NBA Player News

With Kyrie Irving sidelined Grimes will make his first start as a Maverick. This gives him a shot at achieving fantasy relevance, at least for one night. Another change is Kleber, who replaces Naji Marshall. While a capable contributor, Kleber is returning from a hamstring injury that cost him nine games. Lively replaces Daniel Gafford, but this should not significantly impact either’s fantasy value, as the minutes should be split evenly.

Mann has been dealing with lower back soreness causing him to miss some games lately. He played on Saturday against the Bucks, but will get the second game of the back-to-back off. Vasilije Micic will take his place in the rotation.

Hardaway will remain sidelined for a third consecutive game. As a result, Malik Beasley will stay in the starting lineup and will add value in category leagues. Simone Fontecchio (toe) has been cleared to play and may sneak into the back end of the rotation, but Beasley is the player fantasy managers should target.

Looney is on the injury report due to an illness, but his status will not significantly impact fantasy basketball. Trayce Jackson-Davis should already be rostered in most standard leagues, and a Looney absence would mean TJD and Draymond Green split the available minutes at the five.

Fontecchio missed Friday’s game against the Raptors with the toe injury. He’ll be back with the Pistons Sunday, but his role hasn’t changed. Fontecchio will play 15-25 minutes off the bench and isn’t relevant for fantasy basketball.

Having missed three games earlier this season with an ankle injury, Curry is questionable for Monday with a case of knee bursitis. If he cannot play, Buddy Hield would figure even more prominently in the rotation, as the Warriors are already without De’Anthony Melton (knee). Hield is already rostered in most fantasy leagues, while Brandin Podziemski remains available in some deep leagues.

Krejci is available to make his first appearance in a game since October 28. He played no more than 20 minutes in any of his four games before the injury, so fantasy managers should not expect too much. With De’Andre Hunter sidelined, there should be rotation minutes available to Krejci, but not enough to make him a factor in fantasy basketball.

Bufkin is still yet to appear in a game for the Hawks this year. Once he’s healthy enough, he’ll have a role as Trae Young’s primary backup, but won’t be relevant in fantasy.

Mobley is back after a one-game absence, meaning the Cavaliers will only be down one starter (Donovan Mitchell) as they look to move to 15-0. Georges Niang will return to the bench, with his streaming value taking a significant hit.

Ayton has missed the last two games with the same injury. Donovan Clinghan figures to step up in Ayton’s absence. He had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks while filling in for Ayton on Wednesday.

Kessler is set to miss a fourth consecutive game on Sunday. The Jazz will likely continue starting John Collins and Kyle Filipowski while the big man is on the mend. Collins has excelled as a starter this season with averages of 24.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across three games.