NBA Player News

This is an update from coach Terry Stotts earlier today saying that Swanigan was uncertain to head to Orlando. The Blazers should be OK without him in their rotation, especially with Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic ready to play and without restrictions. The Blazers will be allowed to sign a replacement player to their roster.

Castle was injured during the first half when he landed hard on the court after blocking a Rui Hachimura dunk attempt. While the second-year guard was able to walk back to the locker room under his own power, he did so slowly. The good news is that X-rays came back negative, but Castle is done for the night. Harrison Barnes entered the Spurs’ lineup to begin the third quarter.

Moved into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game, Jones appeared to be in a good spot to offer solid fantasy value. Unfortunately, things did not play out that way for the guard in his first start as a Maverick. Jones played 15 minutes, with Naji Marshall replacing him in the lineup to begin the third quarter. Between that and Brandon Williams (5/2/2/1) playing more minutes off the bench, this was not the most encouraging night for Jones or those who considered picking him up off the waiver wire.

Brooks has scored at least 23 points in three straight and eight of his last nine games. While the steals and blocks production has been limited during this stretch, the Suns’ wing has provided sixth-round value in eight-cat formats. While Brooks’ fantasy value for the season remains outside the top-100, he’s been more impactful than many fantasy managers expected him to be before the season began. The Suns end the pre-break portion of their schedule on Wednesday against the Thunder.

Mathurin made his Clippers’ debut on Tuesday, coming off the bench and playing 26 minutes. While his shooting accuracy wasn’t good, Mathurin’s minutes and scoring opportunities were encouraging. Add in the rebounds, assists and steals, and there’s some room for optimism regarding Mathurin’s fantasy potential for the rest of this season. He isn’t a must-roster player yet, but keep an eye on him, starting with Wednesday’s rematch with the Rockets.

Over the past two weeks, Collins has been a top-100 player in eight-cat formats, which exceeds his season-long value. Due to the trades of James Harden and Ivica Zubac, Collins boasts a higher fantasy ceiling than he did before those moves were made. However, for him to make good on that potential, he has to be more productive as a defender than he was against the Rockets. Hopefully, Collins can record a few steals and blocks in Wednesday’s rematch.