NBA Player News

James spent the first four years of his collegiate career with Tulane before transferring to Duke for his fifth and final season. The 6'5, 218-pound combo guard averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists with the Blue Devils last season, knocking down 41.3 percent of his three-point tries. James has the size needed to guard multiple positions, and he’s got a high basketball IQ, making him a threat on both ends of the court. Known more for his scoring ability at Tulane, James took on more of a facilitator role at Duke while also being the Blue Devils’ best on-ball defender. In Charlotte, he’ll look to earn an opportunity with a franchise that has been stuck in rebuilding mode for a while.

After scoring six points in back-to-back games, Raynaud reached double figures on Tuesday. The rookie center finished one rebound shy of a double-double, but he’s now played 35 minutes or more in four of his last six appearances. Raynaud’s offensive ceiling may be capped since he’s in a lineup with three ball-dominant players (Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan). But, over the past two weeks, he has been an 11th-round player in nine-cat formats. Despite the limited ceiling, Raynaud is worth rostering as long as the Kings are without Domantas Sabonis.

DeRozan shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc on Tuesday, the first time since December 18 (ten games) in which he’s made multiple triples in the same game. Fantasy managers don’t look to him for value in that category, but nights like Tuesday are helpful, considering the decreased scoring output. Compared to last season, DeRozan’s average (18.4) has declined by nearly four points. Because of the overall production and efficiency, he’s still offering top-50 value in nine-cat formats, but things could be better for the veteran guard/forward.

After playing 36 minutes off the bench in his first game back from a sprained ankle that sidelined him for nine games, LaVine was back in the starting lineup on Tuesday. The Kings did not have Keegan Murray, who will miss three to four weeks with a sprained ankle, so LaVine’s promotion did not come at the expense of Precious Achiuwa (nine points, nine rebounds, one steal, one block and one three-pointer in 22 minutes). LaVine recorded a complete stat line against Dallas, and he has the tools needed to threaten top-50 per-game value. Of course, that depends on how the Kings handle the trade deadline, as they should probably be “sellers.”

Williams entered Tuesday shooting a career-worst 18.8 percent from beyond the arc. However, his struggles did not prevent Cooper Flagg from passing the ball to the Mavericks’ guard, whose three-pointer with 33.9 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winning shot. Just as encouraging for the few who did not drop Williams is that his playing time has been solid recently. Despite coming off the bench, he’s played at least 24 minutes in five straight games, while Ryan Nembhard (three rebounds and four assists) has lost significant playing time and been bumped to the bench. For those who held onto Williams, keep doing so.

Davis didn’t have a good night shooting the basketball, but rebounds and blocked shots helped compensate. The 16 rebounds were one shy of his season-high, and the Mavericks’ forward/center has blocked seven shots over his last two games. With Daniel Gafford (10 points, 13 rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot) in the starting lineup, Davis can lurk more defensively, giving more opportunities to block shots from the weak side. While being the lone big on the floor may boost Davis’ offensive value, sharing the court with another big helps him defensively.

Flagg’s second stint as the primary playmaker in Dallas’ starting lineup has gone well. Through two games, the rookie has recorded 12 assists with just three turnovers. One of his six helpers on Tuesday set up Brandon Williams’ game-winning three-pointer with 33.9 seconds remaining. If Flagg can continue on this path of efficient playmaking, reaching his Yahoo! ADP (42) before the season concludes should not be difficult. There was an injury scare during Tuesday’s game, as Flagg left during the third quarter after banging knees with Sacramento’s Precious Achiuwa. However, after some time on the exercise bike, the rookie was back on the court later in the quarter.

The Magic wasted no time releasing their injury report for Wednesday, doing so a couple of hours after Tuesday’s loss to the Wizards. With head coach Jamahl Mosley saying on Tuesday that Suggs has not resumed on-court activities, his being ruled out for Wednesday is unsurprising. He may be closer to “week-to-week” than “day-to-day.”

Spencer stepped up as the Grizzlies go-to option down the home stretch with Ja Morant sitting out with a right calf contusion as he knocked down a clutch three-pointer and a step back jumper in the final two minutes to put Memphis ahead for good. The 25-year-old guard, who came a couple boards and helpers away from a triple-double in this one, has been hit-or-miss from a scoring standpoint but he should continue to see plenty of minutes, even if he ends up splitting time with Vince Williams, on a Memphis squad that is dealing with an avalanche of injuries.

Wembanyama was a force inside the paint and also knocked down 3-of-6 from three-point range in his return to San Antonio’s lineup following a brief two-game absence due to left knee soreness. The 22-year-old generational talent came off the bench in this one and fantasy managers should anticipate the Spurs putting a governor on his workload as he continues to deal with lingering physical issues. The limited opportunities haven’t prevented him from making a significant fantasy impact of late as he’s averaging an absurd 27.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.8 blocks in five games over the past two weeks.

Jackson came within one board of his third double-double effort of the season and reached the 20-point plateau for the eighth time in his last 11 games since December 15. The 26-year-old forward has underwhelmed from a fantasy standpoint this season, but his scoring numbers have gone up in recent weeks, which is an encouraging sign. He’ll be tasked with carrying Memphis on both ends of the floor as they deal with a plethora of injuries to key starters and reserves.