Philadelphia

76ers

Butler was traded from Washington to Philadelphia at the trade deadline, and he has played well through three games, averaging 10 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Butler started on Wednesday night in place of the injured Tyrese Maxey and dished out nine assists. He can be a reliable source of dimes if Maxey ends up missing any games after the All-Star break. The former second-round pick hasn’t been able to carve out a consistent role through his first few seasons in the league, but he may continue to play the backup point guard minutes behind Maxey instead of Kyle Lowry.

Charania said that “it’s to the point where [George] has gotten injections to play and compete over the last four or five games. That’s something players do come playoff time, not necessarily in the regular season.” George hyperextended his knee during the preseason and has recently been dealing with an injury to his left pinky. He is clearly nowhere near 100 percent, and it has shown in his recent production. PG has the All-Star break to heal up as much as possible, but it doesn’t seem like this is something that will be fixed over the course of a week. It has been a tumultuous season for the 76ers, and it just continues to get worse.

It seems difficult to believe that George has played this badly and yet, his struggles continued Wednesday. He had two points in a pathetic performance against the Nets that saw him go 1-of-7 from the field. George has failed to score at least 10 points in three of his last six games. He had scored at least 25 points in four of five games prior to that stretch. Maybe George is able to turn it around after the All-Star break, but it looks pretty bleak right now.

With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey out Wednesday, Oubre Jr. took on a bigger scoring role. The 29-year-old small forward had his first 30-point game of the year. Oubre Jr. had it all going on offense going 10-of-16 from the field and making two 3-pointers. He also got to the foul line eight times and made all of his free throws. Oubre Jr. isn’t going to reach this ceiling often when Philly’s stars are healthy, but he’s a top-75 fantasy player on the season.

Grimes was inserted into the starting lineup with Tyrese Maxey out Wednesday. Even with Maxey healthy, Grimes has played at least 28 minutes in four straight games since being acquired by the 76ers. His usage went way up without Maxey, though, as his 30 points were tied for a game-high. Grimes will head back to the bench when Maxey comes back, but he would have streaming value in deeper formats when inserted into the starting lineup.

The 76ers are without Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid for Tuesday’s game, opening up two spots in the starting lineup. Butler and Grimes will fill the voids, with the latter having deep-league streaming value. Also, Yabusele returns to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for Philadelphia’s last two games, pushing Justin Edwards to the bench due to Philadelphia’s need for a big.

Maxey scored just five points in Tuesday’s loss to the Raptors. The 24-year-old point guard popped up on the injury report just hours before game-time with a right knee contusion Wednesday. Maxey could find himself on the wrong side of questionable here. Jared Butler could see increased minutes if Maxey is out, though he’s not a recommended streaming option.

Gordon’s set to miss a second consecutive game with a wrist injury. Quentin Grimes is primed to step in to a supporting role off the bench again.

Embiid’s knee injury will force him to miss the second night of the 76ers’ back-to-back, and Lowry will miss a second straight game after tweaking his hip. Jared Butler, Guerschon Yabusele, and Andre Drummond will have a chance to bump up their minutes.

Philadelphia’s star center was the team’s lone bright spot in a game where the team’s other four starters combined to score just 40 points. Embiid has now appeared in three straight games and four of five. The big man has compiled at least a 23/7/4 line in each of those four contests, turning in some useful defensive stats along the way. Embiid is unlikely to play Wednesday in the second leg of a back-to-back set, and fantasy managers will be hopeful that he emerges from the All-Star break relatively healthy.