NBA Player News

While Strawther’s season-long fantasy value remains well off the radar in most leagues, he’s worthy of consideration when Denver is without one of its top scorers for points and 3-pointers. Over the last week, Strawther has averaged 12.0 points and 2.5 3-pointers per game. The overall value isn’t good, but he can be a fill-in specialist in deep leagues while Nikola Jokic (personal) is away from the team. That said, category league managers should be prepared to take a hit in the field goal percentage category.

Phoenix trailed by 19 points entering the fourth quarter, and Durant only had 15 points. However, he nearly outscored the Clippers in the fourth to lead the Suns to a much-needed comeback win. Phoenix is now currently only three games out of the Play-In Tournament, but with Kyrie Irving (knee) done for the season, Dallas will likely fall out of that spot. If Durant continues to play like this, Phoenix should be able to make the postseason despite an incredibly rough year from them. He’ll look to carry this momentum into a matchup in Denver on Friday.

12 of Gillespie’s 15 minutes came in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s win, and that’s when he made his mark. All of his stats except one assist came in the final frame as he helped the Suns outscore the Clippers 43-22 in the fourth. Gillespie took on a larger role after Bradley Beal (groin) exited early, and his heroics ended up giving Phoenix the win. Gillespie knocked down a massive three-pointer late in the fourth that gave them a five-point lead late that they never relinquished. A performance like this could earn Gillespie more minutes, though he remains on a two-way contract, which makes him a risky player to roster.

Leonard won’t play the second night of the Clippers’ back-to-back, which shouldn’t come as a surprise at all. Depending on the availability of Derrick Jones Jr., who has missed their last two games with a groin injury, Amir Coffey could move into the starting lineup. Leonard contributed 21 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and one three-pointer in 37 minutes on Tuesday. He also had a nice dunk that should have fantasy managers and Clippers fans optimistic about his health, even if they’ll continue to exercise caution.

Hayes didn’t miss a shot on Tuesday, and the double-double was his second of the season. While adding Luka Doncic to the Lakers roster hasn’t improved Hayes’ fantasy value much, he has shot 80.4 percent from the field since February 10 (Luka’s Lakers debut). Despite being a starter, Hayes isn’t consistently productive as a scorer or rebounder, which has limited his value to fantasy managers.

The Bol Bol experience is full of ups and downs, and Tuesday’s game was a down. He only played nine minutes as a starter, and O’Neale started the second half in his place. It wouldn’t be surprising if that change continued against Denver on Friday O’Neale’s fantasy upside is limited, but when he gets the chance to play big minutes, he can pour in the points from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the Suns only have two more games this week, which will come on Friday and Sunday.

Doncic’s time in Los Angeles has gone as well as anyone could have anticipated, and he joined a historic list on Tuesday. With his 30 points and 15 assists, Luka became the fourth player in franchise history to record that stat line in a game. The other three Lakers who accomplished that feat were Jerry West (nine times), Magic Johnson (22), and LeBron James (once). Doncic has been a top-10 player since the All-Star break and has shown no signs of slowing down.

James added another career milestone to his impressive résumé, becoming the first play in ABA/NBA history to score at least 50,000 points (regular season and playoffs). Even with the four turnovers, this was an efficient night for the Lakers forward, who has provided top-10 value in eight- and nine-cat formats since the All-Star break. LeBron has looked rejuvenated since the Lakers added Luka Doncic to the roster, and JJ Redick’s team has the look of a true contender in the Western Conference.

Regarding fantasy value, only Zion Williamson has been more productive than Murphy among Pelicans players since the All-Star break. While he did shoot 1-of-6 from three, Trey made 50 percent of his attempts from the field overall and provided solid value in the rebounds, assists and steals categories. Murphy has been ranked just outside the top-50 in eight-cat formats since the break, and his availability has not been a concern. That’s good news for fantasy managers, as the Pelicans will play three games in the final four days of Week 18.

Williamson was outstanding on Tuesday, surpassing the 30-point mark for the sixth time this season. He did so on efficient shooting, and fantasy managers likely benefitted from the six assists. Since the All-Star break, Williamson has provided top-50 value in eight-cat formats. If there’s a concern for fantasy managers, it’s that New Orleans ends Week 18 with a Saturday/Sunday back-to-back. Now would be a good time to plan for the likelihood of Williamson sitting out one of those games.

It wasn’t enough to end the Clippers’ losing streak, but Harden played well in the final game of their eight-game road trip. This was the third time this season that Harden was able to contribute at least 20 points and 15 assists in a game, and he only turned the ball over once. This was the sixth time this season that Harden had one or fewer turnovers in a game, and his 15 dimes were the most that he has had in any of those games. He’ll look to keep it up on the second night of this back-to-back as they head home to host Detroit.