NBA Player News

Smart is looking to catch on with the 76ers after spending last season with the Birmingham Squadron in the NBA G League. Becoming a more efficient offensive player while also showing that he can contribute defensively would go a long way toward making that happen, and Smart played well against the Jazz. That said, he may be playing for that third two-way contract this summer, even though the 76ers currently only have 10 players under contract for next season. Rookies Ricky Council IV and Terquavion Smith have already been signed to two-way deals.

It was a rough shooting night for Brunson, and he wasn’t able to capture the same late-game magic that brought the Knicks a championship last season. 15 of his 21 points came in the first half, but he shot just 2-of-10 from the floor after the break. He’ll be much better than he was in this game moving forward, and he’ll continue to be the focal point of the offense.

KAT dealt with a ton of foul trouble early, which limited him to just six minutes in the first half. He played 18 minutes in the second half and was still able to turn in a strong stat line, though it was a frustrating that he wasn’t available for most of the first half. That has been a bad habit of KAT’s at times throughout his career, but it isn’t something that should happen every game. He’ll look to fix that against the Celtics on Friday.

With Karl-Anthony Towns in foul trouble, Drummond played a much larger role than anticipated in his debut for the Knicks. He ended up recording a double-double before halftime, which has become a trademark for him. He should be a solid replacement for Mitchell Robinson, who they lost to the Celtics in free agency. KAT will get in foul trouble at times, but it will be difficult to rely on Drummond to play 24 minutes consistently to be able to produce to this level.

In his debut for his new squad, Simons was able to provide exactly what they were hoping he could when they brought him in: instant offense off the bench. He was questionable with a hamstring injury, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Simons may not have enough volume to be a strong option in fantasy basketball this season, but he’ll be an excellent role player for them and may have some streaming value as an injury replacement starter at times.

Despite not having much success with his shot, Embiid was still able to make a monster impact in this game. He recorded a double-double, was effective as a playmaker, and still contribute some defensive stats. There are plenty of questions about how Embiid will hold up this season, but when he’s on the floor, he’s still one of the most dynamic players in the league. He should be much better as a scorer moving forward as well.

Even with all the roster changes, this is still going to be Maxey’s team. While spoiling the Knicks’ ring night, he was assertive on both ends of the floor and truly stuffed the stat sheet. Having more playmaking and scoring threats around him will only make things easier on him, and it’s clear he’s not going to have to sacrifice much volume. Those who took Maxey at the end of the first round in fantasy drafts may end up reaping some major rewards.

Brown’s first game as a Sixer highlighted both the good and bad of what he could provide this season. The volume that he had in Boston, especially last season, simply wasn’t there, but he was more efficient than he has been throughout his career. Perhaps more defensive contributions, like we saw in this game, could be another bonus due to less responsibility on offense. The sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions other than Brown was productive in his debut.

Year 24 for LeBron started off well. He wasn’t explosive as a scorer, but he isn’t expected to be for this team. Facilitating and staying fresh for the playoffs will be LeBron’s priority. Still, he was involved on offense, and if he made a few more shots, he shot enough that he would’ve been over 20 points. LeBron should once again be a productive fantasy player this season and could end up paying off at his early fourth-round ADP.

Beal will likely be asked to play a significant scoring role for the Clippers this season, but he won’t be able to provide that for at least one game. Gradey Dick and Kobe Sanders will likely take on extra minutes with Beal sidelined.

Kennard exited early from Wednesday’s preseason game, and that same injury may prevent him from suiting up for the season opener a week later. Jordan Goodwin will likely be tasked with taking on a larger bench role if Kennard is unavailable.