NBA Player News

Gordon is officially available, and Sunday’s game will be his first since November 4. He’ll also start, which pushes Peyton Watson to the bench. Gordon joins Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., and Nikola Jokic in the Nuggets’ starting five.

Marshall’s stat line was underwhelming on Saturday outside of the assists and steals. However, PJ Washington’s right ankle flared up, and the Mavericks’ forward was ruled out after playing for 15 minutes. While Washington was on a restriction (25-30 minutes), his premature exit meant more playing time for Marshall. He’ll likely be back in the starting lineup if Washington misses time. In 15 starts this season, Naji has averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 three-pointers in 26.9 minutes.

Thompson has been effective for fantasy managers needing three-point production recently, as he’s made three or more in seven straight and nine of his last 10 games. Since the All-Star break, the veteran sharpshooter has provided seventh-round value in nine-cat formats. While that’s noticeably better than Thompson’s season-long production, his ceiling is limited, with the Mavericks being as shorthanded as they currently are. Dallas begins a four-game Week 18 on Monday against the Kings.

After putting up a double-double in his first start as a Maverick on Thursday, Brown had another solid night on Saturday. The negative for the few who have him rostered is the lack of defensive stats, especially after Brown tallied three steals and two blocks against the Hornets two nights prior. Rostered in 11 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Brown should be rostered in deep leagues while under contract with the Mavericks. However, his 10-day contract expires on Sunday, so fantasy managers willing to take the risk should avoid rushing to use a transaction to add Brown.

Maxey’s scoring production over the last few weeks has been inconsistent, which is surprising after his dominant run in January. Maxey scored an inefficient 30 points in Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks, but he tied his season-low for scoring on Saturday, which he initially set in his final appearance before the All-Star break. Maxey has been dealing with an injury to his right pinky finger which is clearly impacting his ability to shoot the ball. He has only hit one three-pointer over his last three games and has shot 30.4 percent from the floor during that stretch. Still, he was able to provide some assist value to make up for his lack of scoring on Saturday.

Saturday was supposed to be when Irving received additional help offensively as PJ Washington returned from an ankle injury. Unfortunately, he only played 15 minutes due to his ankle flaring up. Irving was once again left to shoulder a significant amount of the offensive workload, and he has now scored 30 points or more in five of his last seven games. Since the All-Star break, Irving has provided top-10 value in eight- and nine-cat formats and can sustain that production level. However, the Mavericks must get healthy as they slip down the Western Conference standings.

Trent hasn’t been consistently productive since the Bucks lost Bobby Portis to a 25-game suspension, but he does have added importance. Saturday night, he recorded his first 20-point game since February 12 (21 vs. Minnesota), the Bucks’ final game before the All-Star break. Rostered in 10 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Trent hasn’t been a top 200 player in eight- or nine-cat formats. However, with the Bucks playing two back-to-backs during Week 18, he may be worth the streaming risk in extremely deep leagues.

Drummond remained in the starting lineup for Philadelphia just one day after it was announced that Joel Embiid (knee) would miss the rest of the season. Drummond is currently rostered in 27 percent of Yahoo! leagues, but that will likely change quickly. He only needed 21 minutes to record a double-double and lead both teams in rebounding. Guerschon Yabusele filled out the other 27 minutes at center and contributed 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and five three-pointers. Both should be considered must-roster players for the rest of the season.

GP2’s impact usually doesn’t show up in the box score, but he played well against Philadelphia. He tied his season-high for points and contributed solid value in rebounds and assists in just 23 minutes. Six of his 15 points came in the final seven minutes of the game to help Golden State keep the game close in the fourth quarter, though they weren’t able to secure the win. This was a strong performance from Payton II, but he isn’t a player to consider rostering in standard leagues.

Lillard has only been a fourth-round player in nine-cat formats since the All-Star break, and field goal percentage has been a factor. He’s shooting just 40.3 percent from the field, four-plus points lower than his mark for the season (44.7). Lillard has been hit-or-miss since the break, alternating solid (or better) shooting nights with clunkers against the Clippers (February 20) and Rockets (February 25). However, the upcoming schedule may be more concerning for fantasy managers, as Milwaukee’s Week 18 consists of two back-to-backs.

Antetokounmpo was again limited to 32 minutes, but that was all he needed to have a devastating effect on both ends of the floor. The Bucks’ superstar forward recorded excellent percentages and finished one rebound and one assist from a triple-double. Since the All-Star break, Giannis has provided top-30 value in eight-cat formats, two rounds better than his production for the season. Of course, it helps when a 58.9 percent foul shooter makes 69.4 percent of his attempts, as Antetokounmpo has since the break.