NBA Player News

That will clear space for newly acquired Jared Jordan to compete for the third-string point guard job. That said, he’s still behind Stephon Marbury, Mardy Collins and Nate Robinson on the depth chart, so he may still be a long shot to make the team.

Win or lose, Leonard continues to produce at a high level consistently. His 29 points were his most in a game since he missed three games with a knee injury, and this came on the second night of a back-to-back, which would have been unheard of for Leonard just two years ago. He has been fantastic all season and will look to stay hot against the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

SI’s Chris Mannix also reported that the Clippers and Cavaliers are discussing a deal that would center around a swap of Harden and Darius Garland. Desperation tends to rise when pressure increases, and the trade deadline will do just that for teams that are looking to contend. Harden has missed the last two games due to personal reasons, and it seems there is a real possibility he has played his final game as a Clipper.

Williams was pushed back to the bench after starting the Grizzlies’ last game, but that didn’t stop him from having a productive night. He was one of seven players to score in double figures for Memphis, including three from off the bench. Williams matched his season high for scoring, and he was still able to contribute value in other categories. Williams hasn’t been productive like this in a while, so this doesn’t make him worth rostering in standard leagues.

Jerome remained on a minutes restriction, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing incredible value. Through two games, he is averaging 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 triples in just 20 minutes per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. The absence of Ja Morant has allowed Jerome to immediately start after missing the first three months of the season, and he should be considered a must-roster player now. He’ll look to stay hot in Sacramento on Wednesday.

Following a one-game absence with a quad injury, Jackson returned to the lineup against Minnesota. That was enough to help snap a six-game losing streak. This was Jackson’s fourth 30-point game of the season, and this was a new career high for free throws made in a game without a miss. He wasn’t able to supply as many defensive stats as he typically does, but the added impact on offense helped make up for that. It was a slow start to the year, but Jackson has been a fantasy star in recent weeks.

DiVincenzo’s production has come inconsistently this season, but he’s still capable of getting hot and pouring in the points. He shot over 70 percent for the first time this season while still contributing plenty of triples and steals. This was the 15th straight game that he hit at least two three-pointers, and he has swiped at least one steal in all but two of those games. January was a productive month for him, and he has started February off well.

McDaniels has been on a heater recently, which continued in this game. This was the third straight game that he scored at least 20 points, and he has averaged 23.3 points and 4.3 triples while shooting 69.2 percent from the floor during this stretch. He’s enjoyed arguably the best season of his career thus far, but he has taken his scoring up a notch recently. He’ll look to stay hot in Toronto on Wednesday.

It has been nearly two months since Edwards last scored less than 20 points in a game, and this was the second game in a row that he scored at least 30 points, with both games being played in Memphis. However, they ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard in this one, which ended a four-game winning streak. He is having the best season of his career by averaging a career high for points while also having the best field goal and three-point percentage of his career. He’ll look to stay hot in Toronto on Wednesday.

Thompson had a subpar night from the floor, but he was able to pour in the counting stats to make up for it. He came close to recording a triple-double and was still able to make a big impact on the defensive end. Thompson started the year off slowly, but he has turned into the player that managers were hoping he would be when they took him in the second and third rounds of fantasy drafts. He’ll look to keep this going against the Celtics on Wednesday.

With Kevin Durant (ankle) sidelined for this game, Sheppard started for the first time since Dec. 1 and was able to get off to a strong start by scoring 11 points in the first half. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to add any more points after the break, though he was able to contribute in other categories to make this a well-rounded stat line despite it being a subpar shooting night for him. This isn’t expected to be a long-term absence for Durant, but if he remains out against the Celtics on Wednesday, Sheppard could get another start.