NBA Player News

It’s unclear whether this injury could cost Doncic more than one week, but he’s only missed one contest so far this season. His numbers, while still elite, are down across the board in what’s been a middling season for the Mavericks so far. Kyrie Irving will get a chance to power the offense as the team’s clear lead guard in the meantime. Quentin Grimes is a likely candidate to step into the starting lineup.

Wallace injured his ankle during the third quarter, checking out with 1:25 remaining. With Alex Caruso also injured, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe can absorb most of the minutes that would have gone to Wallace.

Monday’s performance makes it three double-doubles in four games for Porter, who’s providing 6th-round value in 9-cat formats. The production has slipped slightly recently, but MPJ has been a reliable player to have rostered. Porter and the Nuggets will look to bounce back when they visit the Jazz on Wednesday.

Westbrook scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, but his hard-charging style may have influenced the Knicks’ substitution patterns. Tom Thibodeau did not remove his key players until about three minutes remaining in the blowout. Rostered in 47% of Yahoo leagues, Westbrook has been a 10th-round player over the last two weeks. While nights like Monday have not been the norm, Denver’s need for bench production has kept Westbrook on the fantasy radar.

After shooting 9-of-28 from the field in Denver’s prior two games, Murray was better on Monday. Unfortunately for him and the Nuggets, it meant nothing as the Knicks steamrolled the home team. Murray has provided top 75 per-game value in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks, a slight improvement on his season-long production.

Unfortunately for Jokic and the Nuggets, Monday felt like the end of their second-round series against the Timberwolves in last year’s playoffs. The three-time MVP was outplayed by Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded a line that included 30 points and 15 rebounds. As disappointing as Monday’s defeat was, it’s one game, and Jokic remains the best player in fantasy basketball.

Monday’s game was McBride’s first since November 13, and he gave the Knicks solid production off the bench. Despite his importance to the team, Deuce is a deep-league option at best. The same can be said of Cameron Payne, who played well while McBride was out. Payne played 18 minutes on Monday, finishing with 11 points, one rebound, five assists, and two 3-pointers.

OG Anunoby wasn’t the only Knicks player to have a career night in Denver. Brunson’s 17 assists were a career-high for him, and he only committed two turnovers. While he remains a few spots outside the top 50 in season-long value, Brunson has been a top 40 player over the last two weeks. There’s still some ground to make up if he’s to reach his Yahoo ADP (19), but Brunson will be fine.

Initially questionable for Monday’s game, Towns was more productive than three-time MVP Nikola Jokic on Monday. He continues to provide top-10 fantasy value in 8- and 9-cat formats, cracking the top 5 in the latter after his 30/15 night in Denver. Towns has been playing through some nagging injuries, but even that hasn’t slowed him down.

Anunoby started hot and did not cool down until the game was no longer in doubt. He finished with his first career 40-point game, continuing his march toward being recognized as one of the NBA’s best two-way players. Anunoby provides top-15 per-game value in 9-cat formats, well ahead of his Yahoo ADP (80). The only concern for fantasy managers is availability, as Anunoby surpassed 60 games just three times in his first eight seasons.

Avdija saw more minutes in the second half after Jerami Grant left the game with a knee injury. He finished with 32 minutes and team-high 17 points as Portland lost by 25. Avdija could return to the starting lineup if Grant misses time going forward, which would have him on the streaming radar.