Tom Thibodeau said rookie Obi Toppin needs to continue "learning the NBA, the defense and being a multiple-effort guy."
"[Toppin] may get the initial part but there’s a second, third and fourth part that has to be done also," Thibodeau said. Toppin had four points in nine minutes on Monday and it's hard to see him carving out a fantasy-relevant role while Julius Randle is gobbling up 36.7 minutes at the power forward spot.
After Lauri Markkanen scored 30 points for the second straight game on Monday, coach Billy Donovan opted to praise Markkanen's defense.
"He was phenomenal defensively tonight," Donovan said. "Julius Randle's a really difficult player to guard. I'm not saying he just shut him down and stopped him. But he really did a good job of just battling and holding position." Donovan also praised Markkanen's offensive aggression and passing, and said he wants to get Markkanen in more post-up situations. He currently hasn't had 10 qualifying post-up possessions, per NBA.com, so it remains to be seen whether that happens. Either way, Markkanen is rolling and his newfound aggression is paying dividends for fantasy managers.
Mike Scott (right knee swelling) had a setback on Monday, according to coach Doc Rivers.
Scott remains out indefinitely and his inability to shake this ailment is a bit concerning, but hopefully some extra rest will do the trick. He hasn't been on the fantasy radar this season anyway, so his availability doesn't impact rosters.
Iman Shumpert hasn't yet joined the Nets and he won't play vs. the Clippers on Tuesday.
There's absolutely no reason to think Shumpert will be a fantasy asset this season. We'll stop updating his status until we see him on the court.
A false positive coronavirus test postponed Monday's Pistons vs. Nuggets game, according to Pistons writer James Edwards III.
A false positive coronavirus test postponed Monday's Pistons vs. Nuggets game, according to Pistons writer James Edwards III.
The Pistons are headed to Utah and they're "expected to play" on Tuesday. The league erred on the side of caution with Monday's last-minute postponement, but thankfully everyone is healthy and it only cost Detroit and Denver one game, which will be made up at a future date.
Derrick Jones Jr. (left foot sprain) is "feeling better" and could return this week, according to coach Terry Stotts.
Stotts is hopeful DJJ will be cleared to play "before the Blazers head back to Portland." If we don't see him on the court vs. Washington on Tuesday, he could still suit up in Philly on Thursday and/or New York on Saturday. Nassir Little is coming off a 30-point eruption for the injury-riddled Blazers, but he should revert to a second-unit role once DJJ is back in the mix.
Christian Wood hit 8-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers for 18 points, 11 rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 26 minutes of Monday's 136-106 blowout win over the Thunder.
He's back after a sprained ankle scare and has picked up right where he left off with the injury, averaging 22.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers over his three games since returning. Incidentally, the Rockets have won all three of those games, as well as six in a row, and set a franchise record with 28 3-pointers tonight, missing the NBA record of 29 makes by just one.
Kristaps Porzingis was back in the Mavs lineup on Monday, finishing with 19 points, 10 boards, one assist, one steal and three blocks.
Porzingis had an off night shooting the ball, going 6-of-15 from the floor with three triples. The double-double was his third of the year and the 34 minutes were a season-high. Rick Carlisle said KP is getting close to playing in both games of back-to-backs, which he's already done at least once this season. And KP playing in back-to-backs is good to hear because the Mavs have lost six straight and need him on the court.
Eric Gordon hit 8-of-12 shots and 5-of-9 3-pointers for 25 points and two assists in just 22 minutes of Monday's 136-106 win over the Thunder.
Gordon had hit just 6-of-20 shots in his previous two games but got back on track tonight and racked up his second-highest point total of the season. He's going to be streaky at times but if he was dropped in your league, this is your sign that it's probably time to grab him. He helped the Rockets set a franchise record for 3-pointers made with 28 of them tonight.
Luka Doncic stuffed the stat sheet on Monday vs the Suns, logging 25 points, five boards, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
Shortly after Devin Booker hit a go-ahead three with 1.5 seconds left, Rick Carlisle drew up a play for Doncic who had a great look from deep, but he missed and the Mavs lost their sixth straight games. But from a fantasy standpoint, Luka was pretty good, making 7-of-19 field goals and 10-of-11 free throws. The only place he wasn't effective was from beyond the arc, where he is shooting 29.3% on seven attempts per game this season. The only player who's shooting it worse from deep is Kelly Oubre Jr., according to Stat Muse.
Theo Maledon started again on Monday and hit 3-of-7 shots, a 3-pointer and 4-of-4 free throws for 11 points, one rebound, one assist and two steals in 28 minutes of a blowout loss.
George Hill is still out with his thumb injury and it remains to be seen if the Thunder go with Maledon or Hill as the starter when he's back, but Maledon has at least turned some heads lately. We like him more as a DFS flier than a standard-league guy, but he's worth a look if you play in a deep league. Just know that he could come to a screeching halt once Hill is back, although we hope it doesn't happen.
Josh Richardson had his best game of the season on Monday, lighting up for 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
His points, assists and made field goals (nine) were all season-bests and he finally knocked down a couple of 3-pointers after going 0-of-7 in the last three contests combined. The 24 points were also more than he totaled in those three contests (21), as well. The Mavs will need him to be a more consistent scorer if they want to start winning games and have any chance of keeping up in the stacked Western Conference this season.
Alec Burks played 29 minutes off the bench on Monday vs the Bulls, recording 18 points on 6-of-12 field goals with three 3-pointers and two steals.
Burks snapped out his shooting slump tonight by making 50% of his shots and a trio of triples. Prior to that game, he had been struggling, having scored just 23 points on 9-of-27 shooting with two 3-pointers over the last three contests. So, it was good to see him have a solid night and play as he did during the first week of the season.
Gary Trent Jr. started again on Monday and hit 3-of-13 shots and 2-of-8 3-pointers for eight points, two rebounds and a block in 29 minutes of a 134-106 blowout loss to the Bucks.
Nassir Little caught fire in a starting role and scored a career-high 30 points with five triples, while Trent couldn't get anything going. Trent still appears to be the guy with the upside here and he had scored at least 18 points in each of his previous three games. Look for him to bounce back on Wizards on Tuesday night.
Immanuel Quickley had a quality showing on Monday vs the Bulls, posting 16 points, six boards and seven assists off the bench.
Quickley kept up his hot streak vs Chicago, making 5-of-13 field goals with two 3-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. He's notched double-figure scoring marks in four of his last five games is steadily making a case for Rookie of the Year with a nightly 12.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks in just 19 minutes.
Anfernee Simons came off the bench to hit 5-of-15 shots and three 3-pointers for 15 points, three rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of a blowout loss to the Bucks on Monday.
With C.J. McCollum and Derrick Jones Jr. both out with foot injuries there are going to be big opportunities for guys like Gary Trent Jr., Nassir Little and Simons and it was Little and Simons making noise tonight. They'll both look to keep it going against the Wizards on Tuesday, but it will probably be impossible to guess which guard is going to go off from night to night. In short, all three players are worth potential fantasy fliers right now with the core of Portland's shooting guards hurting.
Chris Paul dominated the Mavs on Monday, finishing with a game-high 34 points, nine boards, nine dimes and two steals in the Suns win.
Even with Devin Booker back in the lineup, it was CP3 who had the hot hand. He made 14-of-20 field goals and four 3-pointers in 38 minutes. Paul did have five turnovers but the worst part of his night came within the final 30 seconds when he smoked a wide-open layup after splitting the defense at the top of the key. But he redeemed himself by finding Book for a game-winning triple with 1.5 seconds left. Another great game for the veteran point guard.
Bobby Portis came off the bench to hit 9-of-13 shots and three 3-pointers on his way to 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in a 134-106 win over the Blazers on Monday.
Only Jrue Holiday's 22-point effort eclipsed that of Portis' line tonight and the 21 points tied his season high. This game was a textbook blowout which likely resulted in extra run for Portis, so we're not going to get overly excited about his big night. He had scored in single figures in five of his previous seven games but he was able to get it going tonight. Just keep an eye on him in case he starts playing like this on a more regular basis going forward.
D.J. Augustin tied his season high with 13 points, five rebounds, six assists, a steal and four 3-pointers in Monday's easy 134-106 win over the Blazers.
DJA and Bryn Forbes (13 points, 3 assists, 3 3-pointers) both got hot off the bench in a blowout, but we're guessing they wouldn't have been quite as productive had this actually been a basketball game. Just keep an eye on both of them unless you play in a deep league with a vacant waiver wire. DJA got hot in his 18 minutes and hadn't scored in double digits in his previous 12 games.
Christian Wood hit 8-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers for 18 points, 11 rebounds, one steals and two blocks in 26 minutes of Monday's 136-106 blowout win over the Thunder.
He's back after a sprained ankle scare and has picked up right where he left off with the injury, averaging 22.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers over his three games since returning. Incidentally, the Rockets have won all three of those games and set a franchise record with 28 3-pointers tonight, missing the NBA record of 29 makes by just one.