NBA Player News

Edey has been out for nearly two weeks, and there’s hope he’ll be available soon. Sunday will not be the day, with the Grizzlies announcing that he’s out. Brandon Clarke’s role as starting center should remain the same even after Edey returns.

Gordon was initially listed as probable for this game, but he has been downgraded to questionable. Perhaps his calf was bothering him when he woke up this morning, and they may not want to push it on the first night of a back-to-back, especially against the Wizards. If Gordon ends up missing this game, Peyton Watson should make a return to the starting unit.

Diabate’s place in the rotation has been limited with both Nick Richards and Mark Williams back in the lineup. Richards is also questionable for this game, so if Diabate plays and Richards doesn’t, Diabate may play enough to be worth streaming. In any other scenario, he isn’t going to impact fantasy basketball.

Ayton played only two minutes in the second half. Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups told reporters after the game that he didn’t like Ayton’s spirit in the game. The 26-year-old center is averaging career-worsts in points and rebounds this year. Donovan Clinghan and Robert Williams III didn’t play in this game, but Portland has enough big man depth to get by if they decide to trade Ayton during the season. Ayton signed a four-year extension with the Suns in 2022 and landed in Portland in the Damien Lillard trade in 2023. He has one more year left on his contract after this season.

Banton’s 19 points were tied with Jerami Grant for a team-high in the blowout loss. Banton sees inconsistent minutes off the bench and isn’t particularly efficient. With Scoot Henderson out and the game out of hand, he was able to get up 17 shots and score 19 points. He’s a risky streamer who can provide points and threes for managers in deeper formats.

With Jonathan Kuminga coming off the best game of his career, Green willingly came off the bench in his first game back from a tight left calf. Draymond recorded a complete stat line on Friday but remained ranked outside the top 100 in 9-cat formats. Turnovers were an issue for the Warriors on Friday, as they racked up 22, and this category has also been an issue for Green. He’s a top 100 player in 8-cat formats, and while the average of 2.3 turnovers per game isn’t terrible, Green doesn’t have as much margin for error due to the lack of scoring.

Back in the lineup after sitting out Thursday’s win over the Rockets, Curry struggled with his shot on Friday. Minnesota has been elite defensively recently, so this certainly wasn’t an easy matchup for a player who’s struggled with sore knees recently. Providing 8th-round value in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks, Curry will look to bounce back when the Warriors and Timberwolves meet again on Sunday.

After scoring a career-high 33 points in Thursday’s win over the Rockets, Kuminga remained in the starting lineup despite Draymond Green returning from a calf injury. None of the Warriors played exceptionally well, so Kuminga managers should not be too discouraged. Following the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he’d like to keep Kuminga in the starting lineup and Green with the second unit to “maximize” the former. If Kerr keeps to that, Kuminga’s fantasy value may improve.

Gobert notched his second 17-point double-double in three games on Friday, and he’s had at least one steal in four straight. While he’s only averaging 0.3 blocks per game, the increased steals production is why the “Stifle Tower” has been a top-25 player over the last week. Gobert remains ranked outside the top 50, but he’s trending in the right direction.

Randle remains a superior option in turnover-punt builds, but the gulf between 8- and 9-cat value is not as enormous as during most of his years with the Knicks. He’s a top 100 player in both formats, approaching top-75 value in 8-cat. And over the last week, Randle has been a top 50 player in 9-cat formats. After an uneven start to the season, he appears to be getting more comfortable with his new teammates.

Simons followed up his seven-point performance against the Clippers on Tuesday with 14 points against the Jazz. Technically, it’s a step in the right direction. For fantasy managers, Simons going 8-of-26 with 21 points in his last two games combined is certainly less than ideal. The 25-year-old shooting guard will look to breakout of this mini-slump against the Lakers on Sunday.