NBA Player News

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.

Murray is managing a calf issue, but it isn’t expected to keep him out of the lineup. They don’t have a back-to-back until January 31st, so this shouldn’t be a concern, as long as it doesn’t get worse. If something changes, Russell Westbrook would likely shift over to point guard, with Aaron Gordon making a return to the starting lineup.

Howard, who has missed Orlando’s last four games, was initially questionable for Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets before being ruled out. His availability does not impact fantasy basketball.

Tuesday’s game will be the fourth straight on the sideline for Bitadze. Wendell Carter Jr. will remain in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future and should be streamed until Goga returns.

Williams sprained his ankle during Sunday’s loss to the Thunder and will miss at least one game. Jalen Wilson should see an increase in playing time, potentially as a starter. Due to Brooklyn’s many injuries, he’ll be worth streaming if allowed to start.

Bridges had a strong scoring performance in their win over the Hawks, which featured a monster third quarter from him. He shot 6-of-7 in the period and scored 14 of his 26 points. They outscored Atlanta by 13 in the third after trailing at halftime, and Bridges played a big role in helping them take the lead and get the win. He is starting to pick things up as a scorer and has scored at least 20 points in three of their last four games. He’ll look to keep it going in his return to Brooklyn on Tuesday.

After an excellent month of December, Hunter has cooled off a bit recently. However, he got back on track in this game and had his first 20-point game since New Year’s Day. Hunter still leads the league in bench points per game at 19.5, and he’ll have a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year if he keeps performing to this level. He didn’t contribute much value in other categories, but that has always been an issue for Hunter. He’ll look to keep it going against Detroit on Wednesday.

Young had an excellent first half on Monday and entered the break with 18 points and five 3-pointers. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate his success after halftime, and while he did nearly record a double-double, the point-turnover double-double isn’t one that any player wants to have. He has picked up the scoring and has at least 20 points in nine straight games, which has helped improve his scoring average and shooting percentage, which is finally over 40% over the course of the season. They still have three more games this week, starting against Detroit on Wednesday.

After coming off the bench in his Suns’ debut on Saturday, Richards moved into the starting lineup against the Cavaliers. Even with Evan Mobley out of the Cleveland lineup, this was not a good matchup for Richards. He struggled with foul trouble and didn’t do much when he was on the floor. Backups Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro combined to play 12 minutes, so they didn’t offer much upside. Managers who have Richards rostered should hold onto him, especially with the Suns playing Brooklyn and Washington to end Week 13.

Booker returned to the Suns’ rotation after missing two games with a sprained ankle. The combination of the injury and Cleveland winning in a blowout did him no favors, as the production lacked outside of assists. Beal can’t be dropped from fantasy rosters, but managers who have him are not in a good place. And with the injury issues, he’s a risky “buy low” option, to say the least.

Booker didn’t shoot the ball terribly on Monday, but this was a bad performance for the Suns guard. He finished with as many turnovers as field goals (six), with the six miscues being a season-high. However, turnovers have not often been a trouble spot for Booker, as he’s averaging 2.5 per game. With the Suns facing Brooklyn and Washington to end their Week 13 slate, Booker has good matchups as he looks to bounce back from a rough Monday in Cleveland.