Robert Williams appeared to bang knees with Derrick Rose on Friday, finishing with zero points, five rebounds and one block in 11 minutes.
He was having a really good stretch before the collision but the hope here is that it's just a contusion. Despite a logjam at center, Williams has made his mark in fantasy leagues. He entered Friday’s game ranked inside the top-60 of 9-cat leagues, averaging 7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks on 88% from the field. Daniel Theis has played 40% of his minutes as a four which has allowed Williams to be an every-night rotation player, and fantasy managers will be salivating at the thought of Williams earning more minutes as the season progresses. Simply put, he’s been too good to not get a larger slice of the pie.
Miles Bridges finished Friday's lopsided defeat vs. the Grizzlies with two points on 1-of-5 shooting, seven boards, three blocks and two assists.
He sorely disappointed DFS managers who chased Wednesday's 20 & 16 performance, but the blocks at least salvaged some season-long value. Prior to the game, coach James Borrego told beat writer Rick Bonnell, "As things stand right now, it's more likely Bridges would play some center in the near future than play small forward." P.J. Washington has already been playing center in small-ball lineups, and the willingness to also go small with Bridges suggests the team is fully committing to smaller, guard-heavy lineups. It also serves as confirmation that they don't view Bridges as an effective small forward.
Caleb Martin scored a season-high 14 points on Friday, making 6-of-9 shots with two 3-pointers, two rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes.
Martin was fined for his role in a recent fracas involving his brother Cody and Mavs forward James Johnson, but there were no suspensions handed out. Maybe the incident fired up Caleb, who matched his scoring total from the Hornets' first three games combined. He picked up some garbage-time stats tonight and isn't worth rostering in his current bench role.
LaMelo Ball shot 6-of-14 from the field on Friday, scoring 15 points with two 3-pointers, six assists, three rebounds, two steals and two turnovers in 27 minutes.
Although it seems likely that Ball will force his way into the Hornets' starting lineup before too long, Hornets coach James Borrego said he's pleased with his bench unit. "Our bench is a strength of ours moving forward," he said. Whether or not he displaces Terry Rozier or Devonte' Graham as a starter, Ball's minutes should continues to climb as the season progresses. "LaMelo is showing growth every single game," Borrego said.
Trae Young played through some right calf soreness on Friday vs. the Nets, hitting 7-of-21 shots and 4-of-4 free throws for 21 points with seven assists, five rebounds, one steal, one block, three triples and three turnovers in 32 minutes.
With Atlanta sitting at 4-1, Trae's becoming a dark horse MVP candidate leading one of the NBA’s best offenses -- entering Friday, the Hawks were leading all NBA offenses with 123.7 points per 100 possessions. Young wasn’t supposed to be this good with so many mouths to feed on Atlanta’s revamped roster, but his usage rate is actually higher than it was last season and he’s red hot from the field. He’s on pace for a first-round finish in 9-cat to nobody’s surprise.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was held to seven points on 2-of-6 shooting vs. the Nets on Friday, adding two rebounds, one assist, one triple and two turnovers in 26 minutes.
Cam Reddish had a rough start to the game but coach Lloyd Pierce still rode him late and was rewarded. De'Andre Hunter has also been hot to start the year, so it's been tough for Bogdan to find consistent touches. He's still a top-90 player in 9-cat through five games, but he's going to be frustrating at times with the young wings breaking out in front of him. Reddish finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and two triples.
Kyrie Irving was held to 6-of-21 shooting vs. the Hawks in a 114-96 loss, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds (ties his career-high), four assists, two steals and two triples in 33 minutes.
De'Andre Hunter was all over Kyrie defensively but at least his supporting stats made up for the poor shooting. Kyrie has been the 11th best player in 9-cat in the early going and was sixth last season, so the presence of Kevin Durant hasn't slowed him down. As we all know, he just needs to stay healthy and that's why the Nets will load-manage him from time to time.
Maxi Kleber (right ankle sprain) played 28 minutes vs. the Heat on Friday, getting five points and four rebounds with one assist, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer.
Kristaps Porzingis (right knee surgery) recently began practicing without limitations and he could make his season debut in early- or mid-January. That's a direct blow to Kleber's fantasy appeal, especially since Dwight Powell is already entrenched in a 24-30 minute role as the Mavs' starting center. Despite his solid playing time tonight, Kleber's path to value in standard leagues is getting narrower by the day.
Saddiq Bey got his second start of the season on Friday vs. Boston, finishing with a career-high 17 points with seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and five triples in 30 minutes.
Bey had 10 points, seven rebounds, one dime and two triples in 30 minutes of his only other start. The 19th pick in the draft, Bey is going to get his opportunities this season with the Pistons sitting at 1-4 on the season, but the bump in minutes tonight was a result of Blake Griffin being in the concussion protocol. He finished one 3-pointer shy of Allan Houston's rookie record of six consecutive triples, and this performance is worth filing away for later in the season when the tank picks up speed. As for the short term, Bey is worth a look in deeper formats if you need a streamer for as long as Griffin is out.
Killian Hayes (sprained right ankle) started vs. the Celtics on Friday and played 23 minutes, but failed to score on five shots with six assists, one rebound and two turnovers.
It’s been a slow start to the season for the No. 7 overall pick, to put it mildly. He came into tonight’s game averaging 5.0 points and 3.5 dimes on 27% from the field, but the Pistons aren’t panicking and coach Dwane Casey noted that Hayes also started slow with his German team last season before shooting up draft boards with some strong play. "We’ll learn," Casey said. "We’re going to keep teaching, keep coaching and we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to keep grinding it out and keep going through the process." With the Pistons building for the future, Hayes’ workload should be stable, but trusting him in fantasy lineups right now is wishful thinking.
Josh Jackson moved over to small forward on Friday vs. Boston with Blake Griffin in the concussion protocol, scoring 11 points with two assists, two rebounds, one steal, one triple and four turnovers in 26 minutes.
He’s basically the next reclamation project for coach Dwane Casey after he had so much success with Christian Wood last season. Jackson was averaging 17.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 26.3 minutes in his four games prior to tonight, good for top-90 value in 9-cat. Jackson has been doing a little bit of everything for the Pistons and appears to be locked in for big minutes, even when the tank picks up speed later this season. He’s available in 55% of Yahoo Leagues, so make sure your league isn’t one of them.
Jahlil Okafor (sprained right ankle), who was probable to play vs. Boston on Friday, picked up a DNP-CD.
It looks like Okafor is out of the rotation for now with Isaiah Stewart playing well behind Mason Plumlee -- Stewart had eight points, six rebounds and one block in 18 minutes vs. Boston. Okafor has no business being on fantasy rosters, while Stewart is someone to watch in deeper formats.
Tristan Thompson (load management) returned after a day of rest, starting and playing 26 minutes for five points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks.
It’s pretty unlikely that Thompson will continue to be load managed as the Celtics were just being cautious after Thompson carried a hamstring strain throughout all of preseason. He’ll continue to be a low-end big man who was averaging 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks coming into tonight. Thompson has garnered praise from his teammates for his play, and if Robert Williams continues to make a case for more minutes, it will likely be at the expense of Daniel Theis and not Thompson. “He makes all of his teammates better,” Williams said. “He makes you want to strive better. I commend him on that as far as changing my mental approach.”
Andre Iguodala earned another start for Miami on Friday, but he played only 13 minutes to finish with three points on 1-of-5 shooting.
The veteran has slotted into a new-look lineup that beat the Bucks on Wednesday, but it wasn't enough to earn a road win in Dallas tonight. Iguodala ceded minutes to Kelly Olynyk, with Bam Adebayo playing more PF, and there's simply no reason to rely on him whether he's starting or coming off the bench vs. the Thunder on Monday.
Avery Bradley shifted to the bench on Friday, but he still scored 15 points in just 18 minutes of action.
Bradley was the first sub off Miami's bench in this game, and he could have done more damage if it weren't for rampant foul trouble. He was deadly as a scorer with 5-of-8 FGs and 3-of-4 FTs, plus a pair of 3-pointers, but added just one rebound, one assist and zero defensive stats. Look elsewhere for upside now that Jimmy Butler (ankle) is active.
Kelly Olynyk (bruised left knee) played 29 minutes off the bench on Friday, posting eight points, three boards, two assists, two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers.
Olynyk picked up a few DNP-CDs to start the 2020-21 season, but he looked sharp while putting up 15 points, eight boards and four dimes in a win on Wednesday. The knee bruise obviously wasn't serious, and his all-around line paid off nicely for adventurous DFS managers. Erik Spoelstra's frontcourt rotation changes on a nightly basis, though, so deploy Olynyk with due caution.
Jimmy Butler (right ankle stiffness) struggled in his return vs. Dallas on Friday, shooting 0-of-6 for two points with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and three turnovers.
Butler got hurt on Christmas Day and missed both sides of a back-to-back set vs. the Bucks earlier this week (Miami got crushed, 144-97, in Tuesday's game but managed to split the series with a win on Wednesday). The Heat had an extremely short offseason and they won't take any risks with Butler's health, so his availability suggests the ankle injury won't be a lasting concern even if it was the cause of his struggles tonight. He only played 27 minutes but gets two more days to rest, so his playing time (and scoring) should rise vs. the Thunder on Monday.
Brandon Clarke started Friday's game in place of Grayson Allen (ankle), posting 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four boards, three assists and two blocks in 32 minutes.
Clarke now has three consecutive games with double-digit scoring, and as usual he was very efficient tonight. The bad news for fantasy purposes is that Clarke hadn't played 30+ minutes prior to this game, and that's despite the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee). Kyle Anderson is playing well to start the year, too, so long-term expectations for Clarke may need to be set around 24-28 minutes per game in a reserve role.
Tyus Jones started Friday's easy win in Charlotte, finishing with six points, a season-high 12 assists, two steals and only one turnover in 29 minutes.
Ja Morant is expected to miss 3-5 weeks with a Grade-2 left ankle sprain, leaving the point guard spot wide open for Jones. De'Anthony Melton was also out tonight for medical-protocol reasons, but the starting PG job is Jones' to lose in the near-term. He averaged 8.8 points, 6.3 assists, 2.2 boards, 1.0 steals and 0.8 threes in six starts last season, and should put up comparable stats in the coming weeks. The dimes alone make him a decent streaming play, and he'll be popular in DFS until his salary catches up to his role sans Morant.
John Konchar and the Grizzlies' bench excelled on Friday, with Konchar chipping in seven points, a career-high nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one 3-pointer in 27 minutes.
There was plenty of garbage time to pad the stats, but that doesn't detract from the strong play of Konchar, Desmond Bane (10 points) and Gorgui Dieng (14 points, eight boards). "We'll have some different looks, and study that and ultimately what gives us the best chance," coach Taylor Jenkins said, addressing his team's myriad injuries. "We're all about finding the best combinations." Konchar may be playing his way into more minutes and he has at least one steal in every game this season, so he's already on the radar in deeper leagues. Just don't expect much from him once healthy bodies filter back into the Grizzlies' lineup.