NBA Player News

He’s back, but struggled tonight. Charles Jenkins left with a sprained ankle tonight, so Nate should be a solid option going forward. Just check back to make sure his hamstring is good to go after his 23 minutes tonight.

Of the 29 points scored by the Rockets’ reserves on Saturday, Sheppard was responsible for 28 of them. The second-year guard had one of his best games of the season in Denver, with his complete stat line on Saturday including six three-pointers and five “stocks.” While there was optimism in some fantasy circles before the season began, few expected Sheppard to be a top-75 player in eight-cat formats. He’s rostered in 39 percent of Yahoo! leagues, which may be low despite Sheppard still coming off the bench.

At risk of losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Nuggets, Durant and the Rockets took care of business on Saturday. KD was efficient offensively, shooting over 50 percent from the field, and his final stat line was only missing a steal. For the season, Durant is providing top-25 per-game value in eight- and nine-cat formats, as expected. And the Rockets aren’t done with Week 9, as they visit the Kings on Sunday in the fourth game of a six-game road trip.

Watkins is out after being added to the injury report Saturday afternoon with an illness. His absence will open up some minutes for Justin Champagnie and Will Riley, but won’t significantly impact fantasy basketball.

Whitmore will not be available for Saturday’s game, but his absence does not affect fantasy basketball. He has not been in the Wizards’ rotation in recent games.

LeVert was initially probable for Saturday’s game, so the status upgrade was expected. However, with Duncan Robinson also available, LeVert’s fantasy ceiling will be limited. He can remain on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues.

Jakob Poeltl (back) will miss a second straight game due to a lower back injury that first became problematic during the preseason. Mamukelashvili, who scored 18 points in Thursday’s win over the Bucks, will fill the void. He’s worth streaming in deep leagues when allowed to start.