NBA Player News

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported Lively is “trending toward” a return this week, and that could come against Atlanta. It will have been 2.5 months since Lively last played, so managers should expect him to be on a strict minutes restriction. However, between Lively and Daniel Gafford, there may not be many minutes left over for Kai Jones at center.

With Charlotte thin in the frontcourt, James will run with the first unit on Sunday. He’s a serviceable streamer for managers in need of guard stats, and he should handle a sizeable workload while LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann and Collin Sexton are out.

Salaün should handle his usual role off the bench. He’s been productive this season, but he hasn’t done enough to be worth rostering in standard fantasy leagues.

Nembhard should handle his usual workload, while T.J. McConnell will back him up. Bradley’s availability won’t impact Indiana’s rotation, and thus, it won’t have any impact in the realm of fantasy hoops.

Schroder was listed as doubtful on Saturday evening, but he’s now got a chance to take the court against the Timberwolves. If he’s available, Schroder could step back into the starting five, shifting Russell Westbrook back to the bench. Malik Monk and Keon Ellis (available) could also see a reduction in playing time.

No surprise here, as Maxey was listed as doubtful on Sunday evening. Maxey sat out Friday’s matchup with the Pacers, and Quentin Grimes replaced him in the starting five, posting a 10/9/4/1/1 line with a pair of triples. Grimes is likely to remain in the starting lineup for a second straight game.

Ant-Man will miss a second straight game, which means Bones Hyland (knee) could be in line for a spot start. Hyland, who has been upgraded to available, could see a boost in playing time with Mike Conley (Achilles) also on the sideline.

While Williams did not shoot the ball well on Saturday, fantasy managers will be pleased with the rebounds, assists and steals. His four pilfers were a season-high; Williams entered Saturday with seven steals across six appearances. J-Dub is providing third-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats, not far removed from his Yahoo! ADP (26). Unfortunately, the Thunder play just twice in Week 9, a Thursday/Friday back-to-back against the Clippers and Timberwolves.

Victor Wembanyama wasn’t the only post player making their return to action on Saturday. Hartenstein was back in the Thunder lineup after missing six games with a strained right calf, and his minutes were restricted. The 7-footer played 20 minutes and was productive, recording a complete stat line. Hartenstein doesn’t need a high usage to provide reliable fantasy value, but he is more “high floor” than “high ceiling.” Cason Wallace moved to the bench on Saturday, finishing with seven points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one three-pointer in 27 minutes.

Holmgren didn’t have the best night shooting the basketball, but the foul line helped boost the final point total. Having to deal with Victor Wembanyama for portions of Saturday’s game didn’t help, but there’s no need for fantasy managers to have any concern about Holmgren. He’s still providing excellent value in eight- and nine-cat formats, proving to be slightly more valuable in the latter. The Thunder play twice in Week 9, starting with the Clippers on Thursday.