Goran Dragic scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting (3-of-3 FT) Wednesday, adding one 3-pointer, two assists and two turnovers in 28 minutes off the bench.
This was an okay bounce-back game for Dragic after he finished with just seven points in Monday's easy win over OKC, but some more assists would have been nice. Dragic has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, but his worst games have come in limited minutes in blowouts. Erik Spoelstra will be cautious with The Dragon, but he should be able to do enough with the points, triples and dimes to warrant a roster spot at the end of your bench.
Marcus Smart (thumb) struggled with his shot in Wednesday's win over the Heat, going 3-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-2 at the line for nine points over 32 minutes.
The injury is on Smart's shooting hand, so that may have effected his shot a bit, but the good news is that he's playing through it. He added four boards, one steal and six dimes without a single turnover, so it wasn't a total loss, but he should bounce-back with a more efficient stat line on Friday with a much more favorable matchup against the Wizards (who will likely be without Russell Westbrook).
Trae Young hit just 2-of-9 shots for seven points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in Wednesday's loss to the Hornets, the third straight loss for the once-hot Hawks.
To add insult to injury, Trae committed a season-high seven turnovers and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He was in some foul trouble and said after the game he just couldn't get anything going and chose to look for his teammates instead of trying to dominate offensively. He'll get a shot at revenge against the Hornets in his next game, but that won't happen until Saturday. At least Young should get plenty of rest until then and he should bounce back in a huge way.
Tristan Thompson went 3-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line for nine points in Wednesday's win over the Heat.
Thompson added seven rebounds, one assist and one turnover while he was out there, and while tonight's line was somewhat better than his scoreless stinker from Monday, it still wasn't great considering he failed to bring any defensive statistics to the box score. Daniel Theis finished with 13 points, five rebounds, one 3-pointer, one assist, one block and one turnover in 28 minutes; while Robert Williams came off the bench for eight points, four rebounds, one steal, one block and one turnover in 15 minutes. It's tough to predict which Boston big will produce on any given night, but Williams is the guy with the most upside out of this group.
Payton Pritchard was held to 3-of-10 shooting on Wednesday, but he came through when it mattered most and drilled a game-winner on his way to six points, six rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes off the bench.
This wasn't as impressive as his 23-point performance off the bench on Monday, but he ended his evening in the top-3 amongst the Celtics in plus/minus at plus-6 and also finished the game without a single turnover. He's going to be an important part of the Celtics rotation until Kemba Walker (knee) gets back, so he's worth a look in deep leagues for fantasy managers seeking some dimes and steals. He's still a bit too inconsistent for standard settings, though.
Kevin Huerter hit 7-of-15 shots and five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points, five rebounds and six assists in Wednesday's loss to the Hornets.
Say hello to Huerter's best game of the season, but keep in mind that Bogdan Bogdanovic was limited with an ankle injury, while several other Hawks were out or struggling. Huerter is going to go off at times this season and while we love his game, he's only worth using in fantasy in four-game weeks, or if some of his teammates suffer an injury. He had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting in his previous game.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting Wednesday, to go with eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks over 33 minutes.
Butler was 0-of-3 from distance in this one, but he was nearly perfect at the stripe (8-of-9) and finished with just one turnover. His ankle doesn't appear to be giving him any issues anymore, so we'd expect Jimmy to be good to go for Miami's upcoming Friday-Saturday, back-to-back set.
Bogdan Bogdanovic hit just 1-of-5 shots in 18 minutes for two points, to rebounds and three assists in Wednesday's loss to the Hornets.
He played through a right ankle sprain and while it was nice to see him out there, he was a fantasy disappointment. He wasn't at 100 percent tonight but the Hawks are off until Saturday, when they face the Hornets again. We expect Bogdanovic to get back on track in that one.
Tyler Herro had another rough outing on Wednesday, going 2-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line for eight points over 34 minutes.
This was Herro's second straight single-digit scoring effort, and he didn't do much else while he was out there with just seven rebounds, one 3-pointer, one assist and two turnovers. Over the past two games, Herro has been connecting on just 29.4% of his shot attempts, but it should only be a matter of time until the sharpshooter finds his footing again. There's some room to buy-low here.
Davis Bertans scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting Wednesday, to go with four triples, four rebounds, one assist, two steals and two turnovers in 33 minutes off the bench.
This is more-or-less what you can expect from Bertans on most nights, minus the steals, and this was his second straight game with minutes in the 30s. It looks like he's finally got his conditioning where it needs to be after he showed up late to training camp, which isn't great news for Deni Avdija, as the uptick in minutes for Bertans has resulted in the rookies minutes declining to the teens. Avdija finished Wednesday's loss with just one point and one block in 16 minutes off the bench.
LaMelo Ball hit 6-of-12 shots and two 3-pointers for 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and just one turnover in Wednesday's 102-94 win over the Hawks.
Ball hasn't committed more than two turnovers in any game this season and starter Devonte' Graham has hit just 25-of-99 shots to start the season. You have to think Ball is on the verge of winning the starting PG job, but it's also possible that the Hornets like Ball coming off the bench with the second unit. Either way, he's the early favorite for Rookie of the Year and has played very well after the dud he posted in the season-opener. Having LaMelo on your roster is a fun experience.
Cam Reddish hit just 3-of-15 shots for eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 27 minutes of Wednesday's loss to the Hornets.
The once red-hot Hawks are now the losers of three straight games and Reddish can't seem to throw it into the ocean. He's hit just 11-of-41 shots in January and is averaging just eight points in those games. The Hawks are crazy deep and Reddish is struggling, so if you feel like you need to drop him for a hot free agent, we're not going to argue with you. The Sixers and Pacers play five games next week, and you have to consider Reddish a possible cut candidate if you want to grab someone off the wire.
Mike Conley hit just 3-of-14 shots and was 0-for-6 from downtown for nine points, four rebounds, six assists and a steal in 29 minutes of Wednesday's surprising 112-100 loss to the Knicks.
Bojan Bogdanovic's struggles continued with 2-of-10 shooting and Donovan Mitchell hit just 8-of-23 shots in the loss. Conley scored 33 points with seven dimes on New Years Day but has been pretty bad over his last two games. He's averaging just 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, a steal and 1.0 3-pointers over his last two, hitting just 6-of-24 shots in them. He'll right the ship sooner than later, so don't do anything rash with Conley.
Joe Ingles hit 6-of-13 shots and four 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 16 points, two rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes of Wednesday's loss to the Knicks.
Not surprisingly, Jingles got it going on a night when Mike Conley was struggling, as Conley hit just 3-of-14 shots. Jingles still isn't worth rostering in most 12-team leagues, but he is playing well enough to be on your watch list.
Eric Gordon scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting Wednesday, to go with two triples, one rebound, one assist and two blocks over 33 minutes.
Gordon also finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the stripe tonight and he finished the game without a single turnover. He's flirting with top-30 value on the year behind averages of 19.5 points, 3.0 treys, 1.3 steals, 1.0 block and 1.5 turnovers per contest on 43.9% shooting, so congrats if he snatched him off the waiver wire.
Jordan Clarkson hit 7-of-12 shots and three 3-pointers for 19 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in Wednesday's 112-100 loss to the Knicks.
Clarkson has quietly scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has been stealing the ball nicely. He is a scorer and a 3-point specialist, but the nine steals in eight games should put him on the radar to be rostered in many 12-team leagues. He's scored in double digits in three straight and is instant offense off the Jazz bench.
David Nwaba scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-of-4 FT) on Wednesday, adding one 3-pointer, four rebounds, two steals and two turnovers across 37 minutes.
Nwaba was held to just five points in his previous start on Monday, but he was in a nice rhythm tonight and threw down some highlight-reel jams. It looks like he'll be logging major minutes until Danuel House (back) gets back, so he's on the radar in deep leagues.
Victor Oladipo struggled with his shot in Wednesday's win over the Rockets, going 6-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the line for 18 points over 36 minutes.
The shooting wasn't great, but Oladipo rounded out his stat line with nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers while he was out there. His steals numbers aren't what they used to be (1.3), but he's still flirting with top-50 value on the year behind averages of 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 turnovers per game on 44.1% shooting from the field and 72.7% from the line. Pretty good for a guy with an ADP of 77.
Reggie Bullock played through a sore knee on Wednesday and hit 5-of-8 shots and two 3-pointers for 12 points, seven rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes and a start for the Knicks.
Bullock has scored in double figures three times this season and can contribute in rebounds and 3-pointers but he's far from a must-have fantasy player thus far, unless you're in a deep league. He's benefitting from the absence of Alec Burks, who is dealing with an ankle injury. He's a decent cheap DFS option as long as Burks is out.
Aaron Holiday didn't do much in 28 minutes of floor time on Wednesday, scoring seven points on 3-of-8 shooting to go with one triple, three assists and nothing else.
Holiday has been starting for T.J. Warren (foot), but he's been doing a whole lot of nothing over the past four games with averages of 5.5 points, 1.3 treys and 1.5 assists on 32% shooting. However, his brother Justin has looked good since Warren went down, as he put up 20 points (6-of-9 FG, 5-of-5 FT), five rebounds, three triples, one steal and one turnover in 32 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, so he looks like the better Holiday to roster in Indiana.