NBA Player News

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley changed his starting lineup on Friday, promoting Houstan and moving Wendell Carter Jr. to the bench. While Houstan hit two 3-pointers and recorded a complete stat line, the value was modest. As for Carter, he played 18 minutes off the bench and finished with six points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one blocked shot. Houstan isn’t worth rostering, and if Carter is going to be the player who gets pulled for matchup reasons, he’s far less valuable than he’d be as a consistent starter.

With De’Aaron Fox (glute) out and the game going into double overtime, Monk played 48 minutes and took 25 shots. He struggled going 8-of-25 from the field, including 1-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. Monk clearly didn’t have his 3-point shot working after knocking down five threes on Sunday. The 26-year-old shooting guard could’ve had a lot more than just 23 points. He might get another opportunity for increased usage if Fox’ injury continues to linger.

After providing minimal value as a starter in Saturday’s 36-point loss to the Jazz, Rozier had a better night in Sacramento. The 18 points are the most he’s scored in a game since December 21, when Scary Terry dropped a season-high 23 on Orlando. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Rozier has failed to offer much value beyond points and rebounds on most nights. Over the past two weeks, he’s ranked outside the top 200 in 9-cat formats. Jimmy Butler’s suspension should make this “prime time” to have Rozier rostered, but that isn’t the case. For now, he’s a standard league option at best; shallow league managers should hold off on adding him.

Predicting which Heat wing will step up and provide reliable fantasy value has been frustrating this season, as none have truly separated themselves from the pack. Jaquez did that on Monday, recording his first triple-double and tallying five steals. Monday’s start was his second for Duncan Robinson, and Jaquez’s all-around skill set would make him the better player to have rostered. However, inconsistent production has been an issue this season. Hopefully, Jaquez can use the Jimmy Butler suspension to separate himself from the pack and become the reliable fantasy option many hoped he would be.

Adebayo had an opportunity to end Monday’s game in regulation, but his 3-point attempt missed the mark as time expired. While the double-overtime defeat was disappointing, fantasy managers with the Heat center rostered received a complete stat line. The only issue was the field goal percentage, and Bam has shot 41.1% from the field over the past two weeks. He’ll look to clean that up on Tuesday when the Heat visit Golden State.

After getting their doors blown off in Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, Herro and the Heat put up a better account of themselves in the first game of their West Coast road trip. The Heat guard, who has even more on his plate in the aftermath of the Jimmy Butler suspension, has scored 20 points or more in five of his last seven games. Over the past two weeks, Herro has provided 5th-round value in 9-cat formats and 4th-round value in 8-cat. Given Herro’s importance to the current Heat roster, those who have him rostered should resist the urge to sell.

Sabonis is an elite fantasy player so it’s no surprise that he had a massive game in a contest that went into double overtime. The 28-year-old power forward played 50 minutes Monday. Sabonis had a 21-point triple-double and was just two rebounds shy of a 20-20 game. He’s also had a double-double in 14 straight games now.

DeRozan led the Kings offense as they played without De’Aaron Fox (glute) for the second night in a row. The 35-year-old small forward played 47 minutes in the double OT victory. DeRozan wasn’t very efficient, but got there on volume with his 30 points coming on 26 shots. He still hasn’t quite lived up to preseason expectations, but his scoring has been up as of late.

Exactly how much time Gafford will miss won’t be known until Tuesday, but the last thing the Mavericks needed was to lose another rotation player. Dereck Lively II started and played 33 minutes against the Grizzlies; his fantasy value will increase substantially if the playing time holds. Dwight Powell will likely enter the rotation, but he isn’t someone fantasy managers should target in the aftermath of Gafford’s injury.

Grimes played 26 minutes off the bench as he continues to see increased minutes with Kyrie Irving out. The 24-year-old shooting guard didn’t have a great scoring night as he had just nine points on 13 shots, but he added six rebounds and six assists with his varied skillset. Grimes is certainly an interesting streaming option while Irving, who is set to miss more time, is out.

With Dallas down Luke Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Washington led the Mavericks in points and shot attempts Monday. The 26-year-old power forward is more of a supporting character than leading man, though. He’s a must-start in fantasy lineups while seeing this additional usage with the Mavs stars out, but Dallas can’t stay in games with the offense centered around Washington.