San Antonio

Spurs

Sochan has enjoyed a breakout third season, which resulted in another strong performance from him in this game. This was his second-highest scoring game of the season and his highest since returning from an extended absence with a thumb injury. Sochan is somehow still undervalued in Yahoo leagues and is available in 36% of leagues. Over the past two weeks, Sochan has been able to provide top-50 in 9-cat leagues. He’ll look to keep it going in Brooklyn on Friday before they close the week in Minnesota on Sunday.

CP3 has been excellent on Christmas throughout his career, and that continued in this game. This was his 10th game on Christmas Day, and he has never scored less than 10 points, even though his role has been quite different over the last two seasons. He has been a fifth-round producer in fantasy basketball this year despite coming off one of the worst statistical seasons of his career with Golden State. Paul continues to be a reliable fantasy option, and they still have two more games this week, starting in Brooklyn on Friday.

Playing in his first Christmas Day game, Wemby lived up to the hype and showed out in the Garden. His 42 points were the third-most in a Christmas debut, which puts him just behind Wilt Chamberlain (45) and Tracy McGrady (43). It wasn’t enough for the Spurs to get the win, but Wemby made a statement in this game. Managers should expect San Antonio to be a Christmas Day staple moving forward, which will mean plenty more chances for Wemby to show out. He has been one of the best players in fantasy basketball this season, and he’ll continue to battle with Nikola Jokic for the top spot as the season progresses.

Castle made the most of his time on the floor in Philadelphia, shooting over 80% from the field and scoring 17 points. He had also scored 17 points in his three prior appearances, shooting 8-of-28 from the field. However, Castle’s minutes on Monday are more concerning than that mini-slump, as his 13 minutes were a season-low. Fantasy managers who have him rostered need to keep an eye on that category for the rest of Week 9, beginning with Wednesday’s game against the Knicks.

Paul has dished out eight assists or more in four straight and nine of his last 10 outings. While assists haven’t been an issue for the “Point God” recently, field-goal percentage has. Paul has been shooting 36.1% from the field over the past three weeks, which is a significant reason why he’s only an 8th-round player during this period. For the season, CP3 shoots nearly 43% from the field and sits just outside the top-50 in 9-cat formats.

Vassell’s production has decreased recently, with the Spurs wing ranked well outside the top 150 in 9-cat formats over the past two weeks. His season-long value hasn’t been where fantasy managers expected it to be, with Vassell being a 10th-round player, but the availability hasn’t helped. If he can stay healthy and put together an extended run of solid production, Vassell will be fine concerning fantasy value.

Wembanyama was on fire as a rim protector to begin Monday’s game, blocking seven shots in the first quarter alone. He would finish with eight, pushing the second-year center’s total to 18 over two games. Wembanayma’s shooting accuracy can be an issue occasionally, but never to the point where fantasy managers should be concerned. Next will be his first Christmas Day game as the Spurs visit the Knicks on Wednesday.

With Zach Collins sidelined, Bassey has emerged as an occasionally worthwhile streamer in extremely deep leagues. Saturday’s double-double was his second of the season, the first being a 16-point, 12-rebound effort against the Pelicans on December 8. However, the other games have been underwhelming, making Bassey more of a “matchup play” than a player who should be held until Collins returns.

Wembanyama has made history on multiple occasions during his brief NBA career, and Saturday was another of those nights. He became the youngest player to tally at least 30 points and 10 blocks in a game, becoming the sixth player on that list in the history of the NBA. While there may have been some early complaining about Wembanyama’s production, he’s been with Nikola Jokic as the most valuable fantasy basketball player. San Antonio hits the road for four games in Week 9, beginning with Philadelphia on Monday.

For the first time this season, Vassell was part of the starting unit. He played a season-high 38 minutes, and his 33 minutes in regulation would have still been a season-high. Vassell is a beast in fantasy basketball, but he hasn’t played a large enough role this season to make the impact that he’s capable of making. As long as he remains in the starting lineup, Vassell will be a borderline top-50 option in 9-cat leagues. Julian Champagnie was still able to log 26 minutes despite the move to the bench and finished with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers.