NBA Player News

Sunday’s matchup wasn’t the easiest for Sarr, especially after the Rockets inserted veteran center Orlando Robinson into the lineup. The rookie missed all five of his 3-point attempts and did not attempt a free throw; his physicality will need to improve, but that should happen as Sarr adds muscle to his lithe frame. If anything, Sarr’s play shows why the Wizards signed Jonas Valanciunas in free agency. The veteran’s presence will help the rookie acclimate to the NBA without having too much responsibility immediately thrown his way.

Williamson participated in practice Saturday and at least has a chance of returning from his adductor injury against the Bulls on Sunday. The 25-year-old power forward was to be re-evaluated three weeks from December 3, but beat that timeline by about a week. Saddiq Bey will likely move back to the bench if Zion is available Sunday.

Butler had a relatively quiet outing on Friday, despite leading the Warriors in rebounds and tying for the most assists. He made only 2-of-4 shots in the second half and registered just one point in the fourth quarter. The veteran forward’s scoring has slowed down in December compared to the previous two months. He’ll be in solid shape from a fantasy basketball perspective if he can regain his form as a scorer.

Despite not shooting the ball well, Post was Golden State’s second-highest scorer on the evening — the majority of his production came from beyond the arc, where he shot 4-of-11. He also made a decent impact on the boards in his 33 minutes. And while Post’s performance on Friday was nothing spectacular, it marked the fourth straight game he’s scored in double figures. He’ll have chances to produce solid fantasy basketball numbers if Draymond Green (foot) and Al Horford (back) continue to miss time.

Curry returned from a five-game absence and rounded right back into form. The two-time MVP logged 32 minutes and was a missed free throw away from cracking the 40-point mark in his first game back. Still, the high-scoring outing featured strong three-point shooting and efficient scoring inside the arc, along with a brilliant fourth-quarter display of shotmaking that got Golden State back in the game. Curry tied a team-high with assists along the way, and will have a day off to recover before getting back on the floor on Sunday against the Trail Blazers.

On the heels of a two-point outing against the Suns, DiVincenzo bounced back nicely on Friday with his fourth 20-point game of the season. He hadn’t had a significant impact on the game through three quarters, but saved his best for the fourth. In the final frame, he recorded 10 points and knocked down two massive three-pointers to swing the momentum and ultimately help the Wolves get back in the win column. With Mike Conley (Achilles) and Anthony Edwards (foot) out on Friday, and Bones Hyland (knee) exiting early with an injury, there’s a chance DiVincenzo’s usage and production could take a jump in the short term.

After being ejected from Monday’s loss to the Suns, Gobert responded with one of his better performances of the season on Friday. In the win, the veteran center crossed the 20-point mark for the second time this season and pulled down double-digit rebounds to claim his 10th double-double. Most notably, Gobert came up big in the fourth quarter by going 6-of-6 from the field with a key basket down the stretch to help the Timberwolves get back in the win column. His numbers are down slightly this season, but he remains a nightly double-double threat.

Randle did a little bit of everything for the Timberwolves on Friday. The veteran forward led all Minnesota players in scoring, taking advantage of the charity stripe and efficient overall shooting. His work on the boards brought him close to a double-double, and he made several key passes down the stretch of the fourth quarter to help the Wolves land a bounce-back win. Randle has now tallied at least 20 points in four consecutive games and continues to provide value as a facilitator.

Mann won’t bring much to the table as a scorer, but the Nets starting a rookie point guard (Egor Dëmin) opens the door for him to occasionally have a night like he did on Friday. The seven assists matched Mann’s season-high, and fantasy managers also received solid value in steals and percentages. However, he is still ranked well outside the top-200 in eight-cat formats, so there’s no need to take the plunge following Friday’s performance. Dëmin only played 18 minutes in Dallas, finishing with three points (1-of-7 FGs), one rebound, one assist, two steals and one three-pointer.

One game removed from recording his second triple-double of the season, Claxton pushed his double-double tally to seven on Friday. The Nets center finished with a complete stat line, which included a 4-of-4 effort at the foul line. Claxton is making 70.3 percent of his free throws on the season, which would be the best mark of his career by a wide margin. In fact, Claxton has not finished a season making at least 60 percent of his free throws in his NBA career.

Wolf has scored at least 17 points in three of his last six games. But is he at the point where he can be trusted in a higher percentage of redraft leagues? Maybe so. Despite the inconsistent scoring, Wolf has been a 10th-round player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. While he certainly isn’t a must-add, deep-league managers can’t be blamed for considering Wolf well ahead of the “silly season” rush. The negative in the short term is the schedule, as the Nets face Milwaukee on Sunday, but they only have two games in Week 9.