Another Saturday, another great night of NBA basketball! The Celtics and Raptors faced off in a nail-biter, as did the shorthanded Hornets, who came away with a rare road victory in Atlanta. Alperen Şengün continued to shine despite the Rockets’ loss to Minnesota, and Evan Mobley delivered a dominant 38 points against Milwaukee.
Evan Mobley dropped a career-high in the Cavs W:
— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2023
38 PTS (career-high)
9 REB
3 AST pic.twitter.com/JuPtTxaiBv
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses Saturday, as Boston suffered a pair of key injuries.
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Marcus Smart went down with a nasty ankle injury in Saturday’s win over Toronto. To make matters worse, it was a non-contact injury. Smart came to take a handoff from Al Horford at the top of the key and badly turned his ankle. He was down for some time and had to be helped to the locker room.
A look at Marcus Smart's injury before heading into the locker room
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 21, 2023
We will keep you updated as we hear more pic.twitter.com/ekjQbiiHTs
Robert Williams also left the game early with a left knee hyperextension, and his status moving forward is very much up in the air.
With Smart and Time Lord out of action, Grant Williams took on an expanded role and provided his best game of the season. He finished with 25 points (7-of-13 FG), four triples, five boards, an assist and a block across 34 minutes. Williams blew past his previous single-game high of 20 points in the regular season and came within two points of equaling the 27 points he scored in last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7 in which the Celtics knocked out the Bucks.
Jayson Tatum (wrist) could be back as soon as Monday’s matchup with Orlando, so we won’t count on Williams scoring 25 on a regular basis. Offense aside, the former Volunteer has a fantasy-friendly skill set thanks to his ability to pass, rebound, play defense and stroke triples. Make sure to add him in all formats.
Here are some other names to consider:
Daniel Gafford (25%): Gafford had a scare Saturday night as he briefly went to the locker room with an undisclosed injury, but he ultimately returned and finished the game. The same could not be said for Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain) who didn’t finish the matchup with Orlando. Gafford has been a great fantasy option starting alongside KP, but with the Latvian big man out of commission, Danny G could be even better. Make sure to add him immediately and consider him a must-roster player in 12-team leagues. Rui Hachimura (15%) finished Saturday’s game with a career-best 30 points and should be on your radar as well.
DANIEL GAFFORD JUST MET MOE WAGNER AT THE RIM 😮😱😤 pic.twitter.com/aWFFaGhBCw
— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) January 22, 2023
Delon Wright (12%): You can’t go wrong with Wright. Seriously, this dude has been money over the last week, posting top-45 fantasy value behind averages of 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 dimes, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 triples across 25.0 minutes per contest. He had another great game Saturday with 15 points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals. Just like his teammate Gafford, Wright needs to be added in all formats.
Tari Eason (16%): Eason made his first career start Saturday against the Timberwolves, and he delivered a quality performance with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, an assist and a triple. He’s likely going to shift back to the bench once Jabari Smith is healthy, but it was encouraging to see Eason in the starting lineup, regardless.
KJ Martin (20%): Martin has started each of the Rockets’ last five games, and he’s been strong over his last three with averages of 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 dimes, 0.7 blocks and 2.0 triples. That production is good enough for top-105 value. With Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith banged up, it makes sense to add Martin, who finished Saturday’s loss to Minnesota with 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Kyle Anderson (61%): Slow Mo is still ridiculously under-rostered, which is a real melon-scratcher, considering how effective he’s been with Karl-Anthony Towns on the shelf. Rudy Gobert has been dealing with frequent injuries too, and Anderson has delivered his patented brand of boring yet bountiful stat lines that include valuable defensive contributions.
Josh Okogie (1%) had one of the best games of his career, going off for 24 points, 10 boards, four dimes, a steal and four blocks Saturday. Bismack Biyombo (2%) finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and three blocks as a spot starter filling in for Deandre Ayton, and Jock Landale (1%) had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 17 minutes off the bench. Landale is more of a deep-league play, but all three players can be picked up and used as one-game streamers Sunday as the Suns play the second game of a back-to-back set
Jericho Sims (8%): Sims has logged just 10.6 minutes per game in 25 contests alongside Mitchell Robinson. In nine games with MitchRob on the sideline, Sims’ playing time nearly doubles to 19.8 minutes. In those games, Sims has averaged 6.7 points, 6.6 boards, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals while shooting better than 80% from the floor. He started against Atlanta on Friday and posted 12 points, eight boards and two swipes across 28 minutes.
Gordon Hayward (59%): Look guys, this doesn’t make me happy either, but the man can provide top-100 numbers and more when he’s on the court. Hayward has averaged just over 48 games per season over his last three, but this late in the season and with no draft capital on the line, there is far more reward than risk. Charlotte is ridiculously undermanned right now, so Dennis Smith Jr. (30%), Mark Williams (11%) and Bryce McGowens (0%) are all worth a look as well.
Precious Achiuwa (18%): He’s outside the top-200 over the last week and hasn’t been doing enough to warrant an add until Saturday. Achiuwa posted a 17/11 double-double that included three dimes, two swipes and two blocks. Add with caution, knowing that he rarely posts defensive stats like this.
Isaiah Joe (3%): Hello Joe! After two seasons in Philadelphia to start his career, Joe has gotten the biggest opportunity to date in Oklahoma City. The guard is logging a career-high 14.4 minutes per contest, and while his playing time has been all over the map, he’s averaging an eye-popping 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 4.9 triples per-36 minutes. He’s scored 44 total points and hit 14 total threes (on 24 attempts) across his last two contests, so you could certainly do worse in deeper leagues.
You might also consider: Damion Lee (19%), Bismack Biyombo (2%), Joe Ingles (8%), Naz Reid (33%), De’Anthony Melton (67%), Montrezl Harrell (6%), Caris LeVert (50%)