NBA Player News

Cancar played eight minutes in Friday’s loss to the Pelicans, and that was with Nikola Jokic (personal) away from the team. Even if he’s cleared to play in Memphis, there’s no need to consider streaming Cancar.

After a solid first half, Smith ended up starting the third quarter in place of Duncan Robinson. This was likely just a one-time change to give the team a much-needed jolt, and it helped them start the second half on a 7-0 run. However, it didn’t help them get a win. Smith was one of the bright spots, but he still didn’t have a great night in fantasy hoops. This was also his first time in the rotation in a couple weeks, though he played well in that game too. Even if he earned minutes with his performance in this game, he isn’t a player to add off the waiver wire.

Once again, Adebayo really struggled on the offensive end of the floor. He made a few shots in the fourth quarter to make his percentages a little better, but he still shot worse than 40% for the fourth straight game. However, he shot 4-of-8 after halftime, which is something to build on. He doesn’t have an easy matchup coming up, with Anthony Davis and the Lakers coming to town on Wednesday. Still, if they want to get back in the win column, they’ll need to get more out of Bam on offense.

With Jimmy Butler sidelined, Jaquez got his first start of the season, and he took advantage of the opportunity. He set a new season-high for points and recorded his first double-double of the year, though he didn’t have a good night shooting the ball. The team shot 34.9% from the floor and 20.6% from beyond the arc, so Jaquez was just one of many that struggled to hit shots for Miami in this game. Butler’s absence isn’t expected to be a long-term thing, but if he remains out against the Lakers on Wednesday, or for one leg of their back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, Jaquez should get more starts.

After missing their last game against Cleveland, Brown made his return on the second night of a back-to-back. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but he led the team in scoring to help the Celtics get back in the win column on the second night of a back-to-back. Brown’s field goal percentage has been down all year, and he has made less than 40% of his shots in each of their last two games. He’ll have a chance to get on track with the Pistons coming to town on Wednesday. He scored 24 points on 6-of-24 shooting when these teams faced off in October.

With Jrue Holiday sidelined, Pritchard didn’t get the starting nod, but he was once again able to pour in buckets in an expanded role off the bench. Pritchard hasn’t relied on absences from players in front of him to be an impactful player in fantasy basketball this year, but it certainly hasn’t hurt. Boston has another back-to-back coming up on Friday and Saturday, which could give Pritchard another game or two seeing 30+ minutes. This was his fourth straight game with at least 20 points, and he’ll look to keep that streak going against Detroit on Wednesday, which is a matchup that Jaylen Brown said at the beginning of the year is one that they just let Pritchard go off.

With both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford sitting out the second night of the back-to-back, Kornet got the starting nod at center. He only logged 27 minutes, but he was able to make an impact in the box score, mostly through his blocked shots. Kornet hasn’t been able to make much of a fantasy impact this year, especially since Porzingis returned to the lineup. However, the Celtics do have another back-to-back coming up this week on Friday and Saturday. Kornet may be able to get another start, unless Joe Mazzulla opts to stagger the availability of Porzingis and Horford, in which case Kornet would likely play a large reserve role in both games.

Brown will miss a fourth straight game, but his continued absence will not have an impact on fantasy basketball.

This will be a second straight absence for KPJ, which will open up extra minutes for Terance Mann and Amir Coffey off the bench. Both guys scored in double figures in their last game, but neither will be great streaming options on a day with 11 games.

Henderson has missed their last two games, and there is a chance that it is a third straight absence. If he remains sidelined, Dalano Banton will continue to be the backup point guard behind Anfernee Simons.

Phillips will get his first career start, replacing Coby White for this game. Phillips only played seven minutes in their last game, but he’ll likely see a new season-high for minutes as a starter.