Steven Adams attempted just four shots on Friday, making two of them to score four points with seven rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes.
Adams dealt with a migraine earlier this week, but it didn't stop him from logging 29 minutes on Wednesday and should be a non-issue going forward. He's been a seamless fit as the Pelicans' starting center, anchoring a defense that's allowed a league-low 37.8 points in the paint this season, but tonight the Lakers scored 42 in the paint en route to a 112-95 win. The Pelicans will look to bounce back in a favorable matchup vs. the Kings on Sunday.
Sindarius Thornwell dropped out of New Orleans' rotation on Friday.
Thornwell got a spot start on Wednesday, but he was scoreless with one rebound and one steal in 19 minutes. Evidently that did not compel coach Stan Van Gundy to play him more.
Buddy Hield (ankle) was held to nine points on 3-of-11 shooting with five dimes, one rebound, one steal and two triples in 29 minutes.
His shot hasn’t been falling, with Hield entering Friday’s game hitting a career-low 37% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc. He’s a career 41% shooter from deep, so hopefully some positive regression is coming. "I'm not going to shoot terrible like this for the rest of the season," Hield said. "It's a long season. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." Maybe a matchup vs. the Pelicans on Sunday will help him get it going.
Marvin Bagley had 20 points (8-of-12 FGs, 2-of-4 FTs), five rebounds, two assists, one block and two triples in a blowout loss to the Clippers on Friday.
There's no need to overreact here as Bagley padded his stats in garbage time with 12 points in the fourth quarter. Despite averaging over 25 minutes per game, Bagley hasn't even cracked the top-200 in 9-cat yet due to some holes in his game -- he's averaging just 0.6 blocks and 0.3 steals while hitting 57% from the line.
Cam Reddish was one of the few bright spots for Atlanta in their blowout loss to the Jazz, knocking down 8-of-13 shots on his way to 20 points, five rebounds, four triples and one steal in 28 minutes.
Cam had a brutal stretch in early January, but has started to turn things around to look like the breakout player many were expecting. Over his last three games, he's putting up top-70 numbers in 9-cat with 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 3.0 triples on 44% from the field. He's rostered in 54% of Yahoo Leagues but that number should shoot up soon as the Hawks continue to rely on him with Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) sidelined.
Mike Conley swiped four steals on Friday vs. Atlanta, adding 15 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two triples and two turnovers in 27 minutes.
What a difference a year makes. Conley is on pace for top-50 numbers in 9-cat and looks like one of the best values in fantasy basketball. “Last year was a tough year for me. I went through a lot personally," Conley said. "But, I was able to make progress and learn and piggyback that progress in the playoffs in the bubble. It’s so much easier with the same group of guys and the system. It’s made a big difference.” Nothing that he's doing on the stat sheet appears to be unsustainable, so we're keeping our expectations high moving forward with the Jazz finding their groove with four straight wins.
Rudy Gobert blocked four shots vs. the Hawks on Friday, adding 15 points, 13 rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes.
He was 6-of-7 from the field but struggled from the line (3-of-6 FTs), a common theme for him this season -- he's shooting a career-low 48%. He's a career 63% shooter from the line, so while some positive regression should be coming, his fantasy managers should just embrace a punt-FT% build. With that category factored out, Gobert shoots up from 62nd in 9-cat to 22nd.
Clint Capela played through a "right hand injury" on Friday vs. Utah, finishing with 16 points (8-of-9 FGs) and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.
He's averaging just 26 minutes per game which is his lowest workload in years, and things won't get any easier with rookie Onyeka Okongwu making his debut tonight. Capela's blocks per game (0.9) have been cut in half since last season and things have been brutal for him at the line with a 48% mark. He's not even ranked inside the top-100 for 9-cat, and while there is a chance to trade for him at a discount, just don't give up too much for a player with a troubling injury history and that will force you into a punt-FT% build.
Paul George had a strong showing vs. the Kings on Friday with 26 points (8-of-14 FGs, 6-of-6 FTs), four rebounds, two assists and four triples in 30 minutes.
George came into Friday’s game shooting a blistering 51.6% from beyond the 3-point arc, quite the turnaround after earning the nickname “Wayoff P” in the bubble. "Just shooting it with confidence and really just knowing the shots I'm going to get," George said. "I know what to look for, I know what to expect, I know how the shots are coming." His health is obviously a big reason for his success as well after some issues with his shoulders in the last couple years, and he’s starting to resemble the player that was No. 3 in standard leagues back in 2018-19.
Marcus Morris scored a season-high 18 points vs. the Kings on Friday with four triples, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes.
His minutes are slowly ramping up after missing the start of the season with knee soreness. Morris had a bump in touches tonight with no Lou Williams (hip) or Patrick Beverley (personal), and the Kings decided to take the night off defensively. Morris still has some work to do to be a standard-league pickup, especially since Nicolas Batum has been better than they were anticipating.
Reggie Bullock (right hip soreness) returned from a two-game absence on Friday vs. the Cavaliers and slid back into the starting lineup, finishing with four points, two assists, one rebound, two steals and one turnover in 31 minutes.
Bullock came into tonight ranked outside the top-250 in 9-cat for per-game value despite playing 28 minutes per game. With season averages of 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.5 triples, fantasy managers can do much better. Plus, Bullock will lose even more value when Alec Burks (ankle) returns in the near future.
Austin Rivers returned to a bench role with Reggie Bullock (right hip soreness) back on Friday vs. the Cavaliers, hitting 1-of-6 shots for two points with two rebounds, two assists and one turnover in 17 minutes.
Rivers had been getting a ton of burn with at least 32 minutes in five of his previous six games, but his production has left a lot to be desired with 11.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 dimes, 0.7 steals and 2.7 triples in that span. With Alec Burks (ankle) due back any day now and Immanuel Quickley starting to make some noise, things won’t be getting any easier. Rivers looks like a drop outside of very deep leagues.
Mitchell Robinson had a night to forget vs. the Cavaliers on Friday, hitting 2-of-5 shots and 1-of-2 free throws for five points, six rebounds, three steals and one block in 28 minutes.
Robinson landed really awkwardly in the first half, but played a couple possessions on one leg before coach Tom Thibodeau finally pulled him. He was able to play through it in the second half, but didn't seem quite right. Hopefully he's OK for Sunday's game vs. Boston. Robinson had been stellar on defense this season with opponents shooting 7.9% worse than their season average within six feet of the rim when Robinson is the nearest defender, but Drummond took his lunch money tonight on his way to a 33-point, 23-rebound night.
Elfrid Payton played just 20 minutes vs. the Cavaliers on Friday with nine points (4-of-7 FGs, 1-of-1 FTs), three rebounds, zero assists and three turnovers.
Yikes. He was a -14 in a 3-point loss and was benched down the stretch in favor of a red hot Immanuel Quickley. The rookie has put together two impressive showings in a row and the Knicks may be looking to make a change after five straight losses -- coach Tom Thibodeau said everything was on the table after the game. Payton is losing his grip on the starting job, in case that wasn't obvious.
Rajon Rondo (left knee soreness) returned from a six-game absence on Friday vs. the Jazz, playing 18 minutes with zero points (0-of-4 FGs), two assists and three turnovers.
There was some obvious rust but his teammates weren't much better. We did see some two-PG lineups tonight, a result of not having Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee). Rondo is only worth a look in very deep leagues as a source of dimes and steals.
Isaiah Roby earned another start for Al Horford (personal) on Friday, finishing an OT win with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and three assists.
The Thunder escaped with a 127-125 win to earn their first home victory of the season (1-5). Nothing suggests that Horford will be away from the team for an extended period, so Roby should soon resume playing 15-20 minutes in a reserve role. He's a solid rebounder with 3-point range (1-of-3 tonight), and is worth keeping in mind as the season progresses. Horford's contract may prove impossible to move this season, but if he's traded Roby could be handed a starting job by default.
Hamidou Diallo struggled offensively on Friday, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 14 minutes off the bench.
Diallo had three boards and three assists, but he'll be among the most-cut fantasy players after this dud. It continued a steep decline after he scored 23 and 25 points in consecutive games last week, and his playing time was usurped by 3-and-D specialist Lu Dort (40 minutes). OKC is ripe with opportunity for the 22-year-old swingman, but this inconsistency is making Diallo a frustrating guy to hold.
Darius Bazley (right ankle sprain) played 28 minutes vs. the Bulls on Friday, finishing with nine points (3-of-12 FGs, 2-of-3 FTs), five rebounds, two assists, two steals and four turnovers.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault had referred to Bazley's injury as "some sort of sprain ... [t]he severity remains to be seen." It didn't prevent him from suiting up two days after he got hurt vs. the Lakers, and the steals helped salvage some fantasy value. At some point, though, Bazley needs to start making shots. Over the past five games, he's averaging 6.6 points on 26.1% shooting. Yikes.
The Bulls blew a lead and lost to the Thunder in overtime on Friday, 127-125, despite Zach LaVine's 35 points, eight 3-pointers, seven rebounds, six assists and one steal.
LaVine had six of Chicago's 24 turnovers and he missed two potential game-winners at the buzzer in regulation and overtime. He finished 11-of-19 from the field and 5-of-9 from the line, and played 43 minutes while Coby White logged 44 minutes alongside him. "I don't particularly love the number of minutes Zach and Coby are getting, but we've been dealt that hand," said coach Billy Donovan. LaVine came in shooting a combined 53.9% over his past five games, he's matched a career-long streak with at least three 3-pointers in six straight games, and if you ignore his turnovers (4.1 per game) he's hitting first-round value in almost any fantasy format.
Ryan Arcidiacono was a healthy DNP-CD vs. the Thunder on Friday.
Arcidiacono was inactive for nine consecutive games, seven of which were due to COVID-19 exposure. It's great to see him healthy, but his fantasy value is nil as long as Coby White is healthy and playing massive minutes as Chicago's starting point guard.