Tomas Satoransky made his season debut on Saturday and hit 2-of-5 shots for six points, four rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a block in 25 minutes.
Coby White hasn't looked like much of a point guard through two games, but it's early. Sato, coming off a stint in quarantine, was great tonight, but the game was a blowout and the Bulls are now 0-2. As long as Sato's coming off the bench he's not worth a close look in fantasy. But if he continues to play like this, or challenges White for the starting job, that could quickly change. Just keep an eye on him.
Joel Embiid dominated the Knicks with 27 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes on Saturday.
The Process worked well for Embiid and the Sixers as the big man shot 50% from the floor (10-of-20), 2-of-4 on threes and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Embiid will likely lead Philly in scoring and FGA throughout the season as long as he stays healthy. He had 29 points on 17 shots in their first game so there’s nothing to process here. That man is going to eat every night, and I’m not talking about his pregame burgers.
Fred VanVleet hit 10-of-20 shots and five 3-pointers for 27 points, three rebounds, nine assists, a steal and just one turnover in Saturday's loss to the Spurs.
FVV came as advertised tonight and is going to have a big season for the Raps. Kyle Lowry added a 16 & 10 double-double, while starters Pascal Siakam (16 & 15), OG Anunoby and Aron Baynes all scored in double figures. They had a disappointing loss to the Spurs tonight and are 0-2 on the season.
Seth Curry bounced back from his quiet first game with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists against the Knicks on Saturday night.
Curry shot 3-of-4 from distance, finishing with 17 points in his second game as a 76er. He’s played over 30 minutes in each contest so far, up from his 25 minutes per night last season, and playing alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons should result in open shots on a regular basis. Curry is available in 32% of Yahoo leagues.
Kevin Love (calf) made his season debut vs. the Pistons on Saturday, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds, three assists and three triples in 38 minutes.
He was on a “minutes restriction” this evening but that went out of the window in this double-overtime thriller. However, there’s now a really good chance he’s held out of Sunday’s back-to-back. Love had been sidelined since Dec. 12 after he got kicked in the calf and had swelling in his leg from the knee to Achilles tendon. “Legs are underneath me,” Love said before the game. “I imagine the wind aspect will be a little bit tough for me, especially in that first quarter, but I feel good to go.” Get ready to hear about load management a lot this season as long as he's wearing a Cleveland jersey.
Norman Powell missed all five of his shots and failed to score on Saturday, but did have two steals in 18 minutes off the bench.
Powell is off to a rough start, hitting just 2-of-16 shots and averaging 6.0 points through two games without many peripheral stats to boot. He averaged 16 points, 1.2 steals and 2.1 3-pointers last season and it may just take him a few gams to get into a groove. But the 20.5 minutes through two games is not good and he averaged 28 minutes per game last season. Chances are Powell will get things figured out, but if you want to cut him for a hot free agent, it might make sense given his low minutes thus far. Just be prepared for him to get hot at some point this season.
Dante Exum (left) made his season debut vs. the Pistons on Saturday, scoring four points with four assists and three rebounds in 13 minutes.
His left hip strain kept him out of the final two preseason games and the opening-night win against the Hornets, but here’s to hoping the injury-prone guard can have a little more luck staying healthy this season. He has flashed some upside at times, but is stuck behind Darius Garland and Collin Sexton who have both impressed early on.
Troy Brown Jr. missed all five of his shots and failed to score in just 13 minutes on Saturday.
Some of us had high expectations for TBJ this season but he's off to a dreadful start, averaging just 1.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.5 3-pointers on 1-of-8 shooting in just 17.5 minutes through two games. If you want to drop him and grab a hot free agent, it makes sense.
Alec Burks played 31 minutes for the Knicks, finishing with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Knicks lost again but what else is new? Let’s talk about how Alec Burks has now scored 22 points in back-to-back games to start the season. He shot 6-of-13 on FGs, 4-of-6 on threes and 6-of-6 at the line, providing a scoring punch for NY’s bench. Burks and Julius Randle were the only Knicks to score more than 12 points and the only Knicks to make multiple threes. The reserve wing might be worth snagging in standard leagues.
Lu Dort picked up where he left off in the bubble with a strong season opener vs. Charlotte, scoring 15 points with five rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and one triple in 35 minutes.
If he can do something like this every night, Dort is going to make a lot of fantasy managers very happy. His 3-point stroke looks to have improved after hitting 29% last season, but it's his output in the defensive categories that excites us the most. We obviously saw that in the bubble when he made life miserable for James Harden, and tonight was no different as evidenced by this violent swat on Caleb Martin (link below). We like him as a pickup to see if he can keep it going.
Markelle Fultz hit 7-of-13 shots and 7-of-8 free throws for 21 points, four rebounds, seven assists, a steal and just two turnovers in Saturday's 130-120 win over the Wizards.
His career high in scoring is 25 and he flirted with that in tonight's defenseless game against Russell Westbrook and the Wizards. He looks good through two games this season and while he's not going to hit many 3-pointers or steal the ball much, he looks like a solid starting fantasy point guard this season.
Cole Anthony played 17 minutes and hit 4-of-11 shots and a 3-pointer for nine points, five rebounds and five assists in Saturday's win over Washington.
Through two games he's averaging just 18 minutes, but is also averaging 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He'll need more minutes to be fantasy-worthy, but the potential is there and he could easily overtake Michael Carter-Williams for backup PG duties sooner than later. Keep a close eye on him going forward. MCW played 19 minutes for eight points, three boards, two assists and a 3-pointer, but Anthony is the guy with the upside here.
Deni Avdija played just 15 minutes to finish with five points, three rebounds, two assists and four fouls, hitting 2-of-2 shots and a 3-pointer on Saturday.
It's a similar line to what he did in his debut and he was saddled by early foul trouble tonight. He's not looking for his shots and looks more like a facilitator at this point, but he's in the starting lineup for Washington and is a very intriguing rookie. If you can afford to hang onto him, do it, but it could take some time for him to start putting up numbers worthy of your starting lineup.
Thomas Bryant hit 8-of-11 shots and three 3-pointers for 19 points, five rebounds, an assist and zero blocks in Saturday's loss to the Magic.
After two games, Bryant is averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 3-pointers in 28 minutes. The blocks should come and he shot the ball much better tonight than his 5-of-13 effort in the opener. He somehow completed a put-back slam into the Wizards' hoop tonight, and while a lot of us have probably scored on the wrong hoop when we were little kids, we doubt any eight-year-olds threw one down with authority for the other team like Bryant did tonight (Video in link).
Davis Bertans hit just 3-of-11 shots and 2-of-10 3-pointers for nine points, a rebound, an assist and a steal in 20 minutes of Saturday's loss.
Bertans is still working on his conditioning and getting into game shape after missing time in camp and the preseason. He's played 20 minutes in both of his games and his still getting his legs under him, so some early struggles are to be expected.
Nikola Vucevic got hot late and finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two 3-pointers on 8-of-20 shooting in a 130-120 win over the Wizards on Saturday.
At one point, Vuc had hit just 3-of-13 shots but he went on a late tear to hit some shots and salvage a decent fantasy line. He has just one block thus far, but they are coming and he's double-doubled in both games with five 3-pointers. As usual, he's going to be a very reliable fantasy center again this season.
Marcus Morris (knee) will remain out for Sunday vs. Dallas.
He missed all of preseason and will miss his third straight game. Despite that, he's still listed as day-to-day. Nicolas Batum is coming off a strong performance with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and two triples and has put himself on the streaming radar.
Rajon Rondo did not leave the bench during Saturday's win over the Grizzlies.
Rondo just returned to the team and was coming off a minor injury, so while he was available for today’s game, he wound up collecting a DNP-CD. Maybe he’ll make his Atlanta debut on Monday vs. the Pistons, but even in a best-case scenario, he won’t be anything more than a dimes specialist in deep leagues.
Bruno Fernando pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds during Saturday's win over the Grizzlies, adding three assists and two turnovers across 17 minutes.
Fernando started the second half of today’s game with Bogdan Bogdanovic moving back to the bench and John Collins sliding back to the four-spot, and while he received the most minutes of the Atlanta reserve bigs, he was arguably outplayed by two-way player Nathan Knight. In just nine minutes off the bench, Knight finished with 14 points (4-of-5 FG, 4-of-5 FT), three rebounds, two triples and one turnover — but both these guys will fall out of the rotation once Clint Capela (Achilles) gets back.
Derrick Favors (knee) is available to play on Saturday night.
He was listed as favorable but played just 16 minutes on Wednesday, making him a tough guy to roster in standard leagues.