NBA Player News

Christie was initially listed as questionable with abdominal soreness, but he’s ultimately available for Tuesday’s game against the Bulls. The 20-year-old guard recently drew praise from coach Ty Lue for his “elite defense.” Christie should continue to play a minimal role off the bench and thus isn’t worth rostering in most fantasy leagues.

Moved into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game, Jones appeared to be in a good spot to offer solid fantasy value. Unfortunately, things did not play out that way for the guard in his first start as a Maverick. Jones played 15 minutes, with Naji Marshall replacing him in the lineup to begin the third quarter. Between that and Brandon Williams (5/2/2/1) playing more minutes off the bench, this was not the most encouraging night for Jones or those who considered picking him up off the waiver wire.

Mathurin made his Clippers’ debut on Tuesday, coming off the bench and playing 26 minutes. While his shooting accuracy wasn’t good, Mathurin’s minutes and scoring opportunities were encouraging. Add in the rebounds, assists and steals, and there’s some room for optimism regarding Mathurin’s fantasy potential for the rest of this season. He isn’t a must-roster player yet, but keep an eye on him, starting with Wednesday’s rematch with the Rockets.

Over the past two weeks, Collins has been a top-100 player in eight-cat formats, which exceeds his season-long value. Due to the trades of James Harden and Ivica Zubac, Collins boasts a higher fantasy ceiling than he did before those moves were made. However, for him to make good on that potential, he has to be more productive as a defender than he was against the Rockets. Hopefully, Collins can record a few steals and blocks in Wednesday’s rematch.

After dropping 41 points in Sunday’s win over the Timberwolves, Leonard was held in check by the Rockets. With James Harden and Ivica Zubac gone and Darius Garland (toe) not ready to make his Clippers’ debut, even more of the workload has fallen on Leonard’s shoulders. And he’s been up to the task, even with Tuesday’s pedestrian — by his standards — effort. The Clippers visit the Rockets again on Wednesday before going into the All-Star break.