NBA Player News

Sunday’s game will be the Lakers’ first since losing Austin Reaves to a mild calf strain in Wednesday’s loss to the Spurs. Smart will fill the void in the starting lineup, and he may be able to provide deep-league value playing off of Luka and LeBron. That’s the lone change to the starting lineup.

Brown spent most of the night carving Indiana’s defense apart from the mid-range before finally stepping out late, drilling a pair of threes in the final six minutes to extend his 30-point streak to eight consecutive games since December 2. The 29-year-old offensive catalyst did a little bit of everything in a stat sheet-stuffing performance, chipping in three rebounds, four assists and four thefts as the Celtics defeated the Pacers for the second time in the past week. He’s delivered top-40 overall value for fantasy purposes this season, averaging 29.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks through 28 games. The Celtics have won nine of their last 11 games. They’ll face the Trail Blazers on Sunday before continuing a West Coast road trip next week with showdowns against the Jazz, Kings and Clippers.

The worst three-point shooting team in the league this season, Indiana came out of the gate scorching-hot from distance, knocking down 7-of-12 from downtown as part of a 39-point opening quarter. Nembhard went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc during that span and chipped in five assists. They came crashing back to earth by the second quarter, ended up trailing 75-61 at the break, and never managed to mount a serious comeback down the home stretch. The Pacers have lost six consecutive games and are winless since December 8. They’ll wrap up a back-to-back on Saturday evening against the Heat before a busy four-game week that includes a pair of matchups against the Magic in addition to the Rockets and Spurs.

Pritchard poured in 14 points in the second quarter, fueling a 45-point outburst that sent Boston into halftime with a comfortable 75–61 advantage. The 27-year-old’s offensive game continues to evolve as he’s continued to perfect his combination of step back three-pointers in addition to his ability to create space for easy shots in the paint on drives to the basket. He’s produced third-round fantasy value over the past week, averaging a robust 25.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists and one steal over his last three games.

McConnell did his best to inject some life after the Pacers fell behind big in the second half, mixing it up with Celtics defensive specialist Jordan Walsh before attacking the rim on multiple occasions to close out the third quarter. The 33-year-old veteran point guard has recorded double-digit point in three consecutive games despite averaging less than 18 minutes per-game during that span.

Hauser provided a much-needed spark off the bench in this one, knocking down 7-of-8 from three-point range to help the Celtics go from down double-digits in the second quarter to running the Pacers out of the building by halftime. The 28-year-old sharpshooter has been hot-and-cold for extended stretches this year with this seven-trey outburst showcasing his scoring upside against weaker defensive teams.

Queta put together an impressive stretch in the opening stanza that featured a pair of blocks with a monster slam dunk sandwiched in the middle before adding in an off-balance finish on an alley-oop a couple minutes later. The 26-year-old big man represents a fringe fantasy option at this stage of his development but he’s shown flashes of all-around potential if he continues improving on the offensive end of the floor.