NBA Player News

Bufkin injured his shoulder just before the regular season started, and he’ll be available to make his season debut about a month later. As a rookie, Bufkin spent most of his time in the G-League, but he was expected to be Trae Young’s backup this season. Keaton Wallace has played well, so that isn’t a sure thing at this point, though Bufkin is more important long-term. We’ll see how Quin Snyder uses him in his first game back, though he won’t hold much value in standard redraft leagues, barring an absence from Trae Young.

Although the Jazz lost Tuesday’s game, they should be encouraged by George having one of his best games of the season. He was efficient on offense as a scorer and creator, shooting over 50% from the field and committing just one turnover. The issue for fantasy managers is that nights like Tuesday have been rare for George, who’s still shooting below 37% from the field. Hopefully, he can clean that up as the season progresses.

Rostered in 50% of Yahoo leagues, Clarkson has been a top 100 player over the past two weeks. He’s averaged 18.0 points per game, with the scoring increase minimizing the impact of Clarkson shooting 40.6% from the field. Given the season-long value, JC’s recent run of individual success should not change how he’s viewed in fantasy basketball. He remains a late-round player in standard leagues.

Despite being ranked outside the top 150 in 9-cat formats, Sexton remains rostered in over 80% of Yahoo leagues. He’ll figure prominently in the Jazz offensive attack as a starter, so there isn’t too much risk in rostering Sexton. The issue is the lack of defensive production; punt steals and blocks, and Sexton is an 11th-round player. He’s never been known as a lockdown defender, so there’s no reason for fantasy managers to expect this to change anytime soon.

Markkanen has shot 50% or better from the field in five straight games. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, the production has not increased as much as they’d like. Markkanen’s averaging 11.0 shots per game in November, two fewer than his number in October. That may not seem like much, but a player of his caliber should be the unquestioned primary scoring option. Markkanen is ranked fourth on the Jazz in shots per game for the season.

The Lakers don’t need Reddish to do much offensively; his defense is why he’s starting over D’Angelo Russell. While the steals and blocks accumulated on Tuesday were nice, there’s no reason to consider rostering Reddish in most fantasy leagues.

There isn’t much to complain about for a player to be as productive as James at age 39. However, fantasy managers may point to the turnover category if they’re in the business of picking nits. James had four turnovers on Tuesday and has averaged 4.7 per game over the last two weeks. Therefore, during this stretch, he’s ranked outside the top 40 in 9-cat formats while providing top-25 value in 8-cat. There is no need for concern, but hopefully, James can clean things up a bit moving forward.

Davis took an accidental hit to the groin from John Collins during the third quarter, prompting a trip to the locker room. Davis did return to action during the fourth and finished with yet another double-double, but there were some concerned Lakers fans and fantasy managers. Look for Davis on the floor for Thursday’s game against the Magic.

The Jazz had no answer for Knecht, who scored 21 of his career-high 37 points in the third quarter. In addition to the point total, he matched the NBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a game. Knecht has averaged 24.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 5.3 3-pointers over the last week, ranking 15th in 9-cat per-game value per Basketball Monster. He’s doing this with Rui Hachimura (ankle) sidelined, but it’s fair to question if Knecht has done enough to remain in the starting lineup even after Hachimura returns.

Williams is seeing additional rebounding opportunities with Chet Holmgren out and was one rebound away from a double-double. He also had five steals on the night. Williams wasn’t particularly efficient as he had 27 points on 26 shots and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. He’ll continue to have a healthy role for Oklahoma City with Holmgren out for the foreseeable future. The Thunder are back on the floor Wednesday against the Trail Blazers in the second night of a back-to-back.

SGA continues to have big games. It’s needed now more than ever as the Thunder are missing Chet Holmgren and others. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points and seven assists weren’t enough to hold off the Spurs on Thursday even without Victor Wembanyama. Oklahoma City will continue to lean heavily on SGA in the early part of this season, which is good for his fantasy value. The Thunder take on the Trail Blazers Wednesday in the second night of a back-to-back.