NBA Player News

Ball’s minutes have increased recently, with the Bulls guard playing 19 minutes or more in three of his last five appearances with a high of 22. Fantasy managers should expect more of the same on Monday. While Josh Giddey’s minutes have taken a hit, he and Ball have played well alongside each other when sharing the court.

Just when it seemed like Father Time had won, LeBron answered back. He has been fantastic over their last two games and recorded his eighth triple-double of the season in this game. It wasn’t enough for them to get a win, and it was LeBron’s triple that came up just short at the end of the game. Still, fantasy managers have to be thrilled that James has gotten back to putting up dominant numbers. Any sort of buy-low period for him has been slammed shut with his recent performances. He’ll look to keep it going against the Warriors on Christmas Day.

AD’s scoring has been down over their last few games, but that hasn’t prevented him from making his mark in 9-cat leagues. He didn’t have a great night from the free throw line in this one, which resulted in him scoring less than 20 points for the second straight game and for the seventh time this season. Still, AD has been one of the best players in fantasy basketball this season, and a few subpar scoring nights won’t change that. He’ll look to get back on track in the scoring department against the Warriors on Christmas Day.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Once again, Beasley came off the bench, played 26 minutes, made five 3-pointers and had 21 points. The five rebounds and two steals only add to the fantasy value he’s providing. Beasley has to be rostered in more leagues where fantasy managers need points and threes because he continues to get them in bunches.

Cunningham has been great this year, but this wasn’t one of his better games. The 23-year-old point guard didn’t shoot well against the Lakers Monday as he had 20 points on 25 shots. Despite dishing out 10 assists, he also turned it over five times. Cunningham is a top-40 fantasy player on the season and even more valuable in turnover-punt builds, which was exemplified again Monday.

This was a sixth straight start for Christie, but prior to this game, he hadn’t been a reliable source of offense for them. However, he set a new season-high for points in this game and still provided his typical dose of steals. Christie has fit into this starting unit flawlessly, and even if he isn’t a great fantasy option, he has fit exactly what the Lakers need from that spot. This type of performance is helpful in category leagues, but he needs to do this more consistently before managers consider him a must-add player.

On a night when Stephen Curry scored just 10 points, Kuminga kept the Warriors in the game. The 22-year-old power forward came off the bench and poured in 26 points. Kuminga has found his name thrown around in trade rumors for Jimmy Butler, but it’s on nights like Monday that it’s plain to see why the Warriors would prefer to hold onto him.

It’s remarkable that the Warriors were even in the game against the Pacers given how bad Curry played. For the second time in three games, he just had an off night when it came to shooting. It was certainly an uncharacteristic performance for the 36-year-old point. He somewhat saved his night by making all four of his free throws and dishing out seven assists. Curry was still a +6 in 35 minutes in the six-point loss. He’ll look to bounce back on Christmas Day against the Lakers.

Portland’s only answer for slowing down Gafford in this game was to foul him. He made all seven of his field goal attempts, but he only made 64% of his free throw attempts, which technically made it a better option for them. He ended up playing 21 minutes to Dereck Lively’s 16 minutes, but that hasn’t been the norm for them recently. Gafford played well in this game, but Lively will continue to be the starter and play a larger role, making him the better fantasy option. Still, Gafford played really well in this game.

The Suns are stuck in an unfortunate rut, as they’ve lost the last six games that Beal has played. Of course, other factors are at play, such as Devin Booker missing the previous two games with a groin injury. The positive is that Beal has scored 49 points in those contests, shooting 20-of-37 from the field. Given his start to the season, getting Beal untracked would be great for the Suns and the fantasy managers who have him rostered.

One game removed from scoring 43 points in a loss, Durant was held in check (comparatively speaking) by the Nuggets. He still shot over 50% from the field and recorded a complete stat line, but the Suns are in a position where they need more with Devin Booker sidelined. Durant will look for revenge when the Suns host Denver on Christmas Night.