NBA Player News

Beal and O’Neale have been downgraded from questionable to out, joining Kevin Durant on the sidelines. Their absences free up playing time for Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones and Bol Bol. Whoever receives the starting nod for Durant will be worth streaming, especially if it’s Allen who moved into the lineup.

George had a strong performance on Wednesday, hitting the 25-point mark for the 22nd time this season and falling one assist shy of a double-double. He continues to struggle with his three-point shot, however, which is one of the very few things that haven’t worked in his favor during his career-best season. Nonetheless, George remains one of the most improved players in the NBA this season and has been a productive guard across fantasy basketball leagues.

Coulibaly played only 10 minutes before leaving Wednesday’s game with lower back tightness. His absence will free up additional minutes for rookie Will Riley and AJ Johnson. Neither offers much fantasy value right now, but that could change during the silly season, especially for Riley.

Sensabaugh was sensational against the Bulls on Wednesday, draining five three-pointers en route to the first 40-point game of his career. His night started quickly, scoring 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the first quarter alone. He then scored 11 more points over the next two periods before doubling that amount in the fourth to nearly lead the Jazz to victory. Sensabaugh has now scored 25 or more points in two of his last three appearances. He’ll have a chance to log another productive outing on Thursday against the Mavericks.

Flagg rolled his left ankle while on defense during the first quarter of Wednesday’s game. While he did return briefly later in the half, it was announced early in the third quarter that he would not return. Ryan Nembhard started the third in Flagg’s place. The rookie finished with six points, one rebound and one assist.

White struggled in his first game back from a calf injury that sidelined him in Tuesday’s loss to the Rockets. He was limited to 30 minutes of action on Wednesday and didn’t have his usual impact as a scorer. He also logged five turnovers and struggled with his ball security, despite being having a good game as a facilitator. White is having a down season relative to his recent campaigns, but he will have a chance to bounce back on Friday against the Nets.

Donsunmu bounced back from an unspectacular performance against the Rockets to put up some solid numbers in a winning effort against the Jazz on Wednesday. The fifth-year guard scored efficiently and was impactful with his playmaking against Utah to finish as one of Chicago’s top scorers and assisters. The double-figure scoring performances marked the sixth of January for Dosunmu, who continues to have one of his best seasons as a pro.

Vučević had himself another productive performance on Wednesday, going for 20 or more points for the third time already in January and reaching the 30-point mark for the first time all season. Efficient shooting led to his season-high, and the veteran center was also impactful as a facilitator in this game. He finished as Chicago’s leading scorer on the night in the win and will have a chance for another strong outing on Friday against the Nets.

Making his third start and second in as many games, Powell dropped a season-high point total on Wednesday. Add in the rebounds and field-goal percentage, and this was a solid effort from the rookie. Powell played only 24 minutes, in part because of Cam Thomas being available. The playing time may limit Powell’s upside in the short term, but that shouldn’t be an issue after the All-Star break.

Remember when Dëmin’s shooting was the most significant question that draft analysts had about him? The rookie guard has shot the ball well from three, knocking down nearly 40 percent of his 6.1 attempts per game. Dëmin knocked down five on Wednesday while also recording five assists. Rostered in 18 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he has been a top-75 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. There’s no need to wait for the trade deadline to add Dëmin; do it now.