Raul Neto played just 20 minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Heat, finishing with six points (2-of-9 FGs, 2-of-3 FTs), three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
As a result of Russell Westbrook being held out due to a quad injury, Neto was thrust into the starting lineup and he did not play particularly well. The veteran point guard was outplayed by Miami’s Tyler Herro, and Wizards backup Ish Smith (nine points, three rebounds, seven assists and one 3-pointer in 28 minutes) played more minutes as a result. Neto has some value when he gets the occasional start, which tends to happen when Washington has a back-to-back, but the risk outweighs the reward in those instances.
Jerome Robinson, starting in place of Bradley Beal, finished Saturday’s loss to the Heat with 12 points (4-of-8 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two 3-pointers in 24 minutes.
Robinson was the first man up with Beal (health and safety protocols) sidelined, but he ultimately split the off-guard minutes with Garrison Mathews. Mathews had the best night of his career, tallying 22 points in 23 minutes, and he stands to remain in the rotation even when Beal returns. Robinson likely has work to do in that regard. It isn’t known exactly when Beal will be cleared to return, but Robinson should have a couple more opportunities to show what he can do before that point.
Robin Lopez shot 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line in Saturday’s loss to the Heat, finishing with 13 points and one rebound in 21 minutes.
Lopez was inserted in to Saturday’s game a bit earlier than usual, as Thomas Bryant injured his left knee less than three minutes in. Should Bryant’s injury keep him sidelined for an extended period of time, Lopez will likely slide into the starting center role. And if that happens, hopefully he will bring more to the table as a rebounder than he did on Saturday. Another name to watch: Moritz Wagner, as he accounted for 13 points (4-of-7 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and two 3-pointers in 20 minutes. Neither Lopez nor Wagner would be a great fantasy pickup, but the latter offers a little more in the way of upside.
Bobby Portis slotted into the starting five on Saturday, posting 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals in the Bucks win.
Portis got the start with Giannis Antetokounmpo (back spasms) out and had a solid game. He made 7-of-11 field goal attempts and knocked down a triple in 33 minutes. His five turnovers were a team high, but he did his job filling in for the Greek Freak. Portis will return to the bench whenever Giannis comes back, but regardless, he should be rostered in standard leagues, providing top-80 value in 9-cat so far this season.
Tyler Herro shot 12-of-20 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line in Saturday’s win over the Wizards, accounting for 31 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one 3-pointer in 37 minutes.
Herro was just 1-of-5 from three on the night, but that didn’t matter as he got much of what he wanted inside of the arc. Many picked Herro with the expectation that his play in the bubble would carry over into the new season, and while that hasn’t been the case, it isn’t as if he’s been terrible either. Rostered in 89% of Yahoo leagues, the “Baby Goat” ranks outside of the top-150 in 9-cat formats with turnovers being the issue. Herro, who’s well within that threshold in 8-cat, was responsible for three Saturday night.
Isaac Okoro stuggled in his start on Saturday vs the Bucks, scoring just four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the loss.
If you haven't noticed yet, Okoro is a defensive stud and not a natural scorer, not yet, at least. He only made two shots on Saturday, tacking on two rebounds and an assist in 34 minutes. His scoring will fluctuate throughout the season and that means his fantasy value his extremely low, even in deep leagues.
Kelly Olynyk shot 7-of-15 from the field, scoring 18 points with six rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and four 3-pointers in 32 minutes Saturday vs. the Wizards.
Bam Adebayo (9/16/4/1 blocked shot) was limited to just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, and Olynyk helped pick up the slack offensively. He’s now reached double figures in three straight games, and the 18 points are one off of his season-high. Despite providing top-75 value in both 8- and 9-cat formats, Olynyk is still rostered in just 30% of Yahoo leagues. That percentage should increase, especially given how well he’s played over the last week.
Goran Dragic shot 7-of-9 from three in Saturday’s win over the Wizards, finishing with 21 points, two rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes.
Dragic was on fire to start this one, as he made his first six 3-point attempts of the night. His first miss was a heave to end the third quarter, so give the Dragon credit for not pulling the “field goal percentage preservation” stunt that most players do. The only negative for him on this night was the turnover count, as he finished with three. Dragic is threatening top-100 status in 8-cat, but he’s well outside of that in 9-cat due to the turnovers.
Cameron Johnson shot 6-of-13 in Saturday night's win, making four triples and finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Cam is a top-75 player in 9-cat and he's producing in just 24 minutes a game. He's earned a roster spot in deep leagues, having scored in double figures in seven of the Suns 10 games with averages of 13.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.7 threes a night. Johnson is also shooting 48% from the floor and 40% from deep and is available in 67% of Yahoo leagues.
De’Andre Hunter accounted for 20 points (6-of-12 FGs, 7-of-7 FTs), eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, two blocks and one 3-pointer in 34 minutes Saturday night.
Hunter, who was also responsible for just one turnover, had himself a solid night. Something to watch moving forward is the knee injury suffered by Bogdan Bogdanovic. While the two aren’t used in the same position, as both started Saturday, an extended absence for Bogdanovic would mean more shared time on the court for Hunter and Cam Reddish. According to Cleaning the Glass, while the four most-used lineups for Hunter include Reddish, only one (the starting five that includes Trae Young, John Collins and Clint Capela) has a positive net rating.
Clint Capela shot 2-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line in Saturday’s loss to the Hornets, tallying seven points, 13 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 27 minutes.
With Charlotte being shorthanded in the post, at first glance this was a game in which Capela could potentially go off. Unfortunately, while he did lead all players with the 13 rebounds, Capela wasn’t able to get much done as a scorer. The Hawks' starting center isn’t a top-100 player just yet, but he’s still providing late-round value in both 8- and 9-cat formats.
John Collins finished Saturday's loss to the Hornets with 12 points (4-of-7 FGs, 3-of-6 FGs), 10 rebounds, one steal and one 3-pointer in 30 minutes.
Collins did have some foul trouble to deal with, but he should not be attempting just seven field goals in any game. The game prior Trae Young had just seven, with it being reported by The Athletic that Collins offered some critiques of the point guard in a film session. The power forward, who will be a free agent this coming offseason, is still hovering around the top-50 in 9-cat, but that's well below his Yahoo ADP (19).
Meyers Leonard left Saturday’s win over the Wizards with a strained right shoulder.
Leonard played just eight minutes, all in the second half, before leaving with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. According to Erik Spoelstra it is a strain, and Leonard’s status for Sunday’s game against the Celtics isn’t known just yet. He isn’t getting consistent rotation minutes, so there’s no need to have Leonard rostered.
Myles Turner recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four blocks on Saturday in the Pacers loss to the Suns.
Turner was efficient against the Sun front court, hitting 6-of-8 shots and two triples in 36 minutes. He now has 12 total blocks in his last two games and is averaging 4.1 swats a night, the most in the NBA by a wide margin (Rudy Gobert 2nd w/ 2.7 bpg). Unfortunately for Turner, he was shadowed by Damantas Sobonis who logged 28 points and 22 rebounds in the game.
Trae Young (right wrist) shot 5-of-19 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line in Saturday’s loss to the Hornets, finishing with 15 points, two rebounds and10 assists in 37 minutes.
Young appeared to be favoring his right wrist after hitting it on a fall during the third quarter, but the Hawks said that he was OK. As concerning as the injury is Young’s shooting, with the young point guard now 1-of-14 from three (0-of-5 Saturday) over the last three games. He’s always going to be a must-play when healthy, given how much the ball is in his hands. But Young ranks just outside of the top-100 in 9-cat. It’s early, but that has to be concerning for those who have him rostered.
Richaun Holmes (left ankle soreness) has been ruled out vs the Blazers on Saturday night, per Jason Jones of The Athletic.
Holmes was a late scratch on Saturday despite earlier reports that his minutes would be monitored in the game. The Kings chose to play it safe and play small, as Tyrese Haliburton will start for the first time in his NBA career.
Mikal Bridges scored a career-high 34 points on Saturday, knocking down 12-of-18 shots, six triples and all four of his free throws in 35 minutes.
Bridges big scoring night was a team high for the Suns with the next closest scorer being Devin Booker with 25. The wing added three rebounds, two assists and a block to round out his career night, a nice bounce-back game after scoring just 26 points in his previous three contests combined. He'll look to keep this momentum going with four games on the Suns schedule over the next week.
Cam Reddish played 34 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s loss to the Hornets, posting a line of 21 points (6-of-17 FGs, 5-of-6 FTs), five rebounds, one assist, four steals and four 3-pointers.
Reddish was replaced in the starting lineup by Bogdan Bogdanovic, but that could be a one-game deal as Bogdanovic left Saturday’s game in the second quarter with a right knee injury. The second-year guard entered the game in a shooting slump, and his percentages weren’t great, but to Reddish’s credit he’s continued to fire away. He’s a must-play right now, especially if Bogdanovic has to miss an extended period of time due to the injury.
Kevin Huerter played 33 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s loss to the Hornets, finishing with 11 points (4-of-13 FGs), four rebounds, six assists and three 3-pointers.
Huerter was in his usual sixth-man role, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. But with Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee) going down in the second quarter of Saturday’s game, some of the pieces around Huerter on the second unit could change. Red Velvet's all-around game makes him a player who should be rostered regardless of format, as he’s a top-100 player in 9-cat formats.
Justin Holiday played 28 minutes off the bench on Saturday, tallying 17 points, five rebounds and two threes.
After a 14-point first half, Holiday cooled off in the final two frames, making 6-of-10 shots, two 3-pointers and 3-of-5 at the line. He didn't register any other stats, but he should continue to play significant minutes with T.J. Warren (foot) sidelined indefinitely. Consider him as a steaming option rather than a long-term hold.