Fantasy 30: KAT, Kyrie getting close to game action?
Atlanta Hawks: Jabari Parker‘s production has dropped off considerably since John Collins returned, and now Parker is out for at least two weeks after undergoing a non-surgical procedure on his right shoulder on Tuesday. Parker can safely be dropped in 10- and 12-team leagues at this point.
Boston Celtics: Enes Kanter remains available in 22.5% of ESPN leagues, despite putting up 10.3 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.5 BPG and posting a 56.1 FG% during his past 10 games. With Robert Williams III (hip) out for at least three more weeks, Kanter has a good chance to continue to shine with extended minutes.
Brooklyn Nets: After missing 24 games due to a thumb injury, Caris LeVert is playing under a minutes restriction. He logged 16 minutes in his first game back Saturday against Toronto and followed that with 22 minutes Tuesday against Oklahoma City. While it will likely take a few weeks for the playing time to increase, his scoring output of 13 and 20 in his first two games back is a positive sign that LeVert doesn’t have much rust to knock off. On a related note, it looks like Kyrie Irving is nearing a return.
Charlotte Hornets: Devonte’ Graham has come out of nowhere this season to do a lot of great things for the Hornets and for fantasy managers everywhere. One area that is troublesome, though, is his 38.8 FG%, especially given the fact that he is shooting nearly 16 times per game. That’s difficult to absorb, especially in category leagues, and the problem is getting worse; Graham is shooting an icy 31.7% during his past 10 games.
Chicago Bulls: Coby White often gets forgotten about in fantasy circles, with Tomas Satoransky and Kris Dunn getting the bulk of the attention at point guard, but the rookie lottery pick has quietly logged a career-high 33 minutes twice in his past five games. Any time that happens, White has the offensive ability to put up big numbers as a scorer and 3-point shooter, so it’s worth keeping an eye on this trend in the near future.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Porter Jr. will miss 4-6 weeks with a left knee sprain, and Larry Nance Jr. also remains out due to left knee soreness. That leaves additional minutes for Cedi Osman, who started and played 36 minutes in the Cavs’ last game, as well as recently re-signed swingman Alfonzo McKinnie.
Dallas Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis (right knee) has been ruled out for the upcoming back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. That will allow Porzingis to rest the sore knee until next Tuesday’s game against the Warriors — if not longer — and it will lead to more minutes for Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber.
Denver Nuggets: While Nikola Jokic has found his groove, averaging 29.0 PPG in four games this month, the production of Paul Millsap has left much to be desired as of late. The veteran has seen his scoring plummet to 9.1 PPG during the past 10 games, and he has had nights of 0, 2 and 6 points during the past two weeks. Millsap is still on 68.1% of rosters in ESPN fantasy leagues, but you can expect that number to fall if things don’t turn around for the veteran soon.
Detroit Pistons: Blake Griffin underwent surgery on his ailing left knee, and the expectation is that the six-time All-Star is likely done for the season. That leaves the Pistons even lighter in the talent department, save for one big name: Andre Drummond. While Drummond is the topic of trade rumors in recent weeks, the big man continues to show improvement across the board in his seventh NBA season. He enters Thursday’s game against Cleveland averaging career highs in scoring (17.5), rebounding (16.0), steals (2.0), blocks (1.9) and FT% (63.6).
Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green needs scorers around him to be the fantasy producer we expect him to be, and that has been made very clear in the early going this month. In three games, Green has averaged just 3.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 5.7 APG, while Alec Burks, Omari Spellman, Glenn Robinson III and Damion Lee have carried the scoring load with D’Angelo Russell sidelined in addition to the Splash Bros.
Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon is back from injury, and he is on 21.3% of fantasy rosters in ESPN leagues, but the veteran has a 6.10 PER in 13 games this season and is virtually a non-factor in all areas aside from scoring. Fantasy managers would be wise to move on from the veteran shooting guard until further notice.
Indiana Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon’s nagging back injury is just about the only thing that can stop him this season, but it sounds like he’s close to returning to the court after 10 days of rest. Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said Thursday that he’s “hopeful” his efficient point guard will be able to return to the court Friday in Chicago. Brogdon is one of the game’s best free throw shooters and distributors and has averaged 17.7 PPG in 27 games this season.
LA Clippers: The Clippers (26-12) aren’t playing quite as well as many expected after their early success this season, but one player who is trending up is Montrezl Harrell. He leads the team this month with 29.0 PPG after going for 23 against Detroit, 28 against Memphis and 34 against New York, and while that doesn’t figure to last on a team with such a star-studded cast, it could lead to a heavier workload for the rugged big man, who has averaged 29.1 MPG so far this season.
Los Angeles Lakers: The MRI results on Anthony Davis’ back came back negative following the star big man’s scary fall in Tuesday night’s game against the Knicks, and there’s a chance he won’t have to miss any time at all. Davis, who suffered a gluteus maximus contusion, is listed as questionable for Friday’s game against the Mavericks. Fantasy managers everywhere can breathe a massive sigh of relief.
Memphis Grizzlies: Few point guards bring the excitement on a nightly basis quite like Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant, but that shouldn’t overshadow some of the other things he’s doing really well as a first-year pro. Morant has been very efficient so far (48.5 FG%, 79.7 FT%, 39.7 3FG%) and can help fantasy managers in these areas in addition to the scoring, distributing and steals he provides.
Miami Heat: Justise Winslow returned to the court Wednesday following a 35-day absence due to a back bruise. He logged 16 minutes and will need some time to work his way back into the rotation, but even when healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising if Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is careful with how much he uses Winslow. The Heat are 27-10 and have played very well with the rotation they used when Winslow was out.
Milwaukee Bucks: While Brook Lopez has seen his 3-point production decline this season, dropping from 2.3 3-pointers in 2018-19 to 1.5, he continues to be one of the league’s top shot-blockers. In fact, the 12th-year pro has 18 blocks during his past five games and his 2.6 BPG would demolish his previous best of 2.2 BPG, set last season.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) has been out for nearly an entire month — Dec. 13 was his last game — but he could be getting close to a return. Towns is considered a game-time decision for Thursday’s game against the Trail Blazers, but even if he plays, you can expect his minutes to be limited for a while until he works his way back into game shape. Gorgui Dieng, who has played like a top-100 fantasy player during Towns’ absence, is a candidate to return to the waiver wire as soon as KAT is back.
New Orleans Pelicans: Basketball is a funny game, and so much of it comes down to confidence. Case in point: Lonzo Ball. The third-year point guard reached 20 points in a game just once in his first 25 games this season, but after busting out for 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Rockets on Dec. 29, Ball went on to score 23, 24 and 21 in his next three games. Part of this is about getting extra minutes, but another component is Ball proving to himself that he can be a scorer in this league.
New York Knicks: Mitchell Robinson has been playing through a sprained left toe, but it looks like the injury could be limiting him. He has failed to record double-digit points or rebounds in each of the past four games — all losses for the Knicks. This is worth keeping an eye on in the days and weeks ahead.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Nerlens Noel (knee) has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Rockets, marking the third straight game he has missed due to injury. The Thunder haven’t put a timetable on Noel’s injury, which means he could be out a while. Just keep in mind that he is the rare player who averages more than 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, making him very valuable on some fantasy teams.
Orlando Magic: Markelle Fultz has averaged 30.5 MPG during his past four games, dishing out seven assists in two of them and racking up 12 steals in that span while also going for a career-high 25 points in Monday’s game against the Nets. It’s safe to say things are progressing nicely for Fultz in his first year in Orlando. He’s still available in 72.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues but is certainly trending up.
Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle (knee) has been out since Dec. 21, but the rookie defensive specialist was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and is listed as probable to play in Thursday’s game against the Celtics. At this stage of his career, Thybulle is mostly just a player to stream for steals, but that could change if his minutes increase into the 25-30 MPG range at any point this season.
Phoenix Suns: At 14-23, it’s looking like another lost season for the Suns in terms of competing in the Western Conference, but Kelly Oubre Jr. has been one of the bright spots. He can help fantasy teams with his scoring (18.2 PPG), rebounding (6.1 RPG) and steals (1.5 SPG), but also as an efficient shooter (46.0 FG%) who gets to the free throw line 4.4 times per game and shoots 79.0% from the stripe while also cashing in 1.8 3PG. There’s much to like about the fifth-year swingman out of Kansas.
Portland Trail Blazers: Hassan Whiteside (illness) didn’t go through shootaround and is questionable to play in Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves. Whiteside has been one of fantasy’s most productive centers this season, but it sounds like there’s a decent chance he will miss this game, so plan accordingly.
Sacramento Kings: The easy schedule certainly doesn’t hurt, with games against Memphis, New Orleans, Golden State and Phoenix this month, but De’Aaron Fox has picked up the pace as a scorer since the calendar flipped to 2020. Fox has averaged 23.0 PPG during that span, adding 6.8 APG and 2.0 SPG for good measure, and that’s encouraging for the athletic point guard after an injury-marred early part of the season.
San Antonio Spurs: Here’s one few could have seen coming: LaMarcus Aldridge, now in his 14th NBA season, currently is on pace to shatter his previous high for blocks per game. While Aldridge has steadily been in the 1.0-1.2 BPG range throughout his long career, he set a career high with 1.3 BPG last season and is at 1.9 BPG through 34 games this season. That’s more than Clint Capela (1.8), Robinson (1.8) and Rudy Gobert (1.8), ranking seventh in the league.
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam (groin), Norman Powell (shoulder) and Marc Gasol (hamstring) haven’t played since Dec. 18. Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet reportedly could miss significant time due to a right hamstring strain. Right now, it seems that Gasol and VanVleet are a ways a way from returning to the court, while Siakam — who did some light on-court work on Monday — may be the closest and Powell may not be far behind. This is a situation to continue to monitor closely.
Utah Jazz: You need points? Bojan Bogdanovic is your man. How about 3-point shooting? Again, Bogdanovic can help. Anything else? You should look elsewhere. That was never more evident than Monday’s game against the Pelicans, when Bogdanovic went for 35 points and three 3-pointers but failed to record a rebound, assist, steal or block in 33 minutes.
Washington Wizards: In five games this month, Ish Smith has started none of them and Isaiah Thomas has started all of them, but don’t let that fool you. Smith has played 30.4 MPG during that span while Thomas has seen his playing time fall — failing to reach 25 minutes in any of those games. Thomas is still on 16.6% of rosters in ESPN fantasy leagues, but right now, Smith (26.4%) is the point guard to roster.