Tyus Jones handed out another six dimes in Thursday's loss to the Cavs, adding nine points, four rebounds, one 3-pointer and two turnovers across 27 minutes.
Jones had been regularly seeing his minutes in the 30s since Ja Morant (ankle) went down, but with De'Anthony Melton working his way back into the rotation, Jones' minutes took a bit of a hit tonight. This was also his first game without a steal as a starter, but we'd bank on him swiping away some steals his next time out. It'll be interesting to see if he starts losing minutes to Melton, but as long as he's starting, he should be able to do enough with the dimes and steals to warrant a roster spot in 12-team leagues.
Desmond Bane had another rough shooting night on Thursday, going 2-of-6 from the field for six points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Bane is in a mini-shooting rut, converting on just 35.7% of his shot attempts over the past two games, but he plays with so much energy and effort that he's essentially guaranteed minutes in the rotation whether his shot is falling or not. He's been too inconsistent to consider for a roster spot in standard leagues, but he's certainly on the radar in deeper settings.
Brandon Clarke scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting Thursday, to go with nine rebounds, two assists and one turnover in 30 minutes.
Clarke did an excellent job of getting out in transition and running the break, and he was Memphis’ leading scorer through the first half of action, with most of his points coming in transition. He’s gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season with some rough shooting games, but perhaps tonight’s stat line is a sign that he’s ready to start rolling. Jonas Valanciunas had another solid game in the loss, recording 17 points (6-of-11 FG, 4-of-4 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists, one 3-pointer, one steal, two blocks and two turnovers in 28 minutes.
Damyean Dotson struggled with his shot in Thursday's win over the Grizzlies, going 3-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 from the line for nine points over 35 minutes.
He got the start with both Collin Sexton (ankle) and Darius Garland (shoulder) unavailable, and while the shooting wasn't great, he was able to add one 3-pointer, two rebounds, six assists, three steals and one turnover while he was out there. Still, he wasn't terribly impressive, and he could be heading back to the bench on Saturday considering Sexton nearly played tonight, so we wouldn't recommend grabbing Dotson in most leagues.
Isaac Okoro hit 3-of-9 shots for eight points, one 3-pointer, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, two blocks and two turnovers through 40 minutes as a starter on Thursday.
Okoro had an impressive game-winning dunk today, making a smart cut to the basket when Andre Drummond was getting doubled in the high post, and the defensive stats were a welcome sign after he failed to bring any to the table across 28 minutes on Wednesday. He's still a bit too inconsistent to trust in standard settings, but he could get hot over the second half. Just keep your eye on him for now.
Cedi Osman scored 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting Thursday, to go with four triples, five boards, seven dimes, one steal and two turnovers across 38 minutes.
Osman was coming off a 1-of-12 shooting performance, and while he got off to a solid start today, his shot disappeared through much of the second half — with his first second-half bucket not coming until late in the fourth. Still, it was a pretty solid stat line minus the inefficient shooting, and he saw a lot of playmaking opportunities with both Collin Sexton (ankle) and Darius Garland (shoulder) unavailable. He's as inconsistent as they come, but maybe he'll be able to provide some low-end value in deep leagues while the main guys are out.
Landry Shamet was quiet in 19 minutes vs. the 76ers on Thursday with six points (2-of-7 FGs), three boards and two triples.
If he's only getting 19 minutes with Kyrie Irving (personal reasons) and Kevin Durant (contact tracing), that's pretty telling of how his season has gone. Shamet is known as a sharpshooter, but is only hitting 30% from the field through nine games. He's miles off the fantasy radar but does have a wide open path to more minutes if he can find a rhythm.
Taurean Prince scored a season-high 13 points vs. the 76ers on Thursday with one rebound, one assist, two steals, one block and two triples in 22 minutes.
This was a quality line from Prince but those have been few and far between in recent years -- this is a player who couldn't crack the top-150 in 9-cat last season despite playing 29 minutes per game. With Kevin Durant (contact tracing) possibly back as soon as this weekend, there's no need to grab Prince.
JaVale McGee contributed 13 points (5-of-7 FG, 2-of-2 FT), one 3-pointer, six rebounds, one steal and one block in 17 minutes off the bench on Thursday.
McGee can provide some low-end value in deep leagues as a shot-blocking specialist, but he’s certainly not a league-winning kind of player and is by no means a must-roster guy.
De'Anthony Melton scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting Thursday, to go with three rebounds, three assists, three steals, one block and three turnovers in 21 minutes off the bench.
Melton got off to a solid start in this one, immediately ripping away a steal in his first minute of play and he only missed once through the first half of action. He's going to have a lot of opportunity while Ja Morant (ankle) is out, so he's worth a look in deep leagues for fantasy managers seeking some dimes and steals. Just know that he can have some bad shooting nights.
Jabari Parker (COVID-protocol) has been ruled out for Friday's game vs. the Raptors.
It's unclear how long he'll be required to quarantine, but he's a complete non-factor in fantasy hoops, anyway.
Jordan Poole (ankle) is questionable for Friday vs. the Clippers.
He's not usually in the rotation but will have a chance Friday if Stephen Curry (ankle) sits out.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Rodney Hood (left quad strain) is expected to be available for Thursday vs. the Wolves.
Hood has been sidelined since Jan. 1. He was getting minutes in the mid-teens before the injury, so fantasy managers should leave him on the wire. His return will make things a bit more complicated for Gary Trent Jr. and maybe Anfernee Simons since Trent Jr. can run some point.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is testing out his ankle and sounds like a true game-time call for Thursday night.
Additionally, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso are good to go for the Lakers.
Alex Caruso (COVID-protocol) is available for Thursday vs. the Spurs.
He could make his first appearance since Dec. 27th, and the Lakers will be glad to have him back with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle) still questionable. Caruso usually only plays minutes in the teens so fantasy managers can look the other way.
Drew Eubanks (health protocols) won't play on Thursday.
Our guess is you won't even know he's gone, but his family might be interested in this news. Actually, he did play 23 minutes on Jan. 1 when LaMarcus Aldridge was out, but he probably wasn't scripted for many minutes tonight.
Caris LeVert is starting for Kyrie Irving (personal) Thursday and will be joined by the same starting unit that played with Kyrie on Tuesday: Jeff Green, Taurean Prince, Jarrett Allen and Bruce Brown.
None of the other starters really did much on Tuesday besides Allen and Irving, but it wouldn't be shocking to see Green, Prince or Brown play better tonight. And with both Kevin Durant (health protocols) and Irving out tonight, LeVert should go bonkers.
Collin Sexton (ankle) is going to play on Tuesday against the Grizzlies.
He was listed as probable so this is just making it official. He should be primed for another big night with Darius Garland still sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Shake Milton, Ben Simmons, Danny Green, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid will start for the Sixers on Thursday.
Shake replaces injured Seth Curry in the lineup and could have a solid night, while it's nice to see Mr. Embiid back out there on the second night of a back-to-back. He'll have his hands full with a suddenly hot (and starting) Jarrett Allen.
The Knicks have waived F/C Omari Spellman.
They made the move so that Tom Thibodeau could have his guy, Taj Gibson, and it sounds like Gibson's contract is being worked on right now. Gibson will be in New York soon and we just have to hope he doesn't cut into the good work that Mitchell Robinson's been doing.