NBA Player News

Antetokounmpo and Kumza are back after sitting out Sunday’s loss to the Magic. While AJ Green heads to the bench after returning to the starting lineup the last time out, Jericho Sims is not available due to a knee injury.

Wells was active on both ends of the floor on Thursday. On offense, he was primarily a scorer, using the free-throw line and strong efficiency both inside and outside the arc to land good scoring production. He recorded a few stocks on the defensive end to boost his fantasy production before finishing with a solid final line in the loss. Wells continues to shoot the three-pointer well in his minutes. He shouldn’t be considered much more than a streaming option.

Gafford continues to play some of his best ball of the season, posting a season-high in points on Thursday en route to a fourth straight double-double. The veteran center has been limited by injuries throughout the season, but is in good form as the fantasy basketball playoffs near. For those looking to take a low-risk, potentially high-reward swing, Gafford is rostered in only 26% of Yahoo! leagues.

Flagg was held under 20 points for the fifth straight game on Thursday, shooting below 40.0 percent from the field for a second consecutive time. The rookie forward has remained in a shooting slump since returning in early March from a foot sprain. He did, however, notch at least five rebounds and assists for the fifth time in as many games. But while his well-roundedness has provided a solid floor, fantasy managers hope he can find his touch and deliver some efficient, high-scoring performances.

The veteran forward stole the show against Memphis, needing only 25 minutes off the bench to set a new season-high in points. The near-40-point outing came on efficient shooting, with a spectacular three-point display the key to his success. Thursday marked the first time he’d reached 30 points in a regular-season game since the 2022-23 season, when he was still playing for the Bucks. Middleton has now logged back-to-back games of at least 15 points and will have a chance to land a third on Friday against the Cavaliers.

Jakučionis started a second straight game with Tyler Herro (quad) sidelined, and this outing was far more productive than the first. He set a new career high for rebounds and had one of his most effective scoring nights of the season. Jakučionis clearly has plenty of talent and is only 19 years old, making him a valuable asset in dynasty leagues. However, his lack of consistent minutes makes him a difficult player to roster in standard leagues.

The second-year guard has been a starter for most of the season for Miami, but he hasn’t been a consistent fantasy contributor. However, he was productive in this game and ended up setting a new career high for scoring while still contributing in other categories. The former second-round pick should continue to play big minutes, but he won’t offer enough in the box score to be worth rostering in most formats.

Well, it wasn’t exactly an encore. Two days after finishing with 83 points, the second-most in a game in NBA history, Adebayo struggled from the floor and finished with a quarter of his total points from the win over the Wizards. Though he was able to get to the free throw line at a decent rate, he wasn’t able to replicate his 43 attempts from Tuesday’s game. He was still able to extend his streak of 20 point games to eight in a row.

Following a one-game absence with a back injury, Portis was back playing his typical role off the bench. Though it wasn’t enough for the Bucks to get the win, he has his highest-scoring performance since Feb. 24 and shot at least 50 percent from the floor for a ninth straight game. Portis is a solid reserve that ranks inside the top-100 in nine-category leagues over the past two weeks. However, his limited minutes will continue to cap his upside.

With Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) back in the lineup, Rollins returned to playing a role off the bench. However, he still played 33 minutes to KPJ’s 27 and was far more productive. Rollins has been one of the most improved players in the NBA this season, and as long as he is playing big minutes, he’ll continue to be a strong fantasy asset. However, he may be limited if he continues to come off the bench.

Antetokounmpo has been available for five of the Bucks’ last six games, but this was his best offensive performance. In fact, this was his highest-scoring performance since Jan. 11, which was over two months prior to this game. Giannis hasn’t been quite as productive as he typically is, most notably a lack of production on the glass. He’ll look to build on this scoring performance in Saturday’s game in Atlanta.