NBA Player News

Poole made his unofficial Pelicans debut on Friday, starting and playing 20 minutes in the team’s preseason victory in Australia. With Dejounte Murray (Achilles) sidelined, Poole stands to have the ball in his hands quite often to serve as an on-ball playmaker. However, that’s also the case for Zion Williamson (five assists, two turnovers), who led the Pelicans in assists on Friday and offered a slightly better assist-to-turnover ratio than Poole (four assists, three turnovers). Murray’s absence does raise Poole’s fantasy ceiling, but fantasy managers also have to consider that he’s adjusting to a new team.

Williamson was hard to stop on the offensive end of the floor, with all 13 of his baskets coming inside the paint. His interior dominance led him to reach the 30-point mark as a scorer for the fifth time this season. The former No. 1 pick didn’t provide much else aside from scoring, but his ability to put the ball in the basket on Friday was alone enough for a good fantasy performance.

Porter Jr. was one of three Milwaukee backcourt members to thrive against the Pelicans on Friday. He finished with at least 25 points, as did the other two Bucks guards, and he also led the team in assists. The veteran point guard has dished out at least seven assists in seven consecutive games, and could realistically extend his streak to eight against the Raptors on Sunday. He’s produced some good numbers since returning from early-season injury.