NBA Player News

While a sprained right thumb was the listed reason for Mathurin’s absence, that isn’t the only injury that he’s dealing with. According to Pacers insider Scott Agness, the wing is also dealing with turf toe. Given where the Pacers are in the standings, there isn’t much reason for Mathurin to rush back. Johnny Furphy, who moved into the starting lineup, and Ben Sheppard are players for deep-league managers to track in Mathurin’s absence.

J-Dub went off for 28 points in Wednesday’s win over the Suns, but he’ll sit out the second leg of OKC’s back-to-back set. He’s still not playing a full allotment of minutes, so his absence isn’t surprising. Fantasy managers will hope that Williams can use the time off to get healthy for the final stretch of the season.

Rollins sat out Wednesday’s matchup with Orlando, but he’s got a chance to return for the second leg of Milwaukee’s back-to-back set. If Rollins ultimately sits out, Cam Thomas could be in for another big performance. Thomas dropped 34 points against the Magic and hit a key triple late in the game to seal the victory.

Kuz is back on the injury report, but this time, it’s for a foot issue. If he’s unable to take the court for the Bucks’ final game before the All-Star break, Ousmane Dieng should see a bump in playing time.

Sochan has seen his playing time plummet this season, and he should take on an increased role with his new team. New York’s rotation is deep, so Sochan isn’t going to be productive enough to warrant a pickup in most fantasy leagues. For real-life hoops, however, he’ll add energy and tenacity to a Knicks team that recently added

Tristan Vukčević (illness) is out on Wednesday against Cleveland, so Anthony Gill could see big minutes. Assuming he’s healthy, Vukčević has a clear path to meaningful minutes post All-Star break, and he could be a “silly season” hero down the stretch.

The news come out of left field, and Haynes notes that JJJ underwent surgery after a localized PVNS growth was discovered post trade. Fantasy managers should have already planned for him to miss fourth quarters, but now he’ll be totally unavailable. With Jackson Jr. sidelined and Utah already in active tank mode, it won’t be long before other starters begin to get shut down. “Silly season” heroes will emerge from this rotation, and some of the best are Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier and Vince Williams Jr.

Starting for the injured Keyonte George, Collier put together another high-assist effort in Utah’s blowout of the Kings. He’s recorded at least nine assists in five straight games, hitting double digits in four. Regardless of George’s availability, Collier will be worth rostering for the silly season, especially after the Jazz traded Walter Clayton Jr. to the Grizzlies as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. deal.

Moody enters the All-Star break having scored at least 15 points in three consecutive games. However, the lackluster production outside of points, three-pointers and rebounds limits his fantasy ceiling. Over the past two weeks, Moody has been a 12th-round player in eight-cat formats. Because the Warriors have been without Stephen Curry, there’s been more room for Moody to score. However, with Curry expected back immediately after the All-Star break, Moody’s rostership (18 percent, Yahoo!) may decrease.

Melton’s stat line on Wednesday was evidence of why he can be valuable to fantasy managers, even with the lack of defensive stats. The Warriors guard made five of his six three-point attempts and provided solid value in the rebounds and assist categories as well. Over the past two weeks, Melton has provided 10th-round value in eight-cat formats. Stephen Curry’s expected return after the All-Star break should not do much, if any, harm to Melton’s prospects in category leagues.

Green put forth one of his better performances this season on Wednesday, finishing two assists shy of a triple-double. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, nights like Wednesday have not been the norm for the veteran forward, and that isn’t considering the points category. Entering the season with an ADP of 100, Green heads into the All-Star break ranked just inside the top-150 in eight-cat formats. Hopefully, getting Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porziņǵis into the rotation after the break will enhance Green’s value by extension.