The Knicks are expected to waive Omari Spellman (knee), according to SNY's Ian Begley.
Spellman hasn't appeared in a game this season due to right knee soreness, and he was unlikely to crack the rotation once cleared. His release will free up a roster spot for Taj Gibson.
Rodney Hood (left quad strain) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Timberwolves.
Due to the quad strain, Hood has been sidelined since New Year's Day. Gary Trent Jr. would stand to lose a few minutes once Hood is cleared to return, and while he necessarily doesn't play on the wing Anfernee Simons could be impacted as well. Trent Jr.'s minutes would have to come from somewhere, and Simons could lose out as a result.
Reggie Perry (left groin soreness) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against Philadelphia.
Perry isn't in the rotation when healthy, so this news shouldn't impact anyone's lineups.
Mike Scott (left knee contusion) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Nets.
Scott will miss a fourth straight game due to the knee contusion. He wasn't a major factor when healthy, so his absence doesn't have an impact as far as fantasy basketball is concerned.
Justise Winslow (left hip displacement recovery) is listed as out for Thursday's game against the Cavaliers.
Winslow has yet to appear in a game since being traded from Miami to Memphis at last season's trade deadline. That's unfortunate, because he could be useful with Ja Morant (ankle) currently sidelined. There's no reason to use an IL spot on Winslow; leave him on the waiver wire.
Bryn Forbes played 22 minutes in Wednesday's win over the Pistons, finishing with eight points (3-of-7 FGs), one rebound, one assist, one steal and two 3-pointers.
A rather nondescript line for Forbes, but the story recently has been his chemistry with Giannis Antetokounmpo. At times he's asked to be a screener for Antetokounmpo in order to get the two-time MVP going downhill, filling a role previously held by the likes of George Hill, Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver. While he wasn't successful in doing so during Friday's game, Forbes got the job done Wednesday night. "He’s willing to sacrifice his body and he’s physically strong, so he can actually set a good screen to the four man and still be able to like (smacks hands) slip out for the shot," Antetokounmpo said. "He’s smart enough to read my eyes and know where I want to go and which way I want him to come set it. We’re building a good chemistry there." Forbes remains a low-end points and 3-pointers option, but working well with Giannis will ensure him of rotation minutes moving forward.
According to SNY's Ian Begley, the Knicks and some other teams have touched base with free agent center Taj Gibson.
Gibson spent last season with the Knicks, and there was mutual interest in continuing the partnership this season. However, New York did not re-sign the veteran big at that time. A reunion would make sense for multiple reasons, including Gibson's familiarity with both the roster and coach Tom Thibodeau. Also the Knicks are shorthanded in the paint, as Nerlens Noel remains out due to ankle and knee injuries. In order to sign Gibson, New York would have to waive a player to free up a roster spot.
Patrick Williams cleared concussion protocol during Wednesday's loss to the Kings after taking a shot to the head.
Williams, who ultimately played 22 minutes, left Wednesday's game during the second quarter to be evaluated by the Bulls medical staff. He was able to clear concussion protocol and resume playing during the third. "He got hit in the head and it took through halftime to diagnose that he was able to come back and play," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said when asked about Williams after the game. Chicago is scheduled to face the Lakers Friday night, so we'll wait to see if the rookie is mentioned on Thursday's injury report.
Mikal Bridges scored 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting (4-of-4 FT) Wednesday, to go with three triples, four rebounds, three assists, one block and one turnover in 29 minutes.
While the shooting wasn't great, this was a nice bounce-back game following Sunday's seven-point, 1-of-7 shooting performance. He's in a mini-shooting-rut and he's now gone three games without a steal, but he's still blocking shots, hitting 3s and grabbing boards a proficient level. Overall, he's been a top-35 player in 9-cat leagues, so he's looking like one of the better late-round targets with his draft day ADP of 82.
Richaun Holmes bounced back from a four-point dud with a season-high 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal on 10-of-11 shooting in 30 minutes of Wednesday's win over the Bulls.
Yes, he was playing the Bulls, but Holmes managers are surely feeling a sense of relief after Monday's dud. And oddly, Hassan Whiteside didn't even get off the bench (again) for the Kings after going for eight points, two rebounds and three blocks in 12 minutes on Monday. Holmes looks locked into the starting center job in Sacramento and looks like the center you want have on the Kings. He tweaked an ankle during the game but thinks that he'll be fine.
Cameron Johnson hit 6-of-10 shots for 16 points, four 3-pointers, three rebounds, one steal and one turnover in 23 minutes off the bench on Wednesday.
Johnson continues to get it done in limited minutes for Phoenix, and he's been a sneaky top-75 producer in 9-cat leagues with averages of 13.1 points, 2.6 triples, 1.0 assist, 0.8 steals and 0.5 turnovers per contest on 50.7% shooting, so he's worth a look in deep leagues. Dario Saric also had another solid game in limited minutes, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with five rebounds, two treys, and one assist in 17 reserve minutes. He too could be worth your attention in deep leagues.
Cameron Payne dished out 10 dimes in 16 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, adding five points, three boards, one 3-pointer and one turnover in a win over the Raptors.
The 10 dimes matched Payne's career-high, which he set during the 2017-18 season while he was in Chicago. He's had a few nice games in blowouts for the Suns, but he's far too inconsistent to trust in the vast majority of leagues.
Cory Joseph played 25 minutes and had seven points, two rebounds and three assists on 3-of-10 shooting in Wednesday's win over the Bulls.
De'Aaron Fox left very early with a hamstring strain and rookie Tyrese Haliburton went nuts with 17 points, seven boards, six assists, three steals, a block and three 3-pointers, and made some huge plays down the stretch. If Fox remains out with the hammy injury, CoJo could get some nice run, but the guy to pick up here is Haliburton.
Delon Wright went just 1-of-8 from the floor on his way to one 3-pointer, one rebound, three assists and one steal through 25 minutes as a starter on Wednesday.
Yuck. Wright caught our attention back in 2019 when he had a fun 20-game run with the Grizzlies, but he's been more-or-less a fantasy disaster outside that ever-so-small, 20-game sample size, so it's probably time to stop clinging to that hope of him being fantasy relevant again. The reality is that Wright is a player whose on-court impact is much more valuable to actual NBA teams than any fantasy squads.
Serge Ibaka bounced back from a disastrous Tuesday when he hit 1-of-7 shots for three points with 12 points, 14 rebounds, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer in Wednesday's 108-101 win over the Warriors.
Ibaka's shot hasn't been falling lately and he'd hit just 3-of-13 shots over his previous two games and he's hit just 17-of-49 (35 percent) of his shots over his last five games. He still tends to fill the stat sheet even when his shot's not falling so don't panic on Serge. His shots will start falling soon enough.
Jrue Holiday was held to 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the stripe in Wednesday's win over the Pistons.
Holiday added five rebounds, six assists and a turnover while he was out there, but he uncharacteristically failed to record a single steal, which is just the second time that's happened this season. He'll have some low-scoring outings here and there, but when he's not scoring, he tends to make up for it with the dimes and steals. Overall, he's been a top-30 player with averages of 14.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 triples, 1.9 steals, 0.5 blocks and just 1.4 turnovers per game on 49.5% shooting, and after connecting on a career-low 70.9% of his free throws last year, he's yet to miss one through the first eight games of the 2020-21 season.
Nicolas Batum hit 4-of-9 shots and three 3-pointers for 13 points, five rebounds and one steal in 26 minutes of Wednesday's win over the Warriors.
Batum has been one of this season's waiver-wire darlings and has been playing at a high level all season. Just beware that the Clippers' weekly schedule sits at 3-3 over the next two upcoming weeks, meaning he might be a cut candidate if you want to try to roster more four-game players, or pick up a Pacer or Sixer, as those two teams have a five-game week on the horizon. Simply put, Batum has been great and is a nice guy to have on your roster, but with the back-to-back three-game weeks coming, he's not a must-hold player.
Paul George played through a sore right ankle that kept him out of Tuesday's game and had 21 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a steal with two 3-pointers on 5-of-15 shooting in Wednesday's win over the Warriors.
PG-13 sat out just one game with his ankle injury and while his 5-of-15 shooting wasn't great, it was nice to see him on the court tonight. He also hit 9-of-9 free throws and committed just two turnovers and the Clippers don't have another back-to-back until late January. Make sure George is in your lineup going forward.
Bobby Portis posted a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in 28 minutes off the bench during Wednesday's win over the Pistons.
Portis added two triples, four dimes, two steals and one block while he was out there, and he got his points efficiently, going 7-of-11 from the floor. Despite earning just 23.5 minutes off the bench for Milwaukee this season, Portis has been a sneaky top-70 producer in 9-cat leagues with averages of 11.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 triples and just 1.0 turnover per contest on 55.2% shooting, so he's worth a look in most leagues.
Marcus Morris (knee) made his season debut on Wednesday and hit 4-of-9 shots and two 3-pointers for 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.
Morris is back and will now try to play his way into game shape. It might take several weeks for him to get there, but at least he's playing. There's no reason to pick him up just yet, but he's a guy we'd recommend putting on your watch list in case he gets hot soon.