NBA Player News

Some have targeted George as a potential fantasy breakout candidate, and with good reason. With Bilal Coulibaly (thumb) unavailable to begin the regular season, George should have the runway to start fast when the regular season begins next week. The second-year wing looked sharp in Thursday’s preseason finale, recording a complete stat line. Does George merit being selected with a top-100 pick in standard leagues? Not necessarily, but those willing to reach cannot be blamed for doing so.

Giddey has been sidelined since December, but there is a chance he returns to the lineup to take on the Clippers. Tre Jones has been starting in his place, where he has had fantasy success this season. However, if Giddey returns, Jones will head back to the bench, which will eliminate the streaming value he held.

Following a two-game absence, Flagg will be back in the lineup to take on New York. Caleb Martin should return to playing a role off the bench with Flagg back, which will eliminate the little streaming value he held.

Caruso logged seven minutes in the first half, but he won’t be available to close out this game. Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe should see a few extra minutes in the second half with Caruso ruled out.

Williams got the starting nod in place of Jalen Williams, which was to help the Thunder match up better with the Cavs’ big frontcourt. Kenrich Williams will start in place of Jaylin Williams to start the second half and should receive a nice boost in playing time if he remains the starter beyond this game.

With Zaccharie Risacher (knee) still out, the Hawks decided to go with Corey Kispert (two points, one rebound, one assist and one steal) as the fifth starter instead of McCollum or Vit Krejčí (zero points, two assists). However, this did not prevent McCollum from being the one on the court as the Hawks mounted a fourth-quarter rally. More concerning than the role was McCollum playing 24 minutes. If he can consistently get into the high-20s, the veteran guard will have an easier time preserving most of his fantasy value.

Alexander-Walker was on a heater during the fourth quarter, making five of his six three-point attempts. After recording five 30-point stat lines in his first six NBA seasons, the Hawks’ guard has seven such games during the 2025-26 campaign. Alexander-Walker is on track to be one of the heroes of the fantasy basketball season, as he has exceeded expectations by a significant margin.

Daniels, who recorded his seventh double-double of the season, finished three assists shy of his career-high on Monday. He was one rebound shy of his second triple-double, and Daniels has been a top-15 per-game player in nine-cat formats over the past two weeks. After getting off to a slow start, the Hawks’ guard is headed in the right direction in terms of fantasy value.

Johnson produced another excellent stat line, finishing with his 28th double-double of the season. At this time last season, which is about when a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, the Hawks forward had 20 double-doubles. Included in Monday’s stat line were 16 rebounds, two shy of his season and career-high. Look for Johnson to continue to flourish, and it would be unsurprising if he were named an All-Star reserve later this month.

Looking to give the bench unit a spark, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers moved Porter to the bench, with Kyle Kuzma moving into the starting lineup. While he didn’t score much, KPJ’s seven assists were valuable. As for Kuzma, he accounted for 10 points, one rebound, one assist, one block and one three-pointer. Porter moving to the bench is disappointing from a fantasy standpoint, but managers must hold onto him. The playing time will still be there.

Turner’s making four three-pointers in Monday’s victory was not a surprise, as he is one of the best perimeter-shooting bigs in the NBA. However, the veteran center was more productive on the glass than he’s been for most of this season. The eight boards were the most in a game for Turner in nearly two months, having last reached that number on November 26. Unfortunately, fantasy managers can’t count on Turner for consistent rebounding production.