NBA Player News

Ball ramped up his minutes in his second preseason game. After logging 15 minutes on Sunday, he played 25 in Thursday’s contest, where he tied a team-high in made threes. As a high-usage guard, Ball will have nights when he finishes with high turnover totals, as was the case on Thursday. Still, he’ll be a high scorer and should rack up assists and threes on most nights, leaving him with high fantasy basketball potential in points leagues.

Rollins has dished out seven assists in two of his last three games, and his season-long fantasy value continues to hold steady just outside the top-50 in eight-cat formats. And with Kevin Porter Jr. (oblique) expected to be out for a while, now is a good time to hop back onto the Rollins bandwagon, even with Wednesday’s modest production.

Not only were the nine assists a season-high for Portis, but Wednesday’s tally equalled his total in Milwaukee’s previous eight games. While Gary Harris (three points, one assist and one three-pointer) started for the injured Myles Turner, he only played nine minutes, and Portis was in the lineup to begin the third quarter. If Turner isn’t back for Friday’s game against the Nuggets, one would think that Portis would be his replacement. It doesn’t make sense to start anyone else.

The Bucks were on the wrong end of their fourth defeat in five games, with Giannis leading the way offensively. He remains under a minutes restriction, but the Bucks continue to battle inconsistency with the trade deadline two weeks away. While Giannis may not be on the move, the team around him likely needs to change if Milwaukee is to entertain any thoughts of being a factor come playoff time.

Already down a few rotation players, the Thunder lost Ajay Mitchell during Wednesday’s game with a hip contusion. The absences created opportunities for Williams to increase his production, and “Kenny Hustle” had one of his best games of the season. Wednesday’s game was his sixth this season in double figures, and the 18 points were three shy of his season-high. There’s no need to add Williams after this performance, but there may come a time later this season when his playing time increases due to other players resting for the postseason.

The Bucks had no answer for the reigning MVP, who was on his “A game” Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander’s three misses were shots that he usually makes at a high clip, and he finished three rebounds shy of a triple-double. With Nikola Jokić sidelined by a knee injury, an argument can be made that Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player in fantasy basketball. And SGA could be in for another big night as the Thunder hosts the Pacers on Friday.

Inserted into the starting lineup due to Aaron Wiggins being out, Mitchell played 25 minutes before exiting with a right hip contusion. The second-year guard was productive while on the floor, finishing with 18 points (8-of-12 FGs), three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two three-pointers in 25 minutes.

For managers seeking players who could potentially offer value during the “silly season,” Peavy may be one of those options. The rookie out of Georgetown scored a season-high 17 points and recorded a complete stat line on Wednesday. While the Pelicans have no reason to tank, as they don’t control their 2026 first-round pick, there may be a desire later in the season to evaluate Peavy further. There’s no need to add him now, but keep the rookie on your radar.

Give the Pistons credit for their work on the defensive end, with Murphy requiring 19 shots from the field to score 17 points. He remains, by a considerable distance, the best fantasy option on the Pelicans’ roster, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. As long as Murphy’s healthy, he’ll provide excellent fantasy value regardless of league format. On Wednesday, he ran into one of the best teams in the NBA.