Darius Garland (right shoulder) is questionable for Frdiay's game against the Nets.
It sounds like Garland was close to playing on Wednesday and we're guessing he'll be good to go tomorrow night. But be sure to check back just before game time as the Cavs have already had some painful late scratches for fantasy managers this season.
Dylan Windler (hand) is questionable to play on Friday against the Nets.
He skipped Wednesday's game with the belief he'd play on Friday so we're a little surprised he's not listed as probable. Nevertheless, we're guessing he'll be back in action on Friday.
Chris Silva is questionable to play on Friday against the Raptors due to a hip injury.
It's unclear how severe Silva's injury is, but the forward has fallen out of the rotation since many Heat players have cleared COVID protocols. He's didn't touch the floor in Miami's last two games and played just five minutes on Saturday. Leave him on the waiver wire.
Gabe Vincent is probable to play on Friday against the Raptors despite knee soreness.
Vincent played 28 minutes as a starter on Wednesday, so it's unsurprising that he's likely to play again on Friday. His fantasy value will depend on Tyler Herro's status, as Herro's listed as questionable due to neck spasms. Still, Vincent's scored just 10 points with three assists and two rebounds without a defensive statistic in his last three games. He can be left on the waiver wire.
Garrett Temple (ankle soreness) was a full go in Thursday's practice.
Temple had been limited the day prior due to soreness in his ankle, but he was a full go for Thursday's session. So he should be available to play in Friday's game against the Hornets. Depending upon the status of Patrick Williams (hip stiffness), Temple could be in line to make another start.
Michael Carter-Williams is questionable to play on Friday against the Pacers due to a foot injury.
Carter-Williams hasn't played since January 4th but participated in non-contact practice drills and looks closer to returning. MCW isn't a strong fantasy play, and will likely be a backup to rookie Cole Anthony.
Wesley Matthews (right Achilles soreness) is listed as probable for Thursday's game against the Bucks.
Matthews played 15 minutes off the bench in Monday's loss to the Warriors, and he should take on a similar role Thursday night. The veteran guard, who will be playing against his former team, does not offer much in the way of fantasy value at this point in his career. Leave Matthews on the waiver wire.
Derrick Favors (right knee soreness) is listed as probable for Thursday's game against the Pelicans.
Favors played 16 minutes in Tuesday's win over the Pelicans, tallying nine points and seven rebounds. Look for him to take on a similar workload in the rematch. Favors doesn't offer much in the way of fantasy value, so he can be left on the waiver wire.
Daniel Gafford has made a positive impression on Billy Donovan by the way in which he has handled inconsistent playing time, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Rob Schaefer.
Gafford has been in a tough spot this season, as in addition to starter Wendell Carter Jr. the Bulls have also used Lauri Markkanen and Thaddeus Young at the center position. On some nights, especially when Chicago is up against a smaller opponent, that has left the second-year big on the outside looking in. But that hasn't impacted the way in which Gafford has approached his job, which has made an impression on Donovan. "I give him a lot of credit because if there's one guy on our team that's been inconsistent minutes-wise its been him," Donovan said of Gafford after Wednesday's practice. "And it has nothing to do with the way he's playing or not playing as much as it's like, we've got an opportunity to throw Lauri at the 5 (center), this may be a good look against a specific team." With Carter's status for Friday up in the air due to a thigh injury, Gafford could be in line for rotation minutes. That isn't enough to make him a fantasy asset, but his shot-blocking ability makes Gafford a player worth tracking.
2021 NBA Draft prospect Kai Sotto has opted out of the start of the G-League bubble in order to represent the Philippines in international play.
Sotto, a 7-foot-3 center who is playing for the G-League's Ignite team, will not be in Orlando when teams begin to arrive on January 26. He will instead prepare to play three games with the Philippines: two against South Korea (February 18 and 22) and one against Indonesia (February 20). “The G League agreed for me to meet my previous commitments to play for the national team,” Sotto told Forbes.com's Adam Zagoria. “They have asked for me to immediately report back to the bubble after my last national team game.” The Ignite team, which is coached by Brian Shaw, is a mixture of young NBA prospects and veterans who have prior G-League and/or NBA/international experience. Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, who are projected lottery picks, are also on the team.
James Wiseman went 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from the stripe on his way to 20 points in Wednesday's blowout win over the Spurs.
Wiseman added six rebounds and four assists in his 25 minutes of floor time, and he likely would have had an even better stat line had the game not been a blowout. Some defensive stats would have been nice, but at least he finished the game without a single turnover after committing five over 13 foul-plagued minutes on MLK Day.
Andrew Wiggins (knee) scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting (1-of-3 FT) Wednesday, to go with three triples, seven rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 31 minutes.
Wiggins was initially listed as questionable heading into today's game with a minor knee issue, but the fact that he played and logged significant minutes in a blowout win tells us there's not much to worry about here. Wiggins is averaging his lowest-scoring numbers (17.8) since his rookie year in Golden State, but he's uncharacteristically getting his points efficiently (52.4 EFG%), while sending away a career-high 1.5 shots per game, which has him flirting with top-75 value if you ignore the free throw shooting (68.8).
Dejounte Murray scored 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting Wednesday, to go with six rebounds, three assists, one 3-pointer and two steals over 30 minutes in a blowout loss to the Warriors.
Murray was a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe in this one, and he also finished the game without committing a single turnover. DeMar DeRozan went 3-of-8 from the floor and 9-of-9 from the line on his way to 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and two turnovers across 25 minutes in the 22-point loss.
Lonnie Walker went just 1-of-6 from the field on Wednesday for one 3-pointer, three rebounds and one turnover in a blowout loss to the Warriors.
Walker hurt the thumb on his left (non-shooting) hand back on Jan. 14, and he's been awful ever since, with three straight single-digit scoring performances. Over that three-game stretch, Walker has been connecting on just 23.8% of his shot attempts to go with averages of 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and not much else in 27.1 minutes a night. He belongs on the waiver wire in most leagues.
Keldon Johnson couldn't get his shot to drop on Wednesday, going 2-of-12 from the field for 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one turnover in 27 minutes.
While Johnson couldn't get any of his shot attempts to fall through the bucket, he still managed to find a way to be effective, by going 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. The second-year forward got abused with the Kelly Oubre treatment tonight, but we'd anticipate a bit of a bounce-back performance on Friday vs. Dallas.
Terence Davis (hip) looked good in 24 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, registering 16 points, four rebounds, four 3-pointers, one assist, three steals, one block and two turnovers in a loss to the Heat.
Davis has been in-and-out of the rotation this season, but he always tends to produce when he's allowed to eclipse the 20-minute mark, so it'll be interesting to see if he's able to force Nick Nurse to make some adjustments to his regular rotation after this game. Norman Powell has been awful, so if Davis can Wally Pipp him, he could have some value in deep leagues. For now, just put him on your watch list.
LaMarcus Aldridge was held to just four points on 2-of-8 shooting in Wednesday's blowout loss to the Warriors, adding three rebounds and one block over 23 minutes.
Aldridge came alive for 22 points in Monday's MLK Day win over Portland, but he found himself back in the gutter tonight with another single-digit performance. On Monday, he got a majority of his shots in the midrange, but today he reverted to his long-range ways while failing to connect on a single 3-pointer. He's now shooting just 25% on a career-high 3.7 attempts from distance, and while he's converting on 50% of his midrange attempts, those shots make up a career-low 14.3% of his total shot attempts. Something needs to change.
Eric Gordon hit 9-of-20 shots and three 3-pointers for 22 points, two rebounds, two assists and nothing else in Wednesday's loss to the Suns.
He missed a couple games with the injury and bounced back with 21 and 22 points on Monday and Wednesday with three 3-pointers in each game. He's getting healthy again and should remain a 3-point specialist for the Rockets, but don't look for him to rack up a ton of peripheral stats. Especially with Victor Oladipo playing so well for his new team.
Victor Oladipo hit just 7-of-22 shots, a 3-pointer and 7-of-7 free throws for 22 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, a block and just two turnovers in 31 minutes on Wednesday.
He had 32 points and a fun line in Monday's Rockets' debut and Dipo is averaging 27 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.5 3-pointers in his two games as a Rocket, and he's hit 20-of-45 shots with Houston. His shot has been a little shaky this season but should improve, while the rest of his numbers have been solid. He looks like a good fit with his new team.
Paul George shot 8-of-14 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line in Wednesday’s win over the Kings, tallying 19 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists, one steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers in 32 minutes.
The only negative for George in this one was the turnover account, as he was responsible for a team-high six on the night. But that isn’t a major concern, especially for fantasy managers who have him in leagues that score assist-to-turnover ratio as opposed to turnovers. For the season George is averaging nearly four turnovers per game, which is why he’s providing second-round value in 9-cat formats (first-round value in 8-cat).