NBA Player News

Ivey is back after a one-game absence, bumping Ron Holland II from the starting lineup. With Tim Hardaway Jr. (head) sidelined, Holland will still play rotation minutes in Toronto. However, that isn’t enough to make him a worthwhile streamer in most leagues.

Mathurin continues to have big rebounding efforts. This was already his fourth game of the season with double-digit rebounds, including three games with double-digit rebounds in his last six games. Mathurin was also efficient scoring as he dropped 21 points on 10 shots. He got to the foul line a decent amount and knocked down all eight of his free throw attempts. He won’t get a lot of assists, but the points and rebounds are going to be plentiful while the Pacers continue to be without Aaron Nesmith.

Haliburton continues to turn in similar stat lines. The assists are there, which was expected, but he continues to struggle shooting from the field. Haliburton knocked down 3-of-8 shots from behind the 3-point line and all five of his free throw attempts, but otherwise he had a tough time scoring. It’s a long season, but he hasn’t delivered first round value just yet. Indiana has four games in Week 5.

Okoro sprained his ankle during the second quarter and was not on the court to begin the third. Caris LeVert filled the void in the starting lineup, but the boost he’d experience if Okoro missed time would be minimal. Donovan Mitchell is sitting out Sunday’s game for rest reasons and will be available on Tuesday when the Cavaliers visit Boston.

Turner’s 34 points were a game-high and personal season-high for Turner. It was good to see him have a good scoring game after he had failed to eclipse 15 points in three of his last four games entering play Sunday. Turner needs to string a few more good games together to be on pace to pay off his preseason Yahoo ADP of 45. He’ll have the chance next week as the Pacers play four games in Week 5.

Jaquez Jr. twisted his ankle at the end of the third quarter and was helped to the locker room. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game, which isn’t a great sign. Jaquez Jr. had only two points in 15 minutes, but theoretically he has more fantasy value while Jimmy Butler has been out for Miami.

Sheppard played 26 minutes as a fill-in starter with Andrew Nemhard still out for the Pacers. This injury isn’t a big deal for fantasy basketball, but will stretch the Pacers’ depth if it lingers as the team has four games in the next six days.

A game-time call for Sunday’s game, McBride will miss a second straight due to his knee issue. Cameron Payne will pick up a few more minutes off the bench, but that’s unlikely enough to impact fantasy basketball. The same can be said for Tyler Kolek, who entered the rotation on Friday.

Towns is back after a one-game absence, which drops Jericho Sims to the bench. And given how rookie Ariel Hukporti outplayed Sims in Friday’s win over the Nets, he may be out of the rotation entirely. Neither Hukporti nor Sims is worth the risk in fantasy with Towns available.

Ighodaro has played 21 minutes or more in three of his last four appearances, including 27 and 26 over the previous two. Jusuf Nurkic’s landing in early foul trouble impacted the rookie’s minutes on Sunday, so fantasy managers should not consider Ighodaro a factor. But there may be moments throughout the season when he’s worth the risk as a deep-league streamer.

The Suns went with a bigger lineup on Sunday, starting Plumlee alongside Jusuf Nurkic. Unfortunately, Nurk got into early foul trouble, so they didn’t get to see that tandem on the floor together for too long. Nurkic played 14 minutes, finishing with five points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one 3-pointer. Plumlee’s best path to credible fantasy value would be to stick as a starter, albeit as the lone big. A two-game Week 5 in which the Suns will be done on Wednesday is not a good time to roster him, but keep an eye on Plumlee’s minutes.