Cole Anthony started on Friday and scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, going 3-of-4 at the line with three assists, two rebounds, two steals and four turnovers in 28 minutes.
The Magic can't replace Markelle Fultz, whose steady development and confident play earned him a $50 million extension this offseason. They can, however, give first-round pick Anthony plenty of on-the-job training as the starting point guard of a team with postseason ambitions. "Cole will start and we're looking at some other things, some bigger lineups," coach Steve Clifford said. "I think that he's ready to take [the starting job] and grow with it and we all have great confidence in him." Anthony came into this game with a true-shooting rate of 40.3%, eighth-worst in the league, so it will be crucial for him to show continued growth as a shooter. With a starting job gifted to him, just hold on and see what happens.
Jordan Bone played 28 minutes off Orlando's bench on Friday, chipping in seven points, four assists, two rebounds and one 3-pointer.
Most of his minutes were garbage time. If you're in a deep league, grabbing Bone or Michael Carter-Williams makes some sense. However, the absence of Markelle Fultz mostly empowers rookie Cole Anthony as the starting PG, supported by Evan Fournier and even Aaron Gordon handling the ball, plus more halfcourt offense flowing through Nikola Vucevic. The Magic will even experiment with big lineups, according to coach Steve Clifford, so it's hard to see MCW or Bone helping managers in 14- or 12-team leagues.
Payton Pritchard had a strong game off the bench vs. the Wizards on Friday, scoring 11 points (3-of-4 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs) with two assists, two rebounds, two steals and three triples in 23 minutes.
The big news coming out of Boston Friday was that Kemba Walker (knee) just got the green light to resume practicing, so his return to action is right around the corner. That doesn't mean Pritchard will lose his minutes though, as he has been outplaying Jeff Teague pretty significantly and checked in ahead of him in this game. Kemba's return will likely keep Pritchard's fantasy value in the late-round territory, but in the short term he continues to be a solid option with Boston shorthanded.
Mike Muscala bruised his ribs during Friday's game and did not return, finishing with five points, four rebounds and one block in 15 minutes.
If Muscala can't play vs. the Nets on Sunday, coach Mark Daigneault will have to get creative. Rookie big man Aleksej Pokusevski isn't strong enough to reliably battle the league's centers, so Al Horford could be pressed into heavy minutes. For now, we'll consider Muscala day-to-day.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander left MSG on Friday with a season-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three 3-pointers, one block and a road win vs. the Knicks.
In addition to the copious counting stats, SGA was efficient with 9-of-14 shooting (3-of-3 from deep). His 4.7 rebounds per game are significantly down from last year's 5.9, but that's mostly a function of the small sample size -- and it'll leap after tonight's season-best effort on the glass. He was coming off a game with five steals on Wednesday, too, and it's only a matter of time before he's piling up early-round value as the focal point for this rebuilding OKC team.
Darius Bazley struggled in 23 minutes vs. New York on Friday, shooting 2-of-9 for four points, seven rebounds and one block.
"[Bazley] has gone on these little flurries and gotten into a nice rhythm," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after Wednesday's game. "He's still learning. He's smoothing his game out. He's learning how to become a consistent player." Right on cue, Bazley's inconsistency showed up Friday and he ceded playing time to Hamidou Diallo (23 points, 11 boards). There will be more road bumps this season, but Bazley is a pillar of his team's rebuild and the highs should easily outweigh the lows.
Aleksej Pokusevski (concussion) finished Friday's game vs. the Pelicans with seven points, six rebounds and one block, hitting 3-of-5 shots and a 3-pointer in 19 minutes.
The rookie made it through the league's stringent concussion protocol and resumed playing 15-20 minutes off OKC's bench. That hadn't been enough for fantasy value in any format, especially since he'd previously shown no ability to hit shots -- he was a combined 2-of-21 from the field this season, including 1-of-16 from downtown. Tonight's game gave us a glimpse of his tantalizing potential, though, and he's worth monitoring closely in deep leagues in case the shots keep falling. There could be short-term value, too, with Mike Muscala exiting Friday's game due to bruised ribs.
Saben Lee fell out of the Pistons' rotation again on Friday.
The absence of Killian Hayes (hip) created a bit of daylight for Lee in the Pistons' rotation, and he scored four points with two steals in 12 minutes on Wednesday. He's on a two-way deal but should stay with the Pistons for the foreseeable future. As evident from tonight's DNP, though, his ability to earn minutes to is another question.
Derrick Rose (knee bruise) played 19 minutes on Friday against the Suns, making 1-of-7 FGs and 2-of-2 FTs for four points, five assists, one steal and one block.
Rose bruised his knee on Wednesday, but he practiced on Thursday and resumed his usual sixth-man role tonight. Delon Wright is starting at point guard in the absence of Killian Hayes (sprained right hip), which seems likely to continue with Hayes out indefinitely. Rose's ceiling is capped by Detroit's unwillingness to play him more than 24-28 minutes per game.
Josh Jackson (right ankle) struggled in 19 minutes on Friday, shooting 2-of-11 from the field for five points with two rebounds and one steal.
Jackson was a game-time decision but he felt good enough after testing his ankle. After watching him struggle in limited action, though, most fantasy managers wish he'd stayed on the sidelines. He forced the action offensively and coach Dwane Casey yanked him early in the third quarter, after which he wasn't heard from again. His ankle injury is the likely culprit, but we'll leave him off the injury report. Just be aware that he's headed into two tough matchups vs. the Jazz (Sunday) and Bucks (Wednesday).
Blake Griffin grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds on Friday, adding 16 points with five assists, one 3-pointer and one steal in 40 minutes.
Detroit snapped their three-game losing streak with a surprise win in OT vs. the visiting Suns. Blake certainly did his part tonight, making 5-of-13 FGs and 5-of-6 FTs, and he ably guided the offense out of the post. He looks borderline-immobile on some defensive possessions, but he was better tonight and there haven't been any lower-body injuries reported (he missed time with a concussion). He's still an injury-prone veteran on a bad team, though, so fantasy GMs should always be vigilant for opportunities to flip him.
Chris Paul finished Friday's road loss in Detroit with 11 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and one 3-pointer in 38 minutes.
This was the first half of a back-to-back set for Phoenix, so CP3's fantasy managers will want to confirm his status for Saturday's game as a precaution. The Pistons came in allowing opponents to shoot 50.7% from the field, the highest mark in the NBA, but anyone relying on that for an offensive deluge came away disappointed -- the Suns only managed to score 93 points in regulation tonight.
Langston Galloway sank 6-of-9 shots on Friday, including a 5-of-8 mark from deep, scoring 17 points with two rebounds in just 12 minutes off the Suns' bench.
The 'revenge game' narrative was impossible to ignore, as Galloway chirped at his former bench at every opportunity. His fantasy contributions began and ended with the scoring stats, though, as he failed to record any assists, steals or blocks in his dozen minutes of action. Leave him on the wire.
Devin Booker missed a potential game-winner in regulation on Friday, finishing a loss in Detroit with 23 points (8-of-18 FGs, 2-of-4 FTs), five 3-pointers, three assists, two steals, one block and five turnovers.
Booker somehow played 38 minutes without a single rebound. He's firmly outside the top-150 in 9-cat leagues at the moment, the consequence of his 4.8 turnovers per game. Even without turnovers, he's only been a mid-round value with year-on-year dips in scoring (21.5 ppg), rebounds (3.8) and assists (4.6). He came in shooting a career-worst 77.3% from the line, down from 91.9% last season, and the only good news is that he's healthy and these issues are correctable. This is a good time to float some trade offers for Booker, to gauge whether his fantasy GMs are losing faith due to the slow start.
Cameron Payne chipped in six points, two boards, three assists and two steals in 15 minutes off the bench vs. Detroit on Friday.
After he dished 10 assists in 16 minutes on Wednesday, Payne earned praise from coach Monty Williams. "He's got a different gear. He's got a 'herky-jerkyness' to his game and he's a willing passer," Williams said. "The thing about Cam's passes is that they're on time and on target." Even with his coach in his corner, it will likely take an extended absence from Chris Paul to spring Payne into 12-team relevance. For now he's just a low-end dimes guy.
Russell Westbrook (dislocated finger) played through the pain on Friday vs. Boston, but scored just 12 points (4-of-16 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs) with eight assists, four rebounds, one block, two triples and seven turnovers in 33 minutes.
So far this season it’s been the same old story with Westbrook, as he’s averaging a triple-double but it comes at the cost of your FG%, FT% and turnovers -- he came into tonight hitting 39.5% from the field and 63% from the line on high volume with 5.0 turnovers. Saturday’s game vs. Miami is the second leg of a back-to-back, so we’re expecting him to pick up a DNP-rest. Whether or not that plan holds for the entire season depends on several factors, GM Tommy Sheppard said. “He knows his body better than anybody. A lot of our institutional knowledge is gonna come from him. We’ve adhered to a schedule thus far and a lot of it just kinda evolves on how he’s feeling, how he’s responding to the rigors of the season."
Abdel Nader (concussion protocol) picked up a DNP-CD on Friday.
Nader has been a "full go" since Wednesday but he's not part of the Suns' rotation while they're at (or near) full strength.
Deni Avdija posted another dud of a line on Friday vs. Boston, going scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting with two rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes.
Like most rookies, his season is going to be a roller coaster. He's still going downhill fast unfortunately, as he's played 16 or fewer minutes in three straight with a total of three points. We'll let you know when he heats up because we've seen some really nice flashes from him this season, especially on Jan. 1 when the Wizards let him run some pick-and-roll. With the Wizards sitting at 2-7, more touches will come his way soon enough.
Austin Rivers had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds in 32 minutes on Friday, shooting 5-of-12 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers.
The Knicks rank 12th in team 3-point percentage (37.2%), but they're 28th in 3-pointers made at 10.0 per game. The only teams making fewer triples per game are the Cavaliers and Pelicans. Their need for 3-point shooting plays directly to Rivers' strength, and he's been impressively lately with a game-winner last Saturday followed by a torrid stretch on Wednesday in which he scored 14 straight points to beat the Jazz. He's worth a roster spot for scoring, triples and a dash of assists, with the understanding that his 58.5% shooting will soon come back to earth.
Tacko Fall made a rare appearance on Friday vs. the Wizards, scoring four points with eight rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes.
Tristan Thompson (medical protocols), Grant Williams (medical protocols) and Robert Williams (COVID-19) are all under quarantine for the next week, so Boston fans were treated to a Tacko showing and he did not disappoint, disrupting way more shots than the three blocks he was credited with. He had two blocks in six minutes in his only other appearance this season, so if you're desperately looking for some swats in a deep league, Fall could get some chances over the next week.