NBA Player News

Kolek remained with the bench unit on Thursday, but the absences of Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart meant that the Knicks were going to need more from their backup point guard. He answered the call, recording career-highs in points and assists while recording a complete stat line. Kolek can’t offer much value to fantasy managers when the Knicks are at full strength, but his emergence as a reliable option could prove huge for the team later this season. Jordan Clarkson also had a good night off the bench, adding 18 points (6-of-12 FGs, 1-of-1 FTs), three rebounds, one assist, one steal and five three-pointers.

Caruso didn’t do much scoring, but the rebounds and blocked shots would make many post players proud, much less a guard like himself. He finished Friday’s defeat with season-highs in both categories. Caruso didn’t record any steals, but that’s the category in which he’s excelled recently. On Friday, his streak of four straight games with at least two steals came to an end, but he’s still averaging a career-high 1.8 per game.

After shining in Thursday’s rout of the Clippers, Holmgren was comparatively quiet on Friday. If there has been an issue for the 7-foot-1 forward/center over the last week, it has been the limited production in assists and steals. He’s averaged 0.7 assists and 0.3 steals over the past week, and Holmgren’s blocks average for the season is also down compared to his first two seasons. He remains a top-50 player for the season, but Holmgren has more to give.

Williams didn’t have the best night shooting the basketball, but the more important takeaway was that he was available for both ends of Oklahoma City’s back-to-back. After logging 29 minutes in Thursday’s win over the Clippers, he played 32 minutes against the Timberwolves. J-Dub has been a third-round player since returning to game action, which aligns with his Yahoo! ADP (26). Oklahoma City begins its Week 10 slate with a Monday/Tuesday back-to-back, and that should not be an issue for Williams.

Another day, another 30-point stat line for the reigning NBA MVP. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points in 21 of the 26 games he’s played this season, and all that his stat line lacked on Friday was a three-pointer. As expected, SGA continues to rank among the elite in fantasy basketball, with only Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama being more valuable. Oklahoma City is done for Week 9, but the champs play four games in Week 10.

Gobert has not always been part of the closing lineup this season, but his rebounding production has been consistent. He’s reached double digits in that category in four straight games, a stretch that includes two double-doubles. Gobert’s overall fantasy value has been disappointing this season, but he has been close to a top-50 player in models that punt free-throw percentage. Minnesota ends Week 9 on Sunday against the Bucks.

Reid being part of the closing lineup has been a common occurrence this season, raising his fantasy ceiling in the process. All that was missing from his stat line on Friday was a three-pointer, but managers will undoubtedly take the rebounds and “stocks.” Over the last two weeks, Reid has been a top-75 player in eight- and nine-cat formats, sitting just outside the top-50 in the latter.

Category league managers who have Randle rostered took a beating in the field-goal percentage category, as he missed 12 of his 15 field-goal attempts. Getting to the foul line consistently boosted his point total, and the rebounds and assists were solid. Due mainly to his shooting 42.3 percent from the field, Randle is ranked outside the top-100 in eight- and nine-cat formats over the last two weeks. He’ll look to end Week 9 on a high note when the Timberwolves host the Bucks on Sunday.

After a three-game absence, Edwards was back on the court on Friday, and he came through in crunch time. His three-pointer with 38.5 seconds remaining gave Minnesota a one-point lead, and the star guard would follow that by blocking a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander layup attempt six seconds later. The Timberwolves closed on an 8-0 run, handing the Thunder their third loss of the season. The good news for fantasy managers is that they should get one more game out of Edwards, as Minnesota hosts Milwaukee on Sunday.

For the first time since Nov. 12, Allen finished with a double-double. It has been a rough season for him, and a finger injury that forced him to miss nine games didn’t help. Allen is typically the epitome of consistency, but that hasn’t been the case so far this season. He’ll look to build off this while Evan Mobley (calf) is sidelined, which will hopefully help his get back on track and get back to being a reliable fantasy option.

With Donovan Mitchell (illness) sidelined, Proctor slid into the starting lineup for the first time in his career. The rookie scored in double figures for the fourth time this year, which is impressive to see out of a second-round pick. Absences from Mitchell and Craig Porter Jr. and continued absences from Sam Merrill and Max Strus opened the door for Proctor to start, but he won’t get the opportunity to start often, meaning he should be left on the waiver wire.