NBA Player News

Creek was waived to make room on the roster for Drew Gordon.

After dropping 30 points in Friday’s win over the Heat, Brown is expected to miss the second leg of Boston’s back-to-back. During his previous absence, Sam Hauser moved into the starting lineup, though Josh Minott and Baylor Scheierman also saw a bump in minutes off the bench.

Poeltl was initially listed as questionable for this game but is now on track to miss it. This is expected to be a second straight absence for him, which will likely lead to another start for Sandro Mamukelashvili, who scored 18 points as a starter in Toronto’s last game.

Kuminga didn’t make the initial injury report, but there is now a chance he isn’t available to suit up. He had been out of the rotation for a few games, but Steve Kerr played him about 10 minutes in the Warriors’ last outing. In other words, Kuminga’s status won’t impact Golden State’s rotation.

LeVert was initially questionable for this game, but he has been upgraded and is on track to suit up. With Duncan Robinson (knee) also probable, LeVert should occupy his typical reserve role, which hasn’t led to much fantasy production this season.

YKN wasn’t originally on the injury report, but he has now been ruled out for a second straight game. However, his role this season has been minimal, so his absence won’t impact the Clippers’ rotation.

Caruso didn’t do much scoring, but the rebounds and blocked shots would make many post players proud, much less a guard like himself. He finished Friday’s defeat with season-highs in both categories. Caruso didn’t record any steals, but that’s the category in which he’s excelled recently. On Friday, his streak of four straight games with at least two steals came to an end, but he’s still averaging a career-high 1.8 per game.

After shining in Thursday’s rout of the Clippers, Holmgren was comparatively quiet on Friday. If there has been an issue for the 7-foot-1 forward/center over the last week, it has been the limited production in assists and steals. He’s averaged 0.7 assists and 0.3 steals over the past week, and Holmgren’s blocks average for the season is also down compared to his first two seasons. He remains a top-50 player for the season, but Holmgren has more to give.

Williams didn’t have the best night shooting the basketball, but the more important takeaway was that he was available for both ends of Oklahoma City’s back-to-back. After logging 29 minutes in Thursday’s win over the Clippers, he played 32 minutes against the Timberwolves. J-Dub has been a third-round player since returning to game action, which aligns with his Yahoo! ADP (26). Oklahoma City begins its Week 10 slate with a Monday/Tuesday back-to-back, and that should not be an issue for Williams.

Another day, another 30-point stat line for the reigning NBA MVP. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points in 21 of the 26 games he’s played this season, and all that his stat line lacked on Friday was a three-pointer. As expected, SGA continues to rank among the elite in fantasy basketball, with only Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama being more valuable. Oklahoma City is done for Week 9, but the champs play four games in Week 10.

Gobert has not always been part of the closing lineup this season, but his rebounding production has been consistent. He’s reached double digits in that category in four straight games, a stretch that includes two double-doubles. Gobert’s overall fantasy value has been disappointing this season, but he has been close to a top-50 player in models that punt free-throw percentage. Minnesota ends Week 9 on Sunday against the Bucks.