NBA Player News

Booker has had a few rough performances early on this season, but this has been an excellent two-game stretch for him. He has scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games, and he set a new season high for assists, steals and three-pointers in this one. Outside of a dud game against the Thunder, Booker has been excellent this season. He’ll continue to have the ball in his hands, and if he’s shooting the ball this well, the results will continue to be great for fantasy managers.

With both Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach in foul trouble, Bridges was able to step up on the glass. He ended up setting a new season high for rebounds in what has been an excellent start to the year for him, especially as of late. Over his last four games, Bridges has averaged 20.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.0 block and 3.0 triples per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the free throw line. He has been fantastic in fantasy basketball and will look to stay hot against the Rockets on Saturday.

Brooks’ scoring has dropped off this season, but he has made up for it with improved efficiency. However, he was able to do both in this game, which led to his best scoring performance of the season. Brooks has shot at least 55 percent from the floor in three of his last four games, which has helped his value in nine-category leagues. He likely won’t continue to shoot this well, but he certainly has the hot hand right now.

Head coach Jordan Ott made the call to replace Khaman Maluach with Ighodaro in the starting unit. Unfortunately, Ighodaro found himself in foul trouble throughout the game, which prevented him from providing much value. Ighodaro is worth considering as a waiver wire pickup, even if this first game as a starter was rough. He won’t do much scoring, but he’s a strong passer for a big man and has five blocks over his last three games.

All season long, da Silva has been a solid source of offense off the bench for Orlando, and he was able to provide that once again in this game. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to provide much outside of points and three-pointers, outside of a singular double-digit rebounding game last week. Aside from that night, da Silva hasn’t had more than four rebounds in a game. He’ll continue to score, but noting else will come consistently.

Carter has had a few 20-point games this season and a few 10-rebound games, but he hadn’t done both at the same time until this game. He also set new season highs for both categories in what ended up being his best performance of the season. WCJ has been excellent to start the year, though he has had a four poor games mixed in. In all likelihood, WCJ will continue to provide inconsistent value, with a combination of big games and duds mixed in.

With both Paolo Banchero (ankle) and Jalen Suggs (knee) out, Wagner has stepped up as the team’s primary playmaker. That has led to some incredible assist numbers this season. He matched his previous career high for dimes last week before setting it last weekend. He set a new career high for assists once again in this game. Wagner has taken on a lot of responsibility on both ends of the floor, but he hasn’t excelled as a scorer. Still, he has been productive in other categories while trying to keep Orlando afloat until they get healthier.

Despite coming off the bench, Ighodaro had actually been playing more minutes recently than Khaman Maluach, who he will replace in the starting unit. The minutes allocation may not be that different from the last few games, but it does bode well for Ighodaro’s value.

Barnes wasn’t initially on the injury report, but he now may miss a game for the first time this season. With Collin Murray-Boyles already in the starting lineup, Jakob Poeltl would likely return to the opening unit if Barnes is out.

Thiero will be available for the first time this season. It’s unclear how he’ll fit into the Lakers’ rotation, but if he’s able to be a rotation piece, he could end up providing some steals.