Reggie Perry logged his first career double-double vs. the Thunder on Friday with 10 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one triple in 19 minutes.
Perry has some upside but we won't be chasing this line, as Kevin Durant rested and the Nets put up 147 points with a season-best nine players hitting double-digit points. The Nets are reportedly looking to add some frontcourt depth this week too, complicating Perry's path to minutes even more.
Patty Mills scored 17 points in a win vs. Denver on Friday, making 4-of-9 field goals and 5-of-5 free throws with four 3-pointers, three steals, two rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.
The Nuggets were well aware of Mills' importance to the Spurs, with coach Mike Malone saying before the game that Mills is an "x-factor" whose second-unit scoring drives much of the team's success. Sure enough, Spurs writer Paul Garcia noted that Mills is averaging 17.4 points in victories this season, but just 10.5 points in losses. His fantasy value is also tethered primarily to scoring, which makes it hard for him to climb higher than his current top-125 valuation (9-cat). It doesn't help that Derrick White (toe) is about to seize minutes in an already-crowded rotation.
LaMarcus Aldridge faded on Friday with five points on 1-of-3 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes vs. the Nuggets.
Gregg Popovich continues to play the matchups at the center spot, and tonight Jakob Poeltl (four points, six boards) earned 25 minutes off the bench. Aldridge had been gaining steam with 20.3 points over his previous three games, but his sudden decline is par for the course in 2020-21. He's on an expiring contract but there hasn't been any noise about his $24.0 million contract being a trade chip, so fantasy managers may have to resign themselves to unpredictable, late-round production.
Keldon Johnson was terrific on Friday with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, one 3-pointer and just one turnover in 32 minutes vs. the Nuggets.
Johnson hit 9-of-14 shots and he was in attack-mode all night long, with seven of his makes directly at the rim. That makes it all the more surprising that he didn't get to the free throw line tonight. He's rolling right now with double-digit scoring in nine straight games, he's reliably hitting the boards (7.4), and he's quietly made himself an indispensable part of the Spurs' success this season. Not bad for a guy you likely grabbed off the waiver wire.
Dejounte Murray lit up the Nuggets for 26 points on Friday, hitting 10-of-19 shots with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.
The Spurs are building momentum with three straight wins, improving their record to 11-8, and they're about to welcome back Derrick White from a toe injury. White's return isn't ideal for Murray's fantasy value, but it's more likely to affect Lonnie Walker IV, Devin Vassell and Patty Mills. The Spurs are also comfortable using Murray and White together, which wasn't the case for most of the 2019-20 season, so White's return isn't a zero-sum game.
Jamal Murray hurt his right hip during the fourth quarter of Friday's game, but returned to finish with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and one block in 35 minutes.
Murray exited the game but was able to return after stretching and testing his hip by jogging. He's already dealing with a nagging elbow injury, but Nuggets coach Mike Malone said afterward that he expects Murray to be ready for Sunday's game vs. the visiting Jazz. We'll add him to the injury report as a simple precaution, but should have plenty of advance warning if his status is in jeopardy.
DeAndre Jordan hit 5-of-7 shots and missed his only free throw vs. the Thunder on Friday, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 20 minutes.
Jordan has seen a decent bump in value with Jarrett Allen no longer around, posting top-90 numbers of 9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 dimes and 1.8 blocks over the last two weeks. The Nets did recently sign a shot-blocker in Norvel Pelle and are expected to add another frontcourt player this week according to multiple reports, so it will be interesting to see if Jordan holds onto his workload of roughly 25 minutes per night.
Hamidou Diallo had 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, one triple and two turnovers in 23 minutes vs. the Nets on Friday, going 4-of-9 from the field and 9-of-9 from the line.
He did get some garbage time run but Diallo is trending up again with five straight games in double digits. He's averaging 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 20.3 minutes per game in that span, and while he's not a standard-league pickup yet, he's someone who could break out down the stretch when the Thunder unleash their youth.
Darius Bazley had a strong fantasy line vs. the Nets on Friday with 14 points (5-of-9 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), five rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and two triples in 33 minutes.
It's nights like these that make us so excited about his future but we need to see more consistency from him. Bazley is starting to show signs of turning things around though, and having a veteran like Al Horford back in the mix will only make his life easier.
Terence Davis made his first start of the season on Friday vs. the Kings, scoring 12 points with two rebounds, one steal, one block and two triples in 19 minutes.
Norman Powell (quad) and OG Anunoby (calf) were both out but could return on Sunday vs. Orlando. Davis only played one more minute tonight than he did on Wednesday, as Yuta Watanabe got hot off the bench and DeAndre' Bembry saw 18 minutes as well. Davis is only a low-end streaming option when the Raptors are missing one or two starters.
Tobias Harris double-doubled in Friday's blowout win vs. the Wolves, scoring 17 points with 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, one steal and one turnover in 34 minutes.
Philly sits atop the Eastern Conference with a 14-6 record, but it's not like any teams are truly pulling away from the pack -- only five games separate the Sixers from the No. 11 seed Raptors. Harris is a big reason for Philly's success, providing steady two-way play that often goes under-appreciated because he doesn't show up in the highlight reels. He shot just 6-of-17 from the field tonight, but that was his lone blemish in an otherwise pristine fantasy line.
Tyrese Maxey had eight points, two fouls and one turnover in 10 minutes of action vs. Minnesota on Friday.
Maxey burst onto fantasy managers' radars with a 39-point effort for the health-and-safety ravaged Sixers back on Jan. 9. That was part of a streak with double-digit points in six straight games, but since then his minutes have predictably evaporated. He's waiver-wire fodder as long as Ben Simmons and Shake Milton are healthy.
Danny Green's two shot attempts on Friday were both from downtown, and he hit one of them to score three points with three boards, two assists, two steals and one block in 23 minutes.
Green is going for his third straight championship with three different teams, having already collected a pair of rings in Toronto and L.A. He's excelling in his 3-and-D role for the Sixers, with fantasy value anchored by 2.4 triples, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He's barely on the radar in points leagues most nights, though, and fantasy managers might bump their heads on his low ceiling.
Josh Okogie had four points, one rebound and two assists in just 18 minutes during a loss to the Sixers on Friday.
Okogie started at power forward in a new-look lineup for the Wolves that also featured D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley and Ed Davis. His playing time was lower than four reserves, and the Wolves lost by 24 points on their home court, so coach Ryan Saunders may go back to the drawing board after this one. Even with more minutes, though, Okogie hasn't given us any reason to recommend him for more than deep-league defensive stats.
Rui Hachiumura (protocols) made his return to the starting lineup on Friday vs. Atlanta, scoring nine points (3-of-9 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs) with five boards, one assist and one triple in 24 minutes.
Rui has been out since Jan. 11 but only missed three games since six other games were postponed. The Wizards are just 3-12 and may be on the verge of a youth movement in the near future, so Rui could be a focal point of the offense sooner rather than later. But for now he’s just a lukewarm pickup in deeper leagues, as he came into tonight ranked outside the top-150 in 9-cat leagues for per-game value with 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 dimes, 0.6 steals and 0.6 triples. The lack of peripheral stats leaves a lot to be desired.
Davis Bertans (protocols) returned to action on Friday vs. the Hawks but was held to a single point vs. the Hawks, going 0-of-7 from the field with three boards and one steal in 25 minutes.
He was on a minutes restriction tonight as this was his first taste of action since Jan. 11th. Bertans still doesn’t have his legs under him and was out of rhythm prior to missing time, averaging just 11.8 points and 2.8 triples. That’s a far cry from his production during his breakout 2019-20 season when he put up 15.4 points and 3.7 triples, but we still believe he’ll get it going soon as he’s one of the most lethal shooters in the NBA.
Moe Wagner (protocols) returned to action vs. the Hawks on Friday with zero points on zero attempts, four rebounds and one turnover in 10 minutes.
Wagner was going to be a DNP-CD but Robin Lopez was ejected and this turned into a blowout. The Wizards are going to roll with Robin Lopez as their starting center with Alex Len getting the backup center minutes for now. Wagner does have a fantasy-friendly game and could make noise when the Wizards inevitably dial back Lopez’s workload in what is shaping up to be a lost season, but for now he’s safe to leave on the waiver wire.
Mitchell Robinson had six points, four rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal in 22 foul-plagued minutes vs. the Cavs on Friday.
Prior to the game, Robinson addressed a recent Tweet he wrote and deleted, which read, "One day they’ll let me play." He denied it was about his on-court role. "I kind of like my role," he told reporters. "Anything that I could do to help win more would be great, but I just want to keep it consistent. We’re doing pretty good right now so why change?" If Robinson is privately frustrated with his limited offensive role (11.5% usage), we don't foresee Tom Thibodeau responding well to tweets about it. Regardless, fantasy managers can still enjoy mid-round value grounded in boards (8.3), field goal percentage (65.8%) and strong defensive numbers (1.7 blocks, 1.2 steals).
Alec Burks finished Friday's easy home win with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, six rebounds rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes as a starter.
Burks was probable for this game due to a left ankle injury but he never seemed truly at risk of sitting out. New York may tag him again but just keep him active unless he's marked as 'questionable' or worse. He's started the past two games with Reggie Bullock (neck) unavailable, though his 24 minutes tonight came in below his season average of 27.3 per game. With Austin Rivers healthy and Immanuel Quickley commanding minutes, it's hard to see Burks reclaiming the high-usage role he enjoyed to begin the season.
Elfrid Payton had another quiet game on Friday with two points (1-of-6 shooting), three assists, one rebound and one steal in 23 minutes.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has been firm in his intention to start Payton, citing the veteran's size and defensive aptitude. Rookie Immanuel Quickley (25 points in 25 minutes) could eventually threaten his job, but it hardly matters if Payton continues to struggle even with the starting job in hand. He's only been a plus-contributor for fantasy in assists, at 3.8 per game, and that's unlikely to change with so much offense running through Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.