NBA Player News

Due to Cam Reddish joining Rui Hachimura on the sideline, Christie made his first start of the season on Saturday. While the numbers weren’t good, his effort kept him on the floor for 30 minutes, while D’Angelo Russell (seven points, one rebound, five assists, one steal, and one 3-pointer) played 21. There’s no need to stream Christie, while Russell managers will have a difficult decision ahead of Week 5: hold with the hope that he’ll play is way back into the starting lineup, or cut bait.

Lopez has shown us recently that he definitely still has it, but it hasn’t come consistently. Two games before this one, he had 29 points, eight rebounds, eight “stocks” and five triples. He followed that up with a modest five points in a loss before going off again in this game. The norm should be somewhere in the middle, but he has been very hit or miss so far this season. There aren’t many players that can hit 3-pointers and blocks shots at the same rate as Lopez, and when he gets going, he can have some special performances.

Two games ago, it seemed like Smith had figured something out. It had been a disappointing start to the year, but he had a 28-point double-double with five 3-pointers. On Sunday, he only played 24 minutes in a blowout win, but he struggled in hist 25 minutes in this game. His numbers are down across the board from last season, as are his shooting percentages. Smith has the makings of great 9-cat player, but he simply hasn’t been good this season, and the emergence of Tari Eason isn’t encouraging for his value moving forward.