NBA Player News

Bassey injured his leg on Tuesday night, and the initial diagnosis would be that he would be done for the rest of the season. The team confirmed the report on Wednesday, which means Zach Collins and Khem Birch should play the majority of the minutes at center for the rest of the season. Both of those guys will miss Wednesday’s game, so Gorgui Dieng should step into big minutes.

While Raynaud has not been a top-100 player over the past two weeks, Thursday’s performance will raise eyebrows among fantasy managers. Not only did the rookie center record his second double-double, but he also established new highs in points and rebounds. All that was missing from Raynaud’s stat line was a blocked shot, but he’s totaled only nine in 19 appearances. With Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks out, Raynaud should be rostered in more than 15 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

One game removed from dropping 35 points on the Warriors, Grant had another good night on Thursday. He’s scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games, and the forward’s nine rebounds were a nice bonus for those who have him rostered. Rostered in 43 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Grant has been a top-50 player in nine-cat formats over the past two weeks. Given that production, now would be a good time to roll the dice on Grant, especially with the Trail Blazers facing the Kings again on Saturday.

Clingan, who entered Thursday shooting 79.5 percent from the foul line, struggled mightily at the charity stripe against the Kings. Making well below 50 percent of his attempts, the 7-foot-2 center missed three of four attempts in the final 33 seconds of overtime. That opened the door for the Kings to potentially steal the game, but Deni Avdija’s free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining were the difference. Clingan was productive across the board, and his foul shooting throughout the season is why fantasy managers should not be too concerned about what they saw on Thursday.

Sharpe was rolling in the first half, scoring 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. Unfortunately for him and those who have the Trail Blazers guard rostered, he cooled down considerably after halftime. Sharpe was just 3-of-13 from the field in the second half, so what could have been an outstanding night was merely a good one. Over the past two weeks, Sharpe has been close to a top-50 player in eight-cat formats, pushing his season-long value into the top-100.

Portland blew significant leads late in regulation and overtime, but Avdija came to the rescue to help the Blazers avoid a terrible loss. His two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime gave Portland the 134-133 victory, and the wing finished with his eighth 30-point game of the season. While turnovers, of which he had five, remain an issue for Avdija, the overall production has been elite. And he’s doing this while being asked to serve as the primary playmaker as Portland awaits the return of Jrue Holiday. With the new All-Star Game format, it would be unsurprising if Avdija made his way to southern California in mid-February.

Butler had one of his better games Thursday with 31 points in the loss to the Suns. That’s as many points as Butler had in the previous two games. The 36-year-old small forward hadn’t scored at least 30 points since November 18. Butler’s production in the other categories has been consistent and higher scoring can only add to his value. The Warriors finish up the week with another meeting with the Suns on Saturday.

Booker was just 2-of-6 from behind the three-point line against the Warriors on Thursday after missing all five of his three-point attempts against the Lakers on Sunday. The 29-year-old shooting guard is still finding his three-point shot since returning from a groin injury two games ago. The Suns finish up the week with a rematch with the Warriors on Saturday.