Immanuel Quickley (sore hip) has been upgraded to probable vs the Pacers on Saturday night, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Quickley's NBA debut on Dec. 23 was cut short after he suffered a minor hip injury, limiting him to 12 minutes of action. And return would be helpful to a Knicks team that's facing multiple injuries in the backcourt as Dennis Smith Jr. (quad) and Frank Ntilikina (sprained knee) remain out. Even with Austin Rivers making his debut on Thursday, New York would surely likely to have their rookie guard back in the lineup. We'll see if that happens Saturday.
Ivica Zubac only played 14 minutes vs. the Jazz on Friday, but was productive with 12 points and two rebounds.
Only 14 minutes against a team that has Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors is concerning, to say the least. After a strong performance in the bubble, Zubac hasn't been rewarded with a larger role and the Clippers don't even have Marcus Morris (knee) available yet. Zubac has still managed to post 11th-round value in only 18.4 minutes with 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.5 steals on 75% from the field. With bigs that don't hurt your FG% in short supply, you can make a strong case to hold Zubac for now.
Eric Paschall (right knee soreness) played 16 minutes vs. Portland on Friday, leading the bench with 11 points on 4-of-6 FGs and 3-of-3 FTs, four boards and one block.
The knee injury wasn't serious but it also wasn't the biggest issue for Paschall's fantasy value. He played poorly as a fill-in starter to begin the season and was replaced by Juan Toscano-Anderson (16 minutes), which speaks volumes about his current role. Leave him on the waiver wire.
James Wiseman tweaked his ankle during Friday's blowout loss to Portland, scoring eight points (2-of-8 FGs, 4-of-4 FTs) with five rebounds and two blocks.
Steve Kerr expects Wiseman to be fine for Sunday's game, and it was partly foul trouble that limited him to a season-low 19 minutes of action. Prior to the game, coach Kerr had lofty praise for the rookie center. "We've been blessed with some great offensive players since I've been here," Kerr said. "But no one quite like James." Kerr added that he may "start to use Wiseman in different ways soon." The notion that Kerr would tweak the offense to accommodate a 19-year-old rookie pretty much sums up Wiseman's ridiculous talent level. All signs point to him playing Sunday, but we'll add him to the injury report as a precaution.
Enes Kanter contributed five points, two rebounds and two turnovers in 11 minutes during the Blazers' lopsided win vs. Golden State on Friday.
As most fantasy GMs are well aware, Kanter's contributions typically cease to exist beyond the scoring and rebounding categories. That's not going to change in his 11th NBA season -- he's contributed a total of one steal, one block and zero assists in 102 minutes. He was coming off two straight double-doubles, but can't be trusted with Harry Giles (three points, four boards in 14 minutes) capable of stealing the backup-center role in any given matchup.
Jusuf Nurkic battled foul trouble throughout Friday's game, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in 18 minutes.
Foul trouble has eroded Nurk's playing time in a few games already, and the Blazers have been involved in multiple blowouts, so there's some chaos in his numbers through five games. We've only seen him in 13 games since the 2018-19, but his play in the Orlando bubble set a high bar he's yet to clear this season. His minutes, touches and especially his defensive stats (0.8 blocks, 0.5 steals) should all trend up, so view this as a potential buy-low moment for Nurkic stock. It won't be long before we're sounding the Nurk Alert...in a good way.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points vs. the Warriors on Friday, C.J. McCollum added 28 points, and the Blazers cruised to a 123-98 road win.
The victory improved Portland's record to 3-2, and their next four opponents all missed the playoffs last season. That gives them a path to pad their record early, even as they continue to integrate new starters Robert Covington (eight points, 11 boards) and Derrick Jones Jr. (eight points, eight boards, five steals). It's a promising start to the year for Portland, whose star backcourt is as steady as it gets for fantasy purposes. As if to prove the point, Lillard and McCollum shot an identical 11-of-21 from the field on Friday, with a combined 10 triples, 12 assists and four steals between them.
Warriors PF Alen Smailagic will have surgery to repair a torn right meniscus.
The silver lining is that Smailagic, who will have the surgery "in the near future," may only need a few weeks to recover. Marquese Chriss' season is likely over due to ankle/leg surgery and Golden State can ill afford more losses to their frontcourt, but Smailagic's absence shouldn't impact any fantasy rosters.
Jalen Smith (ankle sprain) didn't travel on the Suns' recent road trip in order to get more rehab at the team's facilities in Phoenix.
Head coach Monty Williams said Smith was walking fine but "wasn't doing much," so it doesn't sound like a return is imminent. The Suns next two games are both at home, on Sunday and Wednesday, so maybe we'll see Smith return for one of those. In his absence, Frank Kaminsky has been scooping up an extra handful of minutes.
Devin Booker shot 9-of-17 from the field for 22 points on Friday, but he added just two rebounds and two assists with eight turnovers.
The Suns came into this game with six players averaging double-digit points. Such balanced offense has been successful in reality (5-1 record) but it isn't doing Booker's fantasy managers any favors at 20.8 points per game. His scoring should inevitably rise as he gets to the line more often (only 1-of-2 FTs on Friday), and it's not as though Phoenix is going away from him -- he controlled three of the Suns' final five possessions down the stretch tonight. He also committed one of his turnovers with 35 seconds left, after which Chris Paul brought home the victory, so it wasn't all good news on Friday.
JaMychal Green (left calf strain) made his season debut on Friday with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two 3-pointers and one steal in just 12 minutes.
The Nuggets have been pummeled defensively this season and Green's absence is frequently pointed cited as one reason why. "We signed JaMychal because he is a guy that has been through the NBA wars," coach Mike Malone said on Thursday. Playoff experience is well and good, but obviously the return of a 30-year-old journeyman isn't going to catalyze the Nuggets' defense by itself. With his minutes likely to hover in the low 20s while Paul Millsap and Michael Porter Jr. (contact tracing) are healthy, there's no obvious reason to roster Green in 12-team fantasy leagues.
Gary Harris put up seven points on 2-of-9 shooting during the Nuggets' 106-103 home loss on Friday, adding two assists, one rebound and one steal in 36 minutes.
It's been a quiet start to the season for Harris, who came in averaging 9.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 triples. The steals are nice but his lack of involvement offensively is pronounced (13.9% usage), and it's a situation we don't see changing. He's on your waiver wire for a reason.
Paul Millsap had 15 points (5-of-9 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), five rebounds, one assist and one steal in just 19 minutes of action on Friday.
The Nuggets' defense has abandoned them to start the 2020-21 season, ranking 29th in Defensive Rating, but Millsap isn't concerned. "Once we make our minds up that we want to be a good defensive team, that's when we become it," he said. Denver played this game without Michael Porter Jr. (health and safety protocols), which might be addition by subtraction defensively, but Millsap still couldn't crack 20 minutes -- Monte Morris joined the starters down the stretch. Most fantasy GMs can safely leave Millsap on the wire.
Joe Ingles had a productive night vs. the Clippers on Friday, scoring 11 points with eight rebounds, seven assists, one triple and one turnover in 33 minutes.
Don't let this stat line fool you. Ingles has his moments, but is no longer the only sixth man in Utah with Jordan Clarkson taking a lot of those touches. He's only been a 13th-round value in 9-cat so far and that's unlikely to go up much while everyone is healthy in Utah. His assists may keep him right above the cut line as that's a tough category to fill off the wire.
Isaiah Hartenstein scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting vs. Phoenix on Friday, adding three rebounds in nine minutes of action.
The Nuggets' backup center job has fallen to Hartenstein to begin the season, ahead of rookie Zeke Nnaji. Even his modest 9.3 minutes per game may evaporate now that JaMychal Green is healthy, though, so Hartenstein isn't even a safe bet in the deepest leagues.
Nikola Jokic navigated foul trouble to finish Friday's game with 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in 30 minutes, but the result was another home loss.
The Nuggets only have one victory to show for Jokic's unbelievable play this season. His fantasy managers are surely faring better, thanks to their No. 1 pick averaging 24.5 points, 13.5 assists, 11.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.0 triples and 0.8 blocks. He even hit a rainbow 3-pointer to give Denver a chance with seconds remaining, but Jamal Murray's desperation triple clanked at the buzzer.
Rodney Hood suffered left quad cramping on Friday and won't return.
Hood finishes with one rebound and nothing else to his credit in five minutes. It's great to see him playing after recovering from Achilles surgery, but he's done nothing to benefit fantasy GMs and shouldn't be in any lineups whether or not he's healthy.
Juancho Hernangomez was limited to 14 minutes off the bench vs. the Wizards on Friday, scoring five points with three rebounds and one triple.
His fantasy value is dead and buried despite some nice games to end last season. The fact that he's barely getting any run without Karl-Anthony Towns also speaks volumes. Hernangomez belongs on the waiver wire, in case that wasn't obvious.
Malik Beasley was one of the few bright spots for the Wolves in their 130-109 loss to the Wizards, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line with three rebounds and three triples in 26 minutes.
The Wolves were blown out and lost their third straight, an expected outcome with no Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) to right the ship. Beasley isn't setting fantasy leagues on fire by any means but he's been serviceable as a source of points (17.8), rebounds (4.4) and triples (1.8). The problem is that a suspension for his offseason legal trouble is looming, and no one seems to know when that is happening.
Naz Reid was productive in 24 minutes vs. the Wizards, hitting 7-of-10 shots and 2-of-3 free throws for 17 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, two blocks and one triple.
The Wizards won by 21 points, but Reid managed to finish as a +4. He has come a long way since last season on both ends of the court, and he's been a fine short-term add in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist). Over his last three games, Naz is posting top-90 numbers in 9-cat with 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.0 triples.