NBA Player News

Johnson will miss a game for the first time this season, and his absence frees up minutes for some of San Antonio’s reserves to claim. Malaki Branham and Sandro Mamukelashvili may play additional minutes, but neither is worth streaming in most leagues.

After a strong start to the season where he had at least 20 points in six of his first seven games, Hield has eclipsed 15 points in just one of his last nine games. He’s still a decent source of threes as he’s had multiple threes in each of his last eight games, but Hield struggled shooting from the field going 3-for-12 on Monday. Even with De’Anthony Melton out, Lindy Waters III is playing ahead of Hield. Expect Hield to continue to play around 20 minutes per game unless something changes.

Curry wasn’t going to have two bad games in a row. After only scoring 14 points on Saturday against the Spurs, he dropped 28 on the Nets. Curry only attempted one field goal that wasn’t a 3-point attempt and went 8-for-16 from behind the 3-point line. He made all four of his free throw attempts and dished out seven assists. The 36-year-old Curry bounced back in a big way.

Thomas fell hard on his back towards the end of Sunday’s game against the Kings but wasn’t on Monday’s injury report. He only played 23 minutes against the Warriors, exiting during the third quarter after appearing to aggravate that back issue. Thomas was efficient with 23 points on 11 shots and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, but the injury is a concern moving forward. Thomas is a streaky scorer who doesn’t provide much in the other categories but can get buckets when he’s on.

Monk wasn’t under any restrictions in his first game since November 10, which meant fewer minutes for Keon Ellis and Kevin Huerter. The latter only played 10 minutes off the bench. Monk didn’t have a great night shooting the ball, but the ability to play 26 minutes without a flare-up is encouraging. Look for him to figure more prominently in the rotation as he shakes off the rust.

Schroder was questionable with an ankle injury, but made the most of his opportunity with Ben Simmons out Monday. He had 31 points on 18 shots, made four 3-pointers, was 7-of-7 from the free throw line and dished out seven assists. Schroder got off to a hot start this season, cooled off and then had a big game with Simmons out Monday. He should still be a solid fantasy option for the rest of the season.

Murray is already up to seven double-doubles this season after recording eight throughout the 2023-24 campaign. That hasn’t fully translated into fantasy value, as the third-year forward’s scoring has taken a hit with DeMar DeRozan’s addition to the lineup. But, over the last week, Murray has been a top 75 player, thanks primarily to the improved rebounding.

While Sabonis’ double-double streak rolls on, an unfortunate streak has not negatively impacted his fantasy value. The Kings big man has recorded at least four turnovers in seven consecutive games. However, he’s remained an elite fantasy option, providing 1st-round per-game value in 8- and 9-cat formats.

After struggling in his first two games after missing three with a back injury, DeRozan looked more like himself on Monday. He was efficient offensively, shooting over 50% from the field and dishing out six assists without committing a turnover. While the Kings have been disappointing, DeRozan is still providing top-50 fantasy value, which was the expectation before the season began.

Due to the need to match up with Domantas Sabonis, Hartenstein made his first start as a member of the Thunder on Monday. Lack of defensive stats aside, this performance looked like many of his efforts with the Knicks last season. Hartenstein was efficient as a scorer and also provided value in the form of actual and “screen assists.” With Chet Holmgren (hip) out for the foreseeable future, Hartenstein will be a crucial figure for the Thunder moving forward.

JDub is on a heater, scoring 27 points or more in four straight and six of his last seven games. That has translated into fantasy value, with Williams ranked first in 9-cat formats over the previous two weeks (he’s second in 8-cat). He’s a top-10 player for the season, and it isn’t unrealistic to think he can continue to perform at this level.