Deandre

Ayton

Ayton has missed the last two games with the same injury. Donovan Clinghan figures to step up in Ayton’s absence. He had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks while filling in for Ayton on Wednesday.

Chauncey Billups said that Simons is back at practice after staying home for a few days, but neither player is expected to be available. That likely means another start for both Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan, with both Dalano Banton and Robert Williams (assuming he is available) playing large roles off the bench.

Ayton didn’t play against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night, which allowed Williams to have his best game of the season. However, with both players out, Donovan Clingan should be in for a big night. He was quiet as a starter on Wednesday, but he should see even more of a workload, with Duop Reath filling out the backup center minutes.

Initially questionable for Tuesday’s game, Ayton will not play, opening up a spot in the starting lineup. The void will be filled by rookie Donovan Clingan, who should be streamed while Ayton sits. Robert Williams III should play rotation minutes off the bench, but his injury history makes him challenging to commit to in most fantasy leagues.

Ayton is averaging career-lows in points (13.3) and minutes (29.3) so far this season, though he’s been a double-double machine with eight double-doubles in the first nine Trail Blazers games. If he can’t suit up Tuesday, rookie Donovan Clingan would seem to be the main beneficiary and have streaming value.

Ayton has now recorded eight double-doubles in Portland’s first nine games, and his fantasy value is about where it was expected to be before the season began (Yahoo ADP: 62). The foul line has been the issue thus far, with Ayton making 62.5% of his attempts. Getting that number into the mid-60s would give DA a shot at top-50 value.

Ayton has recorded a double-double in seven of eight games, grabbing 13 rebounds in two straight. With Robert Williams (hamstring) available to make his season debut, there may have been some concern that Ayton’s minutes would take a slight hit. There was no need for alarm, as the Blazers’ starting center played 32 minutes and rookie backup Donovan Clingan the other 16. The biggest concern for Ayton at this point is Portland pulling the plug and giving Clingan the lion’s share of the minutes, but that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Despite Chet Holmgren getting into early foul trouble and playing 18 minutes, Ayton could not take advantage. A big part of the issue was Oklahoma City’s overall strength, as the visitors took control of the game and outscored Portland by a 38-17 margin in the third quarter. Thus far, Ayton has been a top 75 fantasy player, which isn’t far removed from his Yahoo ADP (62). He’ll look to bounce back when the Blazers visit Phoenix on Saturday.

This was Ayton’s fifth appearance this season, and it was also his fifth double-double. That’s certainly a positive, but his numbers haven’t exactly been dominant. His shooting percentages are both down in comparison to previous seasons, which has limited his impact in 9-cat leagues. The rebounds are by far his strongest category, and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue moving forward. Managers shouldn’t expect Ayton to take any sort of massive statistical leap at this point, but it would be nice to see him make some minor improvements. We’ll see if his double-double streak will continue as they head into a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.

Ayton has opened the season with four straight double-doubles, including a season-high 20 points on Monday. As long as he plays 30-plus minutes, the Blazers center will provide solid value in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage. The only negative is his inconsistent defensive production.