NBA Player News

Hartenstein has been everything the Thunder hoped he would be when they signed him during the summer. He’s filled the void left by the injured Chet Holmgren, providing excellent value on both ends of the floor. Hartenstein has been a 5th-round player since his return from a hand injury, ranking just outside the top-50.

As a team, the Thunder shot 33.7% from the floor and 15.6% from beyond the arc. While Wallace didn’t help much with that, he was still able to play solid defense off the bench and contribute some stocks. Alex Caruso (3 steals) was able to do the same in 24 minutes. Isaiah Joe got the start, but his shot wasn’t falling like they needed it to, which resulted in Mark Daigneault turning to Caruso and Wallace more. Wallace came off the bench in this game despite starting their last three games and six of their last seven. We’ll see if he returns to the starting unit on Thursday in Orlando.

Even though this game doesn’t impact fantasy basketball, JDub was still able to turn in a masterclass in 9-cat leagues. He didn’t have a great shooting night, but the entire team struggled to score in this game. Their previous low for points in a game this season was 99, so 81 was surprisingly bad from them. Still, Williams continues to show why he’s one of the best players in fantasy basketball. He should have no issues picking up where he left off when they head to Orlando for a back-to-back in Florida on Thursday.

Lopez has been going through a bit of a rough patch recently, but after finding his shot against the Hawks, he was able to keep it going in this game. Unfortunately, this was their last game in Las Vegas this season, and this one didn’t even count for fantasy basketball. They’ll have a couple days off to celebrate before starting a back-to-back in Cleveland on Friday. This will be their first game against the Cavs since they played two straight games against them in early November. Cleveland won both of those, with Lopez averaging 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 threes in their matchups.

GTJ has been able to figure some things out recently, but his last two games during the NBA Cup were complete duds. Of course, the one game that doesn’t count towards fantasy basketball is the one that he finds his shot again. Khris Middleton (illness) was sidelined for this game, but his return hasn’t limited Trent Jr.'s role. Hopefully this is something that he can build off of moving forward, starting in Cleveland on Friday, which will be the first leg of a back-to-back for them. Regardless, Trent Jr. is by no means a must-roster player at this point.

This was an ugly game for the Thunder, but Hartenstein was able to be one of the lone bright spots. Though it won’t count in fantasy basketball, Hartenstein continues to be a walking double-double as the starting center in OKC. This was only their second loss with Hartenstein available to play, but he certainly wasn’t the one to blame for the result. They’ll be back in action on Thursday in Orlando, which will be the first leg of a back-to-back for them.

What a night it was for Giannis. He put the team on his back and carried them to victory with a triple-double that will unfortunately not count in fantasy basketball. Still, on his way to winning MVP of the Cup, he sent a message. Despite the slow start, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are still one of the best teams in the league. They’ll follow this with another test, this time in Cleveland on Friday, which will be the first night of a back-to-back. Hopefully Giannis will be able to carry some of his success from this tournament into that matchup.

This wasn’t the big time performance that the Thunder needed out of their star to win this game, but it won’t cost fantasy managers anything. SGA hit two of the team’s five 3-pointers, which ended up being a big difference in this game. This would’ve been one of his worst games of the season if it counted, and even if it cost them the NBA Cup championship, it was a great time for him to struggle in the eyes of fantasy managers. They’ll kick off a Florida road trip on Thursday in Orlando, which will also be the first night of a back-to-back.

Lillard played well during the tournament phase of the NBA Cup and wrapped things up with another strong performance. He hit at many 3-pointers as the Thunder did as a team, and that difference was a big reason that the Bucks were able to win this game. This extra game didn’t count for fantasy, but it was good to see Dame played well. They’ll head to Cleveland on Friday for the first leg of a back-to-back and look to keep up their winning ways.

As expected, both of the Bucks’ stars will be available to play in this game and will likely see a large workload in the championship game of the NBA Cup. Liam Robbins, who was questionable with an ankle sprain, will also be available, but he likely won’t see the floor.

There is no official timeline for McCain, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. There will be plenty of minutes open in his absence, which may be filled by Reggie Jackson and Eric Gordon, though neither player will impact fantasy basketball much.