Kawhi Leonard (face) left Friday's game against the Nuggets during the fourth quarter.
Leonard was on the wrong end of a Serge Ibaka elbow, and the shot from his teammate sent him down to the floor immediately. The perennial All-Star remained down for a couple minutes, with blood streaming from his mouth, while being tended to by team trainers. He was eventually able to walk back to the locker room under his own power. At the time of his departure Leonard logged 30 minutes, accounting for 21 points (8-of-14 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs), five rebounds, seven assists, four steals, one blocked shot and two 3-pointers.
Marc Gasol saw 20 minutes as a starter on Christmas but recorded just two points, nine rebounds and one turnover in a win over the Mavericks.
Gasol was better tonight than he was in his regular-season debut, but he looks a step slow on defense and he’s clearly not a major part of the Lakers’ offense. He only attempted one shot while he was out there, which he missed, and his only two points came at the line. It doesn’t look like he’s going to be a large enough part of the rotation to impact fantasy hoops. Montrezl Harrell was with the finishing group tonight, and he finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers in 28 minutes.
Dorian Finney-Sminth accounted for 10 points (4-of-9 FGs), two rebounds, three steals and two 3-pointers in 29 minutes Friday vs. the Lakers.
With Kristaps Porzingis (knee) out until some point in January, Dallas will need increased contributions on the boards from players such as Finney-Smith. The Mavericks received no such production Friday night, with the Lakers out-rebounding the visitors by a 53-27 margin. At least Finney-Smith’s two 3-pointers and three steals will be of some help to those who have him rostered. He’s worth having as a back-end option in most leagues, but that represents his ceiling at this point.
Dwight Powell shot 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-4 from the foul line in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, three steals and one 3-pointer in 24 minutes.
With Kristaps Porzingis (sidelined) Powell, who is less than a year removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon, is with the first unit. His minutes are being monitored, which limits Powell's potential from a fantasy standpoint. Powell banged knees with Montrezl Harrell during the fourth quarter, but he was able to stay in the game until both teams cleared their respective benches. Worth considering for as long as Porzingis is out, Powell will be a drop candidate when that changes.
Trey Burke played 24 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, posting a line of 17 points (5-of-10 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), one rebound, two assists, one blocked shot and four 3-pointers.
A revelation in the bubble, Burke is now 5-of-8 from three to begin the season. And while his overall contributions don’t jump off the page, Burke was more productive Friday night than he was in Wednesday’s loss to the Suns. There’s little need to grab him off the waiver wire however, as Dallas doesn’t lack for other scoring options on the perimeter.
Josh Richardson played 27 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, scoring 17 points (6-of-12 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs) with two rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers.
Richardson struggled with foul trouble Friday night, but a solid fourth quarter managed to salvage things from a fantasy standpoint. Richardson has produced three steals in Dallas’ first two games, bringing some of the defensive production that was expected when the Mavericks acquired him from Philadelphia during the offseason. The change of scenery should benefit Richardson offensively as well, as he has attempted 12 3-pointers through two games. During the 2018-19 campaign with the Heat, his best season as a pro to date, Richardson averaged 6.3 3-point attempts per game.
Boban Marjanovic accounted for six points (3-of-4 FGs) and one rebound in seven minutes Friday vs. the Lakers.
Marjanovic, who was a DNP-CD Wednesday night, did not see any action until the fourth quarter Friday. He gave Dallas a needed boost early in his seven-minute stint, but the hole was too deep for the Mavericks to crawl out of. As much as we all love Boban, he isn’t a usable option in any fantasy format due to his inconsistent minutes.
LeBron James had a 22-point, 10-assist double-double in the Lakers' 138-115 Christmas Day thrashing of the Mavs, adding seven rebounds, three triples, one steal and four turnovers across 31 minutes.
James tweaked his left ankle in the Lakers’ season opener, but that was a complete non-issue for him tonight, so he should be fine moving forward (although L.A. will likely continue to list him on the IR-report). The Lakers have their first back-to-back set of the season coming up, so it’ll be interesting to see if King James decides to skip either Sunday’s game vs. the Wolves or Monday’s matchup with the Trail Blazers.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit 3-of-7 shots for eight points, two triples, two assists, one steal and two blocks over 24 minutes on Christmas.
KCP was pretty good tonight, which means he’ll likely come through with a dud his next time out. Wesley Matthews, who was scoreless in the L.A.’s opener, got his first points as a Laker on Christmas with two points, one rebound and one steal over 16 minutes. Neither of these guys is worth your attention in fantasy hoops.
Kyle Kuzma saw 22 minutes off the bench on Christmas and finished with 13 points, three triples, six boards, two assists and one block in a win over the Mavericks.
Kuzma saw fewer minutes today than he did in his regular-season debut (27), but he made the most of it and played with great energy in the second unit. There’s a lot of depth on this roster at Kuzma’s position, so his minutes may be sporadic, but he should still see enough floor time to make a low-end impact with some points and triples.
Jordan McLaughlin (medical protocols) is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against Jazz.
After serving as the Timberwolves' backup point guard last season, McLaughlin wasn't re-signed by the team until December 18. As a result he still has medical protocols to clear in relation to COVID-19 before becoming eligible to play. With D'Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio both healthy, McLaughlin will likely rack up more than a few DNP-CDs once cleared.
Derrick Favors (right knee soreness) is listed as probable for Saturday's game against the Timberwolves.
Favors played 16 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's win over Portland, and he's likely in line for a similar workload moving forward. That rules him out as an option in standard leagues
Nassir Little (medical protocols) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Rockets.
Little has yet to fully rejoin the team, and he still has some hurdles to clear when it comes to COVID-19 protocols. Hopefully he'll be back with the Blazers in the very near future.
Abdel Nader (concussion) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Kings.
Nader has yet to fully clear concussion protocol, hence his being held out for a second straight game. He's unlikely to be a worthwhile fantasy option once cleared to play.
Dario Saric (right quad soreness) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Kings.
Due to the injury Saric missed the entire preseason, and he was also held out of Wednesday's opener against the Mavericks. As a result rookie Jalen Smith has picked up some reserve minutes, so he's the player most likely to suffer fantasy-wise once Saric is cleared.
DaQuan Jeffries (back soreness) has been upgraded to questionable for Saturday's game against the Suns.
Jeffries doesn't offer much in the way of fantasy value when healthy, so there's no need to grab him off of the waiver wire in any format.
Jabari Parker (back soreness) has been upgraded to probable for Saturday's game against the Suns.
With Marvin Bagley healthy, there isn't much room for Jabari Parker in the Kings rotation. There's no reason to clear out a roster spot in anticipation of his season debut.
Tony Snell (right foot inflammation) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Grizzlies.
Snell will miss his second straight regular season game due to his foot issue. He's unlikely to merit much consideration in any fantasy format once healthy.
Killian Tillie (right hamstring strain) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Hawks.
After missing the entire preseason due to the hamstring issue, Tillie will miss a second straight regular season game. He's unlikely to be a worthwhile fantasy option once healthy, regardless of league format.
Xavier Tillman (left patellar tendinitis) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Hawks.
Tillman was also held out of the season opener against the Spurs, and it is unknown when he will be healthy enough to play. A plus rebounder and defender, the rookie may be able to help Memphis once cleared. But that's unlikely to be enough to make him a must-have fantasy option.