Josh Jackson (quad) played through a probable tag on Friday vs. Houston, finishing with 12 points (3-of-8 FGs, 5-of-9 FTs), three rebounds, two assists, one steal, three blocks, one triple and four turnovers before fouling out in 31 minutes.
He was everywhere in the first half with all three of his blocks, but the second half was another story. After his terrific start to the season, we've been waiting for Jackson's minutes to ramp back up and it looks like he's back in coach Dwane Casey's favor. If you don't mind a hit to your percentages and turnovers, Jackson is a player to watch in case workloads like these become the norm.
Tomas Satoransky returned to action on Friday with two points, four assists and two steals in 11 minutes off the Bulls' bench.
Satoransky hadn't played since Dec. 29 after contracting COVID-19, so it makes sense that his the Bulls would be conservative with his playing time. He was averaging 22.7 minutes in three December games, but that's likely the high end of what's available to him while Coby White and Zach LaVine are both healthy.
Otto Porter Jr. (lower back strain) racked up 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes of action vs. Charlotte on Friday.
Back spasms have bothered Porter since at least Jan. 8, and he was forced to miss Monday's game because of them. He was efficient tonight with 6-of-8 shooting and zero turnovers, but simply isn't getting enough run to make an impact in most fantasy leagues, especially in points formats. It remains to be seen whether his back allows him play in the second half of this back-to-back set vs. the Lakers on Saturday, but for now we're leaving him off the injury report.
Patrick Williams had four points, six rebounds, one turnover and nothing else in 16 minutes vs. the Hornets on Friday.
Williams came in with a bruised hip that caused him stiffness, so perhaps that was a factor in his quiet performance. He moved well enough and the more likely cause was the strong bench play from veterans Thaddeus Young (eight points, six boards, six assists), Otto Porter (13 points) and Garrett Temple (15 points, five boards). We wish him luck vs. LeBron James and the Lakers on Saturday.
Chandler Hutchison (health and safety protocols) was a DNP-CD on Friday.
Hutchison was a sporadic part of Chicago's rotation to begin the season, but couldn't earn minutes tonight with Otto Porter Jr. (back), Thaddeus Young, Garrett Temple, Denzel Valentine and Tomas Satoransky comprising the bench unit.
Garrett Temple (ankle soreness) finished Friday's road win in Charlotte with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, three 3-pointers, five rebounds, three steals and five turnovers in 30 minutes.
Temple started the previous game because Patrick Williams was out with a hip injury. With the rookie back in action tonight, though, Temple returned to his utility role off the Bulls' bench. He's been an unlikely low-end option in 9-cat, thanks to 1.9 triples, 1.0 steals, solid percentages and limited turnovers, but there's no reason to have him on your roster in points leagues. Tomas Satoransky returned from COVID-19 protocols tonight but only played 11 minutes, and we'll be watching to see if he eventually cuts into Temple's workload.
Daniel Gafford played well as a fill-in starter on Friday, posting seven points (3-of-4 FGs, 1-of-1 FTs), six rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 19 minutes vs. the Hornets.
Wendell Carter Jr. (thigh bruise) wasn't available after getting hurt at practice on Wednesday, which opened up 26 minutes and the starting job. Gafford, who recently earned praise from coach Billy Donovan, took advantage with an efficient line despite the low minutes. Carter Jr. was initially listed as 'doubtful' for this game, rather than being ruled out a day in advance, which suggests he won't be out too long. Chicago finishes this back-to-back set on Saturday, though, so Gafford may well get another start in a tough matchup vs. the Lakers.
Devonte' Graham scored a season-high 24 points on Friday, making 9-of-18 field goals with four 3-pointers, six assists, three rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes.
Graham's previous season high was 20 points and it was nice to see him play with efficiency -- he was 2-of-4 at the free throw line but only had one turnover. It could have been an even bigger night, since Graham scored 22 of his points in the first half, but fantasy managers will take what they can get at this point. Next up is a favorable back-to-back set vs. the Magic and rookie Cole Anthony on Sunday and Monday.
Miles Bridges didn't attempt a field goal in 19 minutes on Friday, finishing 2-of-2 at the line for two points, seven rebounds and four turnovers.
Bridges' adjusted usage rate has been low all season at 13.4%, but this took it to another level and coach James Borrego said afterward that Bridges "[has] to be better." Despite being tethered to the Hornets' bench, he's held onto low-end fantasy value with an emphasis on blocks (1.1 per game). Bridges won't hurt you anywhere, but the presence of P.J. Washington continues to drop his fantasy ceiling. Managers' hopes that his role would increase without Cody Zeller (fractured hand) were dashed, too, and with Zeller returning on Friday that ship has sailed. If you've been itching to cut him, do it.
Cody Zeller (fractured right hand) returned to action on Friday with five points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.
Zeller broke his hand in Charlotte's season opener, causing him to miss 13 straight games. The injury didn't seem to impact his shooting at 2-of-4 from the field, but he came off the bench behind Bismack Biyombo and may need a few games to reclaim his conditioning and the starting job (he looked winded tonight). He's worth grabbing if you need a center-eligible source of FG% and rebounds. Just don't expect much else in 20-25 minutes per game.
P.J. Washington played 33 minutes on Friday, making 7-of-14 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws for 16 points with four rebounds, two assists and one block.
Washington tweaked an ankle during Tuesday's practice but it was never a threat to his status tonight. He benefited from the fact that Charlotte hasn't played since last Saturday, giving them time to rest and work on their gameplan in practices. "We spent a lot of time on our fourth-quarter package, our execution," said coach James Borrego. They could have used a defensive tutorial instead, giving up 123 points on 51.6% shooting to the lowly Bulls tonight. PJW is central to what Charlotte hopes to accomplish this season, of course, so win or lose his 28.9 minutes per game should be set in stone.
Bismack Biyombo started the Hornets' home loss on Friday, posting six points, 10 boards, two assists and one block in 28 minutes.
Biyombo didn't play in the Hornets' season opener, then found himself starting the next 13 games in place of Cody Zeller (fractured hand). He's been serviceable both in reality and fantasy, where he's been a plus-contributor for rebounds (7.5), field goal percentage (52.6%) and especially blocks (1.5). Charlotte wants to keep using P.J. Washington at center, to free up power forward minutes for Miles Bridges, so Biyombo's rest-of-season outlook is dim. Expect his role to diminish as Zeller ramps up his conditioning and playing time.
Dwayne Bacon got hot on Friday with 16 points in 17 minutes vs. the Pacers, making 7-of-12 shots with a 2-of-3 mark from deep.
Bacon filled out his line with one rebound, one assist and one steal. He started Orlando's first 14 games due to absences for James Ennis and Evan Fournier, but with both of those guys healthy Bacon has seen his minutes slashed in a bench role. He doesn't seem likely to budge from the second unit, but the demotion shouldn't impact fantasy rosters since he was nowhere near value even in a starting role. Tonight's outburst was the third time all season he's scored more than 15 points, and he offers very little in other categories.
Aaron Gordon piled up 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, four 3-pointers, two blocks and six turnovers in 37 minutes on Friday, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the line.
Gordon is being asked to play as Orlando's de facto point guard for much of the game, so a learning curve was to be expected. He's averaging 4.3 turnovers over the past four games, but is also dishing out 7.8 assists in that span -- he's never averaged more than 3.7 dimes for a season in his career. One of his miscues cost Orlando the chance to win in regulation tonight, and they ultimately fell 120-118 in overtime, but Gordon's fantasy GMs still went home happy.
T.J. McConnell contributed six points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes off the Pacers' bench on Friday.
Indiana has yet to lose three games in a row this season, and they avoided doing so by pulling out an overtime win vs. the visiting Magic tonight. Doug McDermott had 10 points in the first quarter (finishing with 13) and Justin Holiday had all nine of his points in the first quarter, leaving the heavy lifting down the stretch to Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb and Malcolm Brogdon. As for McConnell, he's doing two things exceptionally well -- handing out assists (5.0 per game) and stealing the ball (at least two steals in each of his past six games). He won't hurt you anywhere, so that's enough for two-category specialist value.
Kelly Olynyk was held to two points (1-of-5 FGs) vs. the Raptors on Friday, picking up three fouls with one rebound, one assist, two steals and one turnover in 21 minutes.
The Heat were run out of the building in this one, falling to 6-8 on the season. He's coming off a 15/8/8 line with two triples which should keep him above the drop line, but the last week or so has been quite frustrating. He's still an 8th-round value on the season in 9-cat leagues with an intriguing stat set when he's rolling, so we recommend being patient here. The Heat have two games vs. the Nets coming up and they haven't played defense in weeks, so maybe that will get Olynyk going again.
Victor Oladipo had an off night vs. the Pistons on Friday, going 4-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line for 13 points, three assists, two rebounds, one steal, one block and one triple in 35 minutes.
It wasn't a great performance but we'll cut him some slack after averaging 27 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.5 triples with a 41.6(!) usage rate in his previous two games. The usage won’t hold when John Wall (knee) comes back on the 26th, but all signs point to Oladipo being a lot of fun in Houston. And while Christian Wood (ankle) is out for this back-to-back, Oladipo likes the partnership so far, saying it’s nice to play with a lob threat for the first time in his career. As for Saturday’s game, coach Stephen Silas said they won’t make a decision on whether or not to rest Oladipo until Saturday morning/afternoon, but the fact that he played 35 minutes certainly increases the chances of a DNP-rest.
P.J. Tucker matched his season-high with 15 points vs. the Pistons on Friday, adding seven rebounds, one assist, one block and three triples in 33 minutes.
A few more shots trickled Tucker's way tonight with Christian Wood (ankle) out for this back-to-back. Tucker had just two points in his previous game and remains a low-upside fantasy option as a source of triples, rebounds and steals. With the Rockets sitting at 5-9, the trade rumors have picked up and there's guaranteed to be some contenders calling about Tucker's expiring contract.
Marvin Bagley (sore left wrist) will start vs. the Knicks on Friday.
Bagley's status was never in doubt and he played 29 minutes despite being listed with the injury prior to Wednesday's game, so his playing time shouldn't be impacted. Deploy him as usual.
Nemanja Bjelica (personal reasons) will not play on Friday vs. the Knicks.
Bjelica recently fell out of the rotation so this doesn't have any fantasy implications.