NBA Player News

After scoring 20 points in Wednesday’s play-in win over the Bulls, Wiggins added 20 more on Friday and also approached triple-double territory. He may not have been the star that the Heat were hoping to bring back in exchange for Jimmy Butler, but he fits in well with this team and will help them be dangerous in the first round of the playoffs against the Cavaliers. That series will begin on Sunday.

Adebayo didn’t have a bad game offensively, but he really left his mark on the defensive end. As one of the premier defenders in the league, Adebayo was able to do a bit of everything to help Miami keep their season alive. His seven “stocks” matched his season-high, and he recorded his third straight double-double. Adebayo be tasked with slowing down Cleveland’s two seven-footers in the first round of the playoffs as the Heat look to pull off their second win over a No. 1 seed as a No. 8 seed in the last three years.

Mitchell only scored one point in the first half, but he came up big for Miami after the break. Mitchell scored 15 points in the second half, including nine points in overtime. Combined with his defense on Trae Young, Mitchell was instrumental in helping the Heat survive Atlanta’s comeback. He’ll continue to be an important reserve for Miami as they take on Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. He’ll do his best to slow down Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but he likely won’t contribute as much offense as he did in this game.

Daniels is a candidate to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year award, but he didn’t contribute much on the offensive end in Atlanta’s two play-in games. He scored a total of 18 points across both games, but he added 22 rebounds, 11 assists and five defensive stats in their play-in games. Daniels had an incredibly breakout season and should be rewarded with some postseason honors. After being one of the best late-round picks in the draft this season, he’ll be selected much earlier heading into next year.

Herro dazzled in Friday’s play-in tournament win over the Hawks, with timely baskets late in the fourth quarter and overtime to help Miami secure the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The sixth-year guard’s performance was his 12th consecutive having scored at least 20 points, with the Heat winning 10 of those games. Herro will look to stay hot on Sunday as the Heat take on the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their opening-round series.

Trae was able to hit some big shots down the stretch of this game to make his stat line look much better after a rough start. That included a layup with 1.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime. However, Miami was able to heat up in overtime, and the Hawks couldn’t keep up. Trae started off this season shooting worse than usual, but he ended up shooting 41.1 percent over the course of the year. Not great, but much better than how he started. He also set a new career high for assists per game, which is something he has done every year of his career. He may not be able to top 11.6 assists per game next year, but he will continue to be an elite source of points and dimes.

Okongwu was much better against Miami than he was against Orlando, but it wasn’t enough to change the result for the Hawks. Still, it was an excellent night in the box score for Okongwu, and it should have fantasy managers feeling encouraged ahead of next season. He took over as the Hawks’ starting center in January and averaged 15.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 triples after taking the job. He should remain in a starting role next season, which makes him an attractive option in category formats. He should be taken in the top-50 in drafts.

Risacher had a solid rookie season overall, but he didn’t end it on a high note. Risacher’s second postseason game was one to forget, and Quin Snyder didn’t leave him out there long to work through his struggles. He played 29 minutes on Tuesday, but he only played 16 minutes in Friday’s play-in loss. The No. 1 overall pick from last summer didn’t contribute much fantasy value in his rookie year, though he did have some big games sprinkled through the season. However, he’ll have to make some serious strides over the summer if he is going to be worth drafting in standard leagues next season.

Niang put together another strong outing on Friday to add to his recent stretch of good performances. Including Atlanta’s play-in tournament loss to the Magic, Friday’s double-digit outing marked the fourth consecutive for the nine-year forward out of Iowa State. Niang settled in nicely and found a role with the Hawks after being traded from the Cavaliers earlier this season. He’ll likely be a deep-league option in fantasy leagues next season.

As he has been saying all week, Morant will play in the Grizzlies’ play-in matchup with Dallas. Now, it’s finally official. Morant may be limited by the ankle injury, but he underwent an injection on Thursday, so he hopefully won’t be too limited. Regardless, expect him to play a significant role to try and keep their season alive.