Quentin Grimes starts, scores 16 points vs. SAC

The three-guard starting lineup for the Spurs had a surprising effect. After leading the team in assists last season, Castle had far fewer assists than both De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. However, he ended up leading the team in scoring and set a new career high for three-pointers in a game. Castle should be used more as a playmaker in the future, but it was good to see him have a strong night as a scorer in this one.

Despite being written off after a rough Finals series, Fox is still a productive player, which he showcased in this game. He’ll continue to be an important piece for the Spurs this season, even if they continue to start all three of their guards. Fox led the Spurs in assists in this game after Stephon Castle led the team in dimes last season. If Fox is the primary playmaker this year for San Antonio, he may see a nice boost in production.

Harper got the starting nod as part of the three-guard lineup for San Antonio, and he was able to have a productive night in 32 minutes. There were certainly some holes to his fantasy game, most notably the shooting percentage and lack of defensive stats. However, he was able to flash why the organization is so high on him. If Harper remains a starter against the Rockets on Friday, he should be in for another productive night.

Well, this wasn’t how Wemby wanted to start the season. He was able to do enough at the free throw line to get to double figures and record a double-double, but this was an abysmal start to the season for him as a scorer. There is now reason for managers to be worried about this since this will likely be his worst offensive performance of the season. He’ll look to bounce back against the Rockets on Friday.

McCain was on fire from beyond the arc in this game and was able to spark some runs for the Thunder. He matched his career high for three-pointers in a game, which he also did twice during the first month of his rookie season. McCain was an excellent addition for the Thunder last season, and he’s going to continue to make an impact off the bench this year. However, managers shouldn’t be rushing to the waiver wire after this since he likely won’t have performances of this magnitude consistently.

The back-to-back MVP started his campaign for three straight with a statement performance against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. He somehow improved his game even more this summer, and it was on full display in the win. He was one of the top few picks in fantasy basketball drafts and was more than worth the early selection. He’ll look to stay hot in their home opener against the Nuggets on Friday.

It was a rough shooting night for Brunson, and he wasn’t able to capture the same late-game magic that brought the Knicks a championship last season. 15 of his 21 points came in the first half, but he shot just 2-of-10 from the floor after the break. He’ll be much better than he was in this game moving forward, and he’ll continue to be the focal point of the offense.

KAT dealt with a ton of foul trouble early, which limited him to just six minutes in the first half. He played 18 minutes in the second half and was still able to turn in a strong stat line, though it was a frustrating that he wasn’t available for most of the first half. That has been a bad habit of KAT’s at times throughout his career, but it isn’t something that should happen every game. He’ll look to fix that against the Celtics on Friday.

With Karl-Anthony Towns in foul trouble, Drummond played a much larger role than anticipated in his debut for the Knicks. He ended up recording a double-double before halftime, which has become a trademark for him. He should be a solid replacement for Mitchell Robinson, who they lost to the Celtics in free agency. KAT will get in foul trouble at times, but it will be difficult to rely on Drummond to play 24 minutes consistently to be able to produce to this level.

In his debut for his new squad, Simons was able to provide exactly what they were hoping he could when they brought him in: instant offense off the bench. He was questionable with a hamstring injury, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Simons may not have enough volume to be a strong option in fantasy basketball this season, but he’ll be an excellent role player for them and may have some streaming value as an injury replacement starter at times.