NBA Player News

A double-digit scorer in three straight games, Clayton finished Sunday’s defeat with career-highs in points and assists. With Keyonte George (8/5/3/0/1) struggling and Isaiah Collier (one assist) only playing six minutes, it was Clayton’s show for most of the second half. The rookie guard had an encouraging effort, but it’s unlikely to mean much regarding his fantasy value in the short term. However, there may come a time later in the season when the Jazz look to feature Clayton more as the rebuild moves forward.

Huerter was injured on December 1st and was to be re-evaluated after one week. Still, after that evaluation, he will not travel with the team to Charlotte and will miss yet another game. There is no more information on when he might return.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan confirmed that neither Ayo Dosunmu nor Kevin Huerter will travel to Charlotte for Friday’s game. Dosunmu returned to action on Sunday after missing one game with his thumb injury, but then he was unable to practice on Monday and will now miss Friday’s game. It remains to be seen how much longer he will miss. With Tre Jones also out, Jevon Carter has seen an uptick in playing time.

Oubre has been out since November 14th, and the team said last week that he would be re-evaluated this week. It seems that the evaluation didn’t change much in terms of his recovery time. Quentin Grimes will continue to play big minutes and put up top-60 value in fantasy formats.

McBride has been sidelined since December 7th, and it now appears he will be out at least a week longer. Even though he is no longer starting, McBride is a key part of the Knicks’ rotation and has made clear gains as a scorer this season. In his absence, Jordan Clarkson will continue to be relied on for bench scoring, and Tyler Kolek will see an uptick in minutes.

Horford will have missed three games as he deals with his sciatica. The Warriors could get both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green (foot) back for that game, which would likely mean fewer minutes for guys like Pat Spencer and Quinten Post. It remains to be seen when Horford will be able to return to the court.

Curry has missed the last five games with a left quad contusion/strain. In that time, Brandin Podziemski has averaged about 26 minutes per game and been a borderline top-100 player in fantasy leagues, and Pat Spencer has gotten a chance to become one of the better stories in the NBA, playing over 26 minutes per game over his last three and averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. Curry’s potential return could dampen the run that Spencer has been on.

The 25-year-old was signed to a standard deal back on November 20th and will now be released to make room on the roster for Garrison Mathews. Robinson-Earl was playing just 14 minutes per game over the last two weeks and had not entered either of the last two games.

Mathews had been on a 10-day contract, but he will now join the Pacers on a standard NBA deal. The 29-year-old has seen his playing time increase of late, averaging almost 18 minutes per game over his last six games. He’s scoring 7.2 points per game with 1.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists, so he remains firmly off the fantasy radar.

When asked if Wembanyama could return against the Thunder Saturday, Johnson said, “Very much so.” He added that Wembanyama had a very intense workout Wednesday and his availability will depend on how he responds. Even if the 21-year-old center isn’t able to make it back on the floor this weekend, his return doesn’t seem far off, which is great news for fantasy managers.

Dončić had another excellent game, his second since missing two games to be present for the birth of his second child. The 26-year-old point guard dropped 35 points against the Spurs after recording his second triple-double of the season against the 76ers on Sunday. He’s been an elite fantasy option in recent weeks.