NBA Player News

Add two more forwards to the 76ers’ list of injured players, with House and Morris joining Nicolas Batum on the sideline. KJ Martin, Furkan Korkmaz, and Jaden Springer can absorb the available minutes, but none are worth streaming in most fantasy leagues.

Grant returned to the floor for the first time in nearly a month on Thursday and provided the Blazers’ bench with a nice scoring boost. In just 23 minutes, the veteran forward utilized the free-throw line to help rack up points and ultimately finish as Portland’s second-leading scorer on the night. Grant also added a pair of blocks and a few assists along the way to provide a bit more fantasy production. How his role develops as the Blazers get healthier will be noteworthy from a fantasy basketball perspective.

Holiday logged 21 minutes in his third game back from a calf injury. The veteran guard posted a balanced stat line in his limited minutes, contributing as a scorer, rebounder, and passer. And as expected, Holiday made several plays defensively to impact the game. His numbers should improve as his minutes increase, but for now, fantasy managers must be patient in his return from injury.

While Bridges’ overall stat line was a bit lean, the offensive output was solid in the final game of the Knicks’ road trip. Before Thursday, he had not scored at least 20 points in a game since December 21. While Bridges isn’t expected to be a prolific scorer, he’s capable of offering more production than he’s managed over the past three weeks. And if Jalen Brunson (ankle) misses more time, the Knicks will need more scoring from Bridges.

With Jalen Brunson (ankle) unavailable, McBride moved into the starting point guard role on Thursday. And he performed well, matching his season-highs in points and assists. Rostered in 14 percent of Yahoo! leagues, McBride has been a top-100 player over the past two weeks. More should be learned about the severity of Brunson’s injury when the team returns home on Friday. Fantasy managers might as well add McBride before an announcement is made, just to be safe.

Sharpe stuffed the stat sheet in Thursday’s convincing victory over the Hawks. The fourth-year guard scored pretty well both inside and outside the arc and was able to capitalize at the FT line when fouls were generated. He also made an impact as a facilitator and as a rebounder, leading to another strong fantasy performance. He’ll have a chance to secure another strong outing against the Lakers on Saturday.

Podziemski had an excellent night at the office, missing one shot and recording a nice overall stat line. However, the reserve role has not been the best for him as far as fantasy value is concerned. Over the past two weeks, Podziemski has been ranked outside the top-150 in per-game value. While deep-league managers may want to hold onto him, managers in 12-team leagues need to seek alternatives, preferably via trade if possible.

Moody did his damage during the first three quarters of Thursday’s victory, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, with eight of those attempts coming from beyond the arc. Over his last two games, the 2021 first-round pick has knocked down 11 three-pointers. While fellow 2021 first-round pick Jonathan Kuminga requested to be traded on Thursday, Moody has carved out a consistent role for himself as part of the Warriors’ starting lineup. However, from a fantasy standpoint, he’s a three-point specialist at best.

After being limited to seven points in Tuesday’s win over the Trail Blazers, Curry was far more productive against the Knicks. He’s now scored at least 26 points in nine of his last ten games, providing first-round per-game value in eight- and nine-cat formats. Curry will look to end Week 13 on a high note when the Hornets visit on Saturday.