NBA Player News

For just the third time in his career, and the first since October 29, 2022, Dončić fouled out of an NBA game on Friday. His foul of Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. on a three-point attempt with 16.2 seconds remaining led to two made free throws that gave the Bucks the lead for good. This was a frustrating night for Dončić, who shot 4-of-19 from inside the arc and 4-of-8 at the foul line. The rebounds, assists, steals and three-pointers were useful, but Dončić managers took a hit in the percentages.

It continues to come inconsistently, but Reid has been a fantasy beast at times this season. Usually, that’s because of an offensive explosion, which held true in this game. However, it was the defensive impact that made this so impressive. The blocks were a new season high for him, and for a player only averaging 0.9 blocks per game this year, that isn’t a category that managers have relied on from him. He’ll look to stay hot against the Warriors on Saturday.

Randle’s production had dropped off in the two games since Anthony Edwards returned, but that didn’t hold true in this one. This was his eight 30-point game of the season, though only three of those have come over the past month. Randle has been excellent for Minnesota this year, and he currently ranks inside the top 50 in nine-category leagues. He’ll look to stay hot against the Warriors on Saturday.

It has been an underwhelming season for White, and while he didn’t shoot as efficiently in this game, it was his third straight with at least 20 point. During that time, he’s averaging 24.3 points, 4.3 assists and 5.3 three-pointers per game. He’s starting to figure things out, and he’ll look to stay hot in their next game against the Celtics on Saturday.

Avdija was having an excellent night before his lower back flared up, tallying 20 points (6-of-11 FGs, 6-of-6 FTs), seven rebounds, four assists and two three-pointers in 18 minutes. Avdija missed three games earlier this month after injuring his lower back during a January 11 loss to the Knicks. Having Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant back in the lineup will help account for Avdija’s absence, and Caleb Love can also pick up some of the slack from a playmaking standpoint.

Giddey missed Chicago’s last 11 games with a hamstring injury, but he returned to the lineup for this game. However, he was on a minutes restriction, so he came off the bench and only played 26 minutes. That meant no changes to the Bulls’ starting lineup in this game, but that won’t hold for long. Jalen Smith, who scored 17 points in this game, is the likely candidate to head back to the bench when that happens. For now, it was a strong first game back for Giddey.

If the Jazz were hoping to drum up trade interest for Nurkić ahead of the February 5 deadline, the last two games won’t hurt. On Thursday, the 7-footer became the first player to record triple-doubles in consecutive games in the franchise’s history in Utah. Counting the New Orleans years, Nurkić and the late, great Pete Maravich are the only Jazz players to record a triple-double in consecutive games. The concern at this point is the injury management nights, as Nurk has been a top-10 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks.

One game removed from recording his fourth 20-point game of the season, Bailey enjoyed the most productive night of his rookie campaign on Thursday. The 25 points are a new high for the lottery pick, who was also productive on the glass. Of course, category league managers would like to see some defensive production from Bailey, but he’s taking steps in the right direction.

George has scored at least 23 points in four straight and six of his last seven games, an impressive run for one of the NBA’s most improved players. Over the past two weeks, he has offered top-15 per-game value in eight-cat formats. While the Jazz are just 2-5 in their last seven games, the franchise is clearly prioritizing player development and its draft lottery odds. Hopefully, George will be safe from a late-season shutdown, but there’s no guarantee he will be, given how well he’s played this season.

Johnson’s inconsistent scoring recently has negatively affected his fantasy value, especially given his limited defensive production. He’s reached double figures in three of his last six games, but Thursday’s stat line was solid. While there have been more opportunities with Devin Vassell out of the lineup, Johnson’s game will not have a significant impact in category leagues. There’s no need to consider streaming him in 12-team leagues.

While De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama combined to score 57 points, Castle had one of his best games of the season from a distribution standpoint. In addition to eight assists, the second-year guard recorded just one turnover in 37 minutes. Castle didn’t have a great night shooting the basketball, but the efficiency as a playmaker was of far greater importance.