Avery Bradley missed all four of his shots and failed to score in 20 minutes of his return from a sore knee on Monday night.
He'd missed his last three games with the injury and was clearly a little rusty tonight. Bradley has some deep-league fantasy potential, but we wouldn't mess with him until he proves he can stay healthy and starts producing.
Anthony Davis had a solid night, netting 25 points with two boards, two assists, one steal and three blocks in the Lakers' 107-99 win vs the Hawks on Monday.
AD shot the ball really well, hitting 10-of-14 shots and 5-of-6 free throws but where he struggled was on the glass, as he grabbed a season-low two rebounds in 36 minutes. He was coming off a 14-rebound game and is averaging 9.1 boards per night this year, so this is very uncharacteristic of the Lakers big man, but it's something that won't happy very often.
Dennis Schroder was all over the court on Monday night, recording 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Schroder was harassing Trae Young all night, picking him up full court, going over screens and coming up with a late steal on Ice Trae to help the Lakers hold off the Hawks. He knocked down 6-of-10 field goals and nearly fouled out with five personals, but it was good to see him have an efficient night because he's shooting just 41% from the floor this season. We'll see if he can keep this going vs the Nuggets on Thursday.
Devonte' Graham hit 7-of-13 shots and a season-high six 3-pointers on his way to 24 points, four rebounds, five assists and one turnover in 41 minutes of Monday's 129-121 overtime win against the Heat.
P.J. Washington left early with a sprained right foot and Terry Rozier was out with sprained right ankle, allowing Graham to get loose for one of his best games of the season, while teammate Malik Monk went bonkers with a career-high 36 points and nine triples. This was just the fourth time this season that Graham has scored at least 20 points in a game but maybe the flood gates will open after tonight's big line.
Montrezl Harrell continued his high-level play on Monday night, scoring 19 points with three rebounds, two steals and a block in 29 minutes off the bench.
Harrell has scored in double figures in back-to-back games now after totaling just eight points in the two games prior. He's also providing big-time defensive stats with eight steals and five blocks over his last four contests which fantasy managers must be ecstatic about.
LaMelo Ball made his first NBA start on Monday for Terry Rozier (ankle) and hit 3-of-11 shots, two 3-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws for 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists in an overtime win over the Heat.
LaMelo has had some monster games this season, like when he scored 27 with nine assists, four steals and two 3-pointers on Saturday, but while he's carried fantasy teams at times, he's also been highly inconsistent this season. A full-time starting job might help him get settled into a more consistent role but it feels like the Hornets are going to keep Melo coming off the bench once Rozier is back in action.
John Collins failed to post any assists, steals or blocks on Monday vs the Lakers but still had a good showing with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Collins shot 10-of-17 and made two 3-pointers but for the second straight game, he didn't contribute any assists, steals or blocks, which is very strange. On the bright side, he still ranks inside the top-50 in 9-cat and is posting 54/40/80 shooting splits which are great for a big man.
Nemanja Bjelica (back spasms) was a healthy DNP-CD on Monday.
Bjelica was technically 'available' but he's out of the rotation and has no clear path to fantasy-relevant minutes. Kings coach Luke Walton told Bjelica in mid-January that he'd return to the rotation "at some point," but a subsequent report in the Sacramento Bee said the team may instead look to trade their veteran forward. Either way, he belongs on the waiver wire.
Marvin Bagley was ejected from Monday's game after picking up two technical fouls, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, four boards and one block in 22 minutes.
Call it a learning moment for Bagley, who went a bit too far complaining about two foul calls. He missed both of his 3-pointers and both of his free throws prior to exiting, so it wasn't his best performance on any level. He'll get a day off to stew on his ejection before taking on the visiting Celtics on Wednesday.
Glenn Robinson III picked up a healthy DNP-CD on Monday.
He's had some nice moments this season, but coach Luke Walton has tightened up the rotation and GR3 is on the outside looking in. He could have streaming appeal if Harrison Barnes or Buddy Hield get injured, but for now just leave him on the wire in all formats.
Tyrese Haliburton grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in 32 minutes on Monday, adding five points on 2-of-7 shooting with six assists, one steal and one turnover.
Haliburton's boards were also a team high tonight, and they're the latest reminder of his polished all-around skillset. Even on nights when his shots aren't falling, the rookie is keeping his fantasy value afloat with triples (2.1), boards (3.4), dimes (5.4) and defensive stats (1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks). Among rookies, only Xavier Tillman, Immanuel Quickley and LaMelo Ball are doing more on a per-game basis.
Hassan Whiteside scored five points and grabbed six rebounds with zero defensive stats in 14 minutes off the bench on Monday.
After falling out of the rotation for a long stretch, Whiteside has reclaimed 15-20 minutes in a backup role behind Richaun Holmes. The Kings' true centers have predictably never shared the court this season, so Whiteside is purely a boards and blocks specialist while Holmes is hovering around 30 minutes per game.
Jaxson Hayes started vs. the Kings on Monday but struggled with fouls and only played 11 minutes, scoring seven points on 3-of-6 shooting with four boards.
Steven Adams was out tonight due to a right calf injury, giving Hayes his first start of the season. The Kings have been an above-average matchup for centers, but Hayes committed a few early fouls and was thoroughly outplayed by third-stringer Willy Hernangomez (13 points, 11 rebounds). Adams was ruled out an hour before tip-off and could return as soon as Wednesday vs. the Suns, so it's hard to hold Hayes in leagues with a lively waiver wire.
Zion Williamson blocked a career-high three shots on Monday, adding 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in 31 minutes.
The Pelicans needed rim protection without Steven Adams (calf), and Zion did his best in a tough 118-109 home loss vs. the Kings. Although he didn't block a shot in three straight games last season, he's now done it in five straight. His five combined steals and blocks tonight also tied a career high, and the defensive uptick is massive news for his fantasy appeal. If he managers to improve his 66.7% free throw shooting, the sky is the limit -- he took a step in that direction by going 4-of-4 at the stripe tonight.
Tyler Herro escaped health and safety protocols and was able to play on Monday when he hit 3-of-10 shots, and three 3-pointers for 11 points, three rebounds, eight assists and a steal in 33 minutes.
It looked like Herro might miss a week when it was determined that he lives the someone who got COVID-19 but that apparently wasn't the case. It's great news for his fantasy managers and hopefully he's good to go for the rest of the week. But if you picked up Kendrick Nunn or Gabe Vincent because guys like Herro, Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley were all very iffy to play as of earlier on Monday, you probably need to go back to the waiver wire and start over.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker played only 18 minutes during Monday's home loss, scoring seven points with two 3-pointers, two assists and one steal.
NAW has been trending up in both playing time and overall fantasy value recently, and he was coming off a game with 13 points, five boards, four dimes, three steals and three blocks. However, nothing is a given for the Pelicans right now. "We've been on a pretty steady defensive decline since the sixth or seventh game of the season," coach Stan Van Gundy said prior to Monday's game. "[T]he level we are guarding at now, it's not acceptable." It remains to be seen if SVG views NAW as part of the problem or the solution, and we'll keep a very close eye on his rotations in the coming week. For now, just hang onto Alexander-Walker while we see how this plays out.
Eric Paschall (lower back tightness) is listed as probable for Tuesday's game against the Celtics.
Paschall hasn't offered much in the way of fantasy value, thanks in large part to the return of Draymond Green. There just isn't enough consistency to warrant rostering Paschall right now.
Jahlil Okafor (bilateral knee soreness) is listed as out for Monday's game against the Nuggets.
Okafor, who was already out of the rotation, isn't a factor as far as fantasy basketball is concerned. At most, this means that there's one less player to possibly take away a few minutes from rugged rookie Isaiah Stewart.
David Nwaba (left ankle) won't play on Monday against the Thunder.
Nwaba injured his ankle in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game and didn't return against the Rockets, so it isn't a surprise that he won't be playing just 48 hours later. Eric Gordon, who ranks No. 147 in 9-cat leagues, is likely to take up most of his minutes. Stephen Silas said he doesn't have a timetable for Nwaba's return, but that he moved well in shootaround.
Tom Thibodeau acknowledged that Kevin Knox is out of the rotation.
Knox's minutes have been slipping as the Knicks have gotten their injured players back, and now he might see some DNP-CD's. The third-year first-round pick has struggled, averaging just 6.1 points on 39.1% shooting with 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 18.2 minutes per game.