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues, and that number may increase by a few points ahead of Wednesday’s rematch with the Blazers due to his performance on Tuesday.

Edwards scored 12 points in the second quarter, but that was about as good as it would get for the Timberwolves star on Tuesday. While he hasn’t reached his Yahoo ADP (10), Ant-Man is a 3rd-round player in 9-cat and a 2nd-round player in 8-cat. He’ll look to bounce back when the Timberwolves face Portland again on Wednesday.

Reid got hot in the second quarter, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and scoring 12 of his 15 first-half points. But that wasn’t enough to help Minnesota rebound from its poor start, leading to a 0-1 start to Emirates NBA Cup play. Reid’s exceeding his Yahoo ADP, providing top 70 per-game value in 9-cat formats. And that production level is sustainable, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns no longer in the picture.

Grant didn’t shoot the ball well, but the assists will be valuable to fantasy managers. For the season, he’s ranked just outside the top 100, which is what many expected based on the Yahoo ADP (109). Managers who have Grant rostered should hope Portland can remain competitive and (relatively) healthy, as that should help stave off the dreaded shutdown.

With Deandre Ayton (finger) sidelined, Clingan made his first start on Tuesday. While the rookie did record some defensive stats and rebounds, Rudy Gobert isn’t the easiest matchup for any opposing big (Nikola Jokic notwithstanding). If Ayton remains sidelined for Wednesday’s rematch, look for Clingan to get another start.