NBA Player News

Jackson only appeared in five games last season, as he ruptured his right Achilles tendon on November 2. The Pacers center, who recently agreed to a three-year deal worth $21 million, said Saturday that he’s anywhere from 80 to 90 percent healthy and expects to be ready for training camp. With the Pacers losing Myles Turner in free agency, Jackson is well-positioned to play significant minutes if healthy. Indiana also signed Jay Huff and James Wiseman, with the latter being on a non-guaranteed deal.

Sexton missed the preseason, and his Lakers debut will have to wait while he recovers from a right soleus strain. In Sexton’s absence, more minutes could be available for Ziaire Williams, Quentin Grimes and Bronny James.

With Kristaps Porzingis (illness) sidelined, the Warriors will have to rely on Draymond Green and Al Horford at center, offering rookie Yaxel Lendeborg the opportunity to see significant minutes right out of the gate. On the other side of the court, Walker Kessler could be in for a huge night against Golden State’s shorthanded and undersized frontcourt rotation.

Conflicting offseason reports noted that Morant could come off the bench, but the Blazers will play the pair of superstar guards together in Wednesday’s season opener against the Suns. Fantasy managers should pay close attention to this pairing and keep in mind that Portland may experiment with different lineups throughout the season.

The two-way guard is set to miss the season opener, but he’s simply a depth option in Dallas’ rotation. Howard’s availability won’t cause ripples in the fantasy basketball world.

Both Hawkins and Swain have caught a stomach bug that will sideline them for the season opener. Neither player’s availability has a meaningful impact in the realm of fantasy hoops.

The three-guard starting lineup for the Spurs had a surprising effect. After leading the team in assists last season, Castle had far fewer assists than both De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. However, he ended up leading the team in scoring and set a new career high for three-pointers in a game. Castle should be used more as a playmaker in the future, but it was good to see him have a strong night as a scorer in this one.

Despite being written off after a rough Finals series, Fox is still a productive player, which he showcased in this game. He’ll continue to be an important piece for the Spurs this season, even if they continue to start all three of their guards. Fox led the Spurs in assists in this game after Stephon Castle led the team in dimes last season. If Fox is the primary playmaker this year for San Antonio, he may see a nice boost in production.

Harper got the starting nod as part of the three-guard lineup for San Antonio, and he was able to have a productive night in 32 minutes. There were certainly some holes to his fantasy game, most notably the shooting percentage and lack of defensive stats. However, he was able to flash why the organization is so high on him. If Harper remains a starter against the Rockets on Friday, he should be in for another productive night.

Well, this wasn’t how Wemby wanted to start the season. He was able to do enough at the free throw line to get to double figures and record a double-double, but this was an abysmal start to the season for him as a scorer. There is no reason for managers to be worried about this since this will likely be his worst offensive performance of the season. He’ll look to bounce back against the Rockets on Friday.

McCain was on fire from beyond the arc in this game and was able to spark some runs for the Thunder. He matched his career high for three-pointers in a game, which he also did twice during the first month of his rookie season. McCain was an excellent addition for the Thunder last season, and he’s going to continue to make an impact off the bench this year. However, managers shouldn’t be rushing to the waiver wire after this since he likely won’t have performances of this magnitude consistently.