NBA Player News

Lopez had an interesting Saturday night. The points, 3-pointers, and blocked shots were there, but the 7-footer failed to grab a rebound. Lopez hasn’t been an elite rebounder for most of his NBA career, but the fantasy value remains high due to his production in other areas. He’s ranked just outside the top 25 in 9-cat formats, well ahead of his Yahoo ADP (80).

Watson exited early from Sunday’s game against the Magic after hitting his head on the court during the first half. However, that isn’t expected to keep him out of the lineup against Philadelphia. Watson should continue to play a role off the bench, though it will be limited with Aaron Gordon back.

Harris has only played in three games since initially straining his left hamstring on November 25, none since January 1. He wasn’t a factor in fantasy basketball when healthy, and that’s unlikely to change if he’s cleared to play against the Raptors.

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.