Jayson Tatum took over during Boston's road win vs. the Clippers on Friday, scoring 34 points with seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Tatum shot 12-of-27 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line, going 5-of-10 from deep with just two turnovers in 40 minutes. He was predictably very busy without Jaylen Brown (left knee) in the lineup, tying the second-most shots he's attempted all season. Tatum has already scored 30+ points five times in 16 games and it feels like he still has another gear he can kick into at some point. He's scary good and first-round fantasy value should be a given, regardless of format.
Deandre Ayton was held to eight points on 4-of-11 shooting vs. the Pistons on Friday to go with 13 rebounds, one assist and one block in 33 minutes.
The inconsistency has been maddening and it's one of the reasons why he's well below his ADP -- he came into tonight as a 6th-round value in 9-cat with 14.2 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.0 dimes and 1.1 blocks. Ayton has been a terror on the glass recently but we'd like to a little more aggression on offense and as a rim protector as his block rate is down from 4.1% last season to 2.9% in 2020-21.
Goga Bitadze tied his season high with 10 points off Indiana's bench on Friday, making 4-of-7 shots with two 3-pointers, three rebounds and two blocks.
The 3-pointers were a career high for Bitadze, who came into this game 8-of-46 from deep (17.4%) in his brief career. Indiana's bench simply caught fire late in this game and coach Nate Bjorkgren rolled with it, which accounts for Goga's elevated role in this game (he eventually fouled out). He's off the standard-league fantasy map while Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis are healthy.
Abdel Nader (sore left ankle) scored seven points vs. the Pistons on Friday with two assists and one rebound in 17 minutes.
Instead of getting more run with Jae Crowder (foot) out, the Suns rolled with Frank Kaminsky up front. Abdel has a very limited role and is not on the fantasy radar.
Isaiah Stewart recorded the second double-double of his career on Friday vs. the Suns, finishing with 10 points (5-of-6 FGs, 0-of-2 FTs), 10 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in 24 minutes.
That's four straight games with at least 20 minutes for the rookie. Coach Dwane Casey has really been talking him up lately, and with the Pistons sitting at 5-17 on the season, this has the potential to become a timeshare at the center position between Stewart and Mason Plumlee. He's trending up in deeper leagues and could be a constant double-double threat before too long with plenty of blocks.
Saddiq Bey got a spot start vs. the Suns on Friday with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and two triples in 26 minutes.
The rookie wasn't getting much run in recent games with Wayne Ellington shooting the lights out, but Ellington is battling a calf issue and could miss some time. The Pistons were resting Derrick Rose tonight which helped, and Saturday will likely be Blake Griffin's turn which means Bey should be featured again. He's worth a look as a stream and is someone who could breakout later in the season when the tank picks up speed.
Malik Monk scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting in 27 minutes of action vs. the Jazz on Friday.
Easy come, easy go. Monk added one rebound, one assist and one steal, and he's being cut in droves after being a very popular pickup following Monday's 36-point eruption. Erratic scoring with limited supporting stats have basically defined Monk through his first four NBA seasons, so this is no surprise. If you're still hanging onto him, he could at least be worth deploying vs. the Wizards on Sunday if Devonte' Graham (groin) isn't able to suit up.
Bojan Bogdanovic lit up the Hornets for a team-high 31 points on Friday, splashing seven 3-pointers with seven rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers in 37 minutes.
Utah's sharp-shooter was 10-of-15 from the field, 7-of-10 from deep and 4-of-4 at the line. He's a big part of the reason the Jazz are destroying teams from beyond the arc recently, and setting myriad NBA records in the process. The bad news is that Bogdanovic doesn't often have the type of supporting stats we saw tonight, as he came in averaging a mere 3.6 boards, 2.0 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.0 blocks. Until those numbers improve substantially, he's just a points-and-threes specialist who can also give you a bump in FT%.
Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points (6-of-8 FGs) with seven rebounds, one assist and five triples in just 21 minutes of Friday's blowout win over the Wizards.
Is he ready to get hot again? Olynyk was putting up mid-round value to begin the season and then forgot how to shoot for weeks. He won't generate many defensive stats but when he's hot he can be a great source of efficient points, rebounds, triples and even dimes. Picking him up is probably the right call as the Heat don't really have any other options alongside Bam Adebayo at the moment.
Frank Kaminsky moved into the starting lineup on Friday vs. the Pistons and did well, scoring 15 points (5-of-7 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs) with five rebounds, one assist and three triples in 22 minutes.
The Suns were hopeful to have Dario Saric back after going through the protocols but his return was delayed due to a recently sprained ankle. Jae Crowder (foot) was also out this evening but is day-to-day, so there's no guarantee Frank gets another start. Fantasy managers in deep leagues can take a wait-and-see approach.
Juancho Hernangomez (conditioning) wasn't on OKC's injury report prior to Friday's game.
That makes him a healthy DNP-CD and we'll take him off the injury report. If he can't earn fantasy-relevant minutes without Jarrett Culver (ankle) and Karl-Anthony Towns (conditioning), even deep-league managers may need to abandon hope for him this season. It's at least nice to know he's fully recovered.
Naz Reid (sprained right wrist) finished Friday's road win with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds, one assist and one block in 28 minutes.
Since Karl-Anthony Towns last played on Jan. 13, Reid has averaged a steady 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.4 threes, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. KAT was out again tonight and he's still working on his conditioning after a long absence due to COVID-19, but once he's cleared to play Reid's fantasy value may evaporate overnight. If you've been enjoying his defensive stats and mid-round roto value in recent weeks, start perusing the waiver wire for a potential replacement in case his minutes dip into the teens with KAT active.
Josh Okogie came off the bench after halftime on Friday, finishing a 106-103 win in OKC with one rebound, one assist, two steals and one block.
We didn't forget to mention his scoring -- he shot 0-of-3 for zero points. Okogie has regressed in his third NBA season. He's averaging a career-low 5.2 points on 35.5% shooting, he's a combined 6-of-33 from deep (18.2%), and his defensive impact doesn't nearly make up the difference. Considering he's been nowhere near standard-league fantasy value this season, his whereabouts at the start of Friday's game shouldn't impact many lineups.
Ricky Rubio only scored three points in 24 minutes on Friday, making 1-of-4 field goals and 1-of-1 free throws, but he handed out eight assists with three steals.
Unfortunately, this is the new normal for Rubio. The veteran turned it over four times and still hasn't scored double-digit points since Dec. 29. He's barely 30 years old but you'd think he's on his last legs some nights, and his once-shaky perimeter shooting is now completely gone -- he hasn't made a 3-pointer since Jan. 1, going 0-of-17 since then.
Jaden McDaniels started the second half of Friday's game vs. Oklahoma City, finishing scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting with five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
The Wolves' starters came out flat and Josh Okogie was scoreless at halftime, so coach Ryan Saunders gave McDaniels the nod. Minnesota won tonight but they're still last in the West with a 6-16 record, and it's hard to envision Karl-Anthony Towns' return as a salve for all that ails them. This is rapidly turning into a player-development-focused season, which means McDaniels (the No. 28 overall pick) stands to benefit from extra playing time in the months to come. That may not add up to much fantasy value, though, so most managers should take a wait-and-see approach here.
Devin Booker notched 23 points (8-of-14 FGs, 4-of-6 FTs) with two rebounds, two assists, two steals, three triples and four turnovers in an easy 109-92 win over Detroit on Friday.
That's four wins out of their last five games for the Suns and this was a great start to their 7-game homestand. Booker has looked outstanding since returning from his hamstring issue, scoring at least 23 points in all three games and doing it efficiently too. We'd love to see the return of some "point Book" minutes though as his assists are way down alongside Chris Paul.
The Thunder recently announced that rookie Aleksej Pokusevski will play for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League bubble.
Pokusevski earned minutes to start the season despite some horrible offensive numbers, including 25% shooting with more turnovers (22) than assists (21). “A player that’s got his ceiling as a playmaker but his inexperience in the NBA, it’s kind of a unique situation,” said coach Mark Daigneault. “He’s just trying to learn how to function. He’s trying to learn the speed of the game, the physicality of the game. It’s deep waters in the NBA for any rookie, but certainly for someone as young as him."
Kenrich Williams notched nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one 3-pointer in 36 minutes as a fill-in starter vs. Minnesota on Friday.
It was Williams' first start of the season and it could be his last, with OKC possibly welcoming back Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (knee) and/or Lu Dort (knee) as soon as Saturday's rematch vs. the Wolves. He posted a good-not-great DFS score of 19.8 based on Yahoo's default scoring, which sets expectations in case he does earn another start.
Isaiah Roby made a fill-in start on Friday, posting 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, three blocks and five turnovers in 34 minutes
We saw Roby as a starter for an extended stretch when Al Horford was out for the birth of his child, and the results were rarely this inspired. Roby and fellow rookie Theo Maledon were reportedly "discussed as possibilities" to send to the G League, too, but the Thunder must be pleased that they opted to keep him around. This is a season centered on player development, so just keep a close eye on Roby's role as the season wears on.
Andre Drummond bounced back on Friday vs. the Bucks with 18 points (9-of-19 FGs), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
He had nowhere to go but up after his 4-of-13 shooting line on Wednesday and looked a bit more mobile in this one. Plus, he saw a handful of minutes next to Jarrett Allen in this one, so that's great news for both. The Cavaliers do play against the Bucks again on Saturday, so it's possible the Cavs restrict his minutes since he was battling a back issue earlier in the week.