Michael Carter-Williams could return on Friday, according to head coach Steve Clifford.
He's best left on the waiver wire, but it's good news for Orlando that he could be back soon.
Hassan Whiteside (hip) will have restrictions on Wednesday vs. the Magic according to coach Luke Walton.
That doesn't mean anything since Whiteside didn't eclipse 10 minutes in his last two active games. He's a luxury stash and may not help fantasy managers for a while.
Derrick Rose (knee) will play on Wednesday against the Pistons.
Rose missed the Pistons' last two games, but he'll return as Blake Griffin sits for a rest game. Rose could have added opportunities without Griffin in the lineup, but it'll be interesting to see how his minutes compare to Delon Wright's.
Dario Saric could return for the Suns against the Mavericks on Saturday.
Saric is back with the Suns for the first time since January 11th and participated in the team's walk-through on Wednesday. The challenge now is his conditioning, which could force him to miss Friday's game against the Warriors, too. Saturday's game against the Mavs is now the target date.
Rodney Hood (thigh contusion) is probable for Thursday vs. Houston.
Hood was a late scratch on Monday and had an underwhelming game prior to that with just seven points vs. the Knicks. It's impossible to predict what coach Terry Stotts will do with his rotations but Gary Trent Jr. may have moved ahead of him in the pecking order after dropping 22 points in his last outing.
The NBA is planning to reschedule some of their postponed games in the first half of the schedule rather than overloading the second half.
The NBA also announced their first few changes to the schedule. The Portland at Washington game that was originally scheduled for the second half of the season is now on Feb. 2nd. The Washington at Charlotte game that was postponed on Jan. 20th is now scheduled for Feb. 7th, and the Portland at Charlotte game scheduled for Feb. 7th will be moved to a later date.
Derrick Favors is questionable for Wednesday vs. the Mavericks with lower back soreness.
Favors was listed as probable for weeks due to knee soreness, so this is a new issue. He has a history of back issues, so maybe the Jazz hold him out as a precaution. If Favors does sit, the Jazz may see what rookie Udoka Azubuike can do with a few minutes.
Rajon Rondo is questionable to play on Wednesday against the Nets due to an ankle sprain.
The sprain might explain why he only saw six minutes on Tuesday night when he scored just two points with two turnovers. Brandon Goodwin played 16 minutes, scoring seven points with three rebounds and two assists. If Rondo doesn't play, Goodwin's likely to fill in all his minutes.
Seth Curry (ankle) will play on Wednesday against the Lakers.
Curry's scored 36 points on 14-of-31 shooting (four 3-pointers) with five rebounds, four assists, four steals, and four turnovers in three games since returning from COVID-19. He ranks No. 43 of all players in 9-cat leagues.
Michael Carter-Williams won't play on Wednesday against the Kings due to a left foot sprain.
Carter-Williams hasn't played since January 4th and isn't likely to be a huge fantasy contributor even when he does return.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's not playing as well as his last two MVP years as he figures out the Bucks' new offensive scheme.
The Bucks fell short in their last two playoff runs despite having the best player in the league, so coach Mike Budenholzer's shaking things up. The team's new offense places an emphasis on offensive rebounding and putting a big in "the dunker spot," which — for now — throws of Giannis's rhythm. “It’s weird, it’s weird, but as I said, I’m figuring it out,” he said. “I’d love to come out and have 30, 35 and it be easy. Easy layups and dunks and all that. But having somebody in ‘the dunker’ might make it a little bit harder." Though it might help his team in the long run, the back-to-back MVP ranks just No. 69 (6th round value) in 9-cat leagues a year after finishing No. 22.
Frank Ntilikina didn't play for the second game in a row despite being cleared.
Ntilikina finally returned from a knee injury, but it's clear Tom Thibodeau doesn't see him playing in the rotation for now. On Sunday, he said Ntilikina's playing time will be "situational," and he expanded on Tuesday saying, “I like his versatility a lot. We have some guys who are similar. Alec (Burks) is a 3-position guy. Austin (Rivers) is a 3-position guy. That was something that we were looking to do when we were putting together the roster,” according to The Athletic. The emergence of Immanuel Quickley is probably another big reason why he isn't playing. Maybe with Quickley coming off his worst game of the season, Ntilikina will get another chance, but for now, it seems he's not going to touch the floor in competitive games.
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas wants to make sure DeMarcus Cousins gets more minutes when Christian Wood returns.
"I think the fact that he’s had some success over these last three games will help him moving forward in making sure he has enough time on the floor to play well and making sure that we’re doing things so he can play to his strengths," Silas said. Cousins is playing some of his best basketball in recent memory, collecting consecutive double-doubles as a starter with Wood sidelined. When Wood returns, Cousins will move back to the bench, but Silas is cognizant that he needs to give Boogie more minutes for his team to be successful.
Donovan Mitchell shot 3-of-15 from the field in Tuesday's win over the Knicks, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two 3-pointers in 34 minutes.
While Utah extended its win streak to nine games, they did so in spite of Mitchell's struggles shooting the basketball. New York focused much of its defensive attention on the star guard, and he failed to get untracked. The Jazz host Dallas in the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday, and his numbers have been a bit low in such scenarios this season. In two prior back ends, Mitchell is averaging 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.5 steals and 2.5 3-pointers per game while shooting 37.8% from the field.
Immanuel Quickley shot 1-of-11 from the field in Tuesday’s loss to the Jazz, finishing the game with six points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 23 minutes.
Quickley had arguably his worst game as a pro Tuesday night, two days after he surpassed the 30-point mark for the first time. But it’s worth noting that starter Elfrid Payton also struggled, as he shot 2-of-7 from the field and accounted for four points, two rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes. Payton remains Tom Thibodeau’s preferred choice at the point, due in large part to his experience. Until the head coach's line of thinking changes, Quickley will remain in the backup role.
Victor Oladipo was back in the starting lineup on Tuesday but struggled, going 7-of-21 from the floor with 20 points, five rebounds and one assist.
Oladipo missed 14 shots vs the Wizards and went just 3-of-10 from deep. He also failed to record any defensive stats which isn't like him. More importantly, he's struggled to make shots in his last three games in which he's a combined 18-of-59 on field goals and 5-of-21 from deep. It might be time for him to stop sitting games in back-to-back scenarios in order to establish some rhythm and consistent play if the Rockets want to keep up in the West.
Eric Gordon was solid in 29 minutes off the bench on Tuesday, scoring 20 points with two rebounds, four assists and a steal in the win.
Gordon returned to his reserve role with Victor Oladipo back in the lineup but it didn't matter. He shot 6-of-13 with two 3-pointers and 6-of-7 from the line and is boasting 46/35/81 shooting splits through 16 games this year. Whether he's starting or coming off the bench, he's going to produce points and threes, and he's still available in 40% of Yahoo leagues.
Mike Conley shot 5-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line in Tuesday’s win over the Knicks, tallying 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three 3-pointers in 32 minutes.
Conley gave Utah the spark that it needed to begin the third quarter, playing a part in 11 of the team’s first 13 points (eight scored, with an assist on a Bojan Bogdanovic 3-pointers). After struggling for much of last season the veteran point guard has looked far more comfortable, and Conley is currently a top-50 player in both 8- and 9-cat formats.
Royce O’Neale posted a line of 20 points (7-of-12 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), six rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and two 3-pointers in 35 minutes Tuesday vs. New York.
The Knicks took the approach of daring O’Neale to shoot, which is understandable given how difficult it is to defend Donovan Mitchell. The strategy failed, as O’Neale put forth his best offensive performance of the season to date. The 20 points scored matched his total in the prior three games combined. Rostered in 18% of Yahoo leagues, O’Neale ranks just outside of the top-100 in 9-cat formats for the season. His potential as a streamer outweighs his value in standard leagues.
Bradley Beal scored 33 points on Tuesday vs the Rockets, adding five boards, four assists and a block.
It was Beal's first time playing against John Wall since the big offseason trade, and while Beal had the better individual night, Wall's Rockets came away with a win. He shot 12-of-28 from the field and only made one 3-pointer in the loss, but it wasn't a terrible night for Beal. He had to shoot the ball a ton because the Wizards barely have any guys who can score the ball right now and that includes Russell Westbrook.