NBA Player News

The Bucks have made two changes to their starting lineup. With Gary Trent Jr. and Jericho Sims both struggling in Thursday’s loss to the Raptors, they’ve been moved to the bench. Kuzma and Portis move into the starting lineup, raising the fantasy ceilings of both players.

After dropping 33 points in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander was kept in check by San Antonio in Thursday’s rematch. He remains one of the best players to have rostered in fantasy basketball, but the San Antonio matchup has proven to be a challenging one for SGA and the Thunder. He’ll look to bounce back Sunday against the 76ers.

At this stage in his career, fantasy managers know what they’re going to get from Barnes. While his fantasy ceiling is limited, the floor is stable, and availability won’t be an issue. He finished Thursday’s victory a blocked shot shy of a complete stat line, but over the last two weeks, Barnes is ranked outside the top-200 in eight- and nine-cat formats. Even with his performance against the Thunder, fantasy managers can afford to leave Barnes on the waiver wire.

Wembanyama and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren may not say much about a “rivalry” between them, but the matchups bring added juice whenever their teams meet. Wemby, who is still on a minutes restriction, recorded a double-double in just 25 minutes off the bench. The Spurs aren’t going to rush anything with their phenom, so Luke Kornet (six points, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 22 minutes) remains in the starting lineup. The Spurs host the Jazz on Saturday in their final game of Week 10.

The lone negative for Castle on Christmas Day was the turnover count, as he was responsible for four. However, he shot the ball efficiently and led the Spurs in assists. The improved shooting has pushed the reigning Rookie of the Year into the top-75 in eight-cat formats. Rostered in 69 percent of Yahoo! leagues, Castle is still lurking on a few 12-team league waiver wires. Now is a good time to change that.

Limited to six points in Tuesday’s win over the Thunder, Fox was outstanding in Thursday’s rematch. Finishing with a game-high 29 points, he shot 9-of-11 from the field in the first half. Some of Fox’s teammates took over in the second half to help San Antonio move to 3-0 against the Thunder this season. Fox is providing fourth-round value in eight-cat formats, and the partnership between him and Stephon Castle continues to strengthen.

Jackson suffered a head injury during Monday’s loss to the Celtics and has since entered the league’s concussion protocol. His absence did not result in more minutes for starting center Jay Huff, who logged 21 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to the Bucks. James Wiseman played 12 minutes off the bench. Huff is the only player worth considering in fantasy leagues, and even that comes with considerable risk.

Walsh did not play in Monday’s win over the Pacers, which moved Josh Minott into the starting lineup. With Walsh on track to play in Friday’s rematch, Minott is likely headed to the bench.