NBA Player News

Alvarado played 12 minutes off the bench before going down with the injury, accounting for one rebound and four assists. He’ll be re-evaluated once the Pelicans, who played two games in Melbourne, return to New Orleans. Rookie Jeremiah Fears started Saturday’s 127-92 victory and looked more comfortable than he did in his preseason debut two days prior. In 24 minutes, the lottery pick accounted for 12 points, one rebound, three assists and one three-pointer. With Dejounte Murray (Achilles) still sidelined, Fears will have a more critical role within the rotation if Alvarado’s injury is serious.

Over the past two weeks, Collins has been a top-100 player in eight-cat formats, which exceeds his season-long value. Due to the trades of James Harden and Ivica Zubac, Collins boasts a higher fantasy ceiling than he did before those moves were made. However, for him to make good on that potential, he has to be more productive as a defender than he was against the Rockets. Hopefully, Collins can record a few steals and blocks in Wednesday’s rematch.

After dropping 41 points in Sunday’s win over the Timberwolves, Leonard was held in check by the Rockets. With James Harden and Ivica Zubac gone and Darius Garland (toe) not ready to make his Clippers’ debut, even more of the workload has fallen on Leonard’s shoulders. And he’s been up to the task, even with Tuesday’s pedestrian — by his standards — effort. The Clippers visit the Rockets again on Wednesday before going into the All-Star break.

For the first time since mid-December, when he ripped off four straight, Smith has recorded a double-double in consecutive games. He didn’t have the best night shooting the basketball, but the Rockets forward was active on the glass and recorded a complete stat line. Rostered in 49 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Smith has been close to a top-25 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. For managers who need frontcourt production, he’s worth adding ahead of Wednesday’s rematch with the Clippers.

After totaling 24 points in his prior two appearances, Şengün put up 22 against the Clippers. The Rockets center shot the ball efficiently and made some plays for his teammates as well. Due to his percentages, shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 69.6 percent from the foul line, Şengün has only been an eighth-round player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks, according to Basketball Monster. The Rockets have one more game before the All-Star break, Wednesday night against the Clippers.

Since being limited to 15 points in a February 4 loss to the Celtics, Durant has scored 20 points or more in three straight games. Given his credentials, that isn’t a groundbreaking achievement. But it is notable because the Rockets have not scored more than 106 points in any of those three games. Durant and the Rockets will look to head into the All-Star break on a high note when they host the Clippers again on Wednesday.

After scoring five points in the Knicks’ February 4 double-overtime win over the Nuggets, Bridges has gotten back on track offensively. He’s hit double figures in three straight, with Tuesday’s tally being the highest for him since dropping 23 in a February 3 win over the Wizards. With OG Anunoby (toe) out, there has been a little more room for Bridges to assert himself offensively, and that’s a positive for fantasy managers who have him on their rosters.

Hart was on triple-double watch at halftime, as he was already responsible for eight rebounds and nine assists. He finished with the 17th of his Knicks career, moving into third place on the franchise’s all-time list. Over the past two weeks, Hart has provided top-50 per-game value in nine-cat formats according to Basketball Monster. The Knicks play once more before the All-Star break, Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

Limited to 11 points in Sunday’s win over the Celtics, Towns doubled that tally on Tuesday while recording his 36th double-double of the season. Unfortunately for the Knicks, he wasn’t around for the latter stages of overtime, having fouled out with 2:14 remaining in the extra session. Indiana scored the first nine points of overtime, pushing their road record on the season to 4-22. Wednesday’s game against the Knicks is far more important to Towns and the Knicks, who need a win to avoid losing the season series. And they’ll need KAT to stay on the floor, especially if Joel Embiid plays.

Brunson finished Tuesday with his second 40-point game in four outings and fourth of the season, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a disappointing overtime defeat. The Knicks point guard shot 4-of-14 from beyond the arc, putting a dent in his overall field-goal percentage. Brunson and the Knicks will look to go into the All-Star break on a high note when they visit the 76ers on Wednesday.