NBA Player News

Podziemski has now scored at least 20 points in six of his last eight games. The 23-year-old guard continues to score despite the return of Stephen Curry, who is still limited to about 25 minutes per game. Podziemski has provided 11th-round per game value this season, which makes him a solid value considering his preseason ADP.

Williams said at shootaround that he’ll be available, so we’ll upgrade him to probable until his status becomes official. Williams’ availability won’t be impactful on Chicago’s rotation.

Clowney’s late addition to the injury report doesn’t bode well for his status ahead of Friday’s tilt with Detroit. If he’s ultimately ruled out, more minutes should be available for Josh Minott and Chaney Johnson.

Portland was without Robert Williams (knee) for this game, which allowed Clingan to set a new season high for minutes. He set a new season high for blocks, but ultimately, his production didn’t change much. Clingan’s lack of minutes has been disappointing, but if he can continue to have between 26-30 minutes per game, he should be able to play to his fourth-round ADP, especially if he is blocking shots at this rate.

Avdija’s production is slightly down from last season, but he continues to be the primary scoring option for Portland. He only scored 18 points in the season opener, though he only played 24 minutes because of the lopsided score. Since then, he has averaged 24.3 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. If Avdija can continue to shoot this efficiently, he’ll be even better than he was last season.

Lillard has been excellent for a 36-year-old coming off a torn Achilles, but he struggled in this one. This was just Portland’s first loss of the season, and Lillard should get back to producing how he was previously. He isn’t the player he once was, but Lillard will continue to be a productive player, mostly as a reliable source of three-pointers and assists.

Quinten Post (ankle) exited this game early, which allowed Stewart to be the primary backup center. He did most of his scoring after Post’s exit, with 15 of his 18 points coming in the second half. Stewart has been solid as a reserve for Memphis this year, though this was his season high for scoring. Unless he’s filling in for Zach Edey as a starter, Stewart shouldn’t be rostered outside of deep leagues. This level of scoring won’t come consistently.

It took just five games for Boozer to record his first triple-double, and Memphis now sits at 5-0. His field goal percentage has been horrendous so far, with this being his first time shooting at least 50 percent from the floor. However, he has been excellent from the free throw line and has poured in the rebounds and assists. The shooting percentage should regulate, which will vault his fantasy value. He’s just getting started, and it won’t be long before Boozer is considered one of the premier players in fantasy basketball.

Less than an hour before tipoff, it was reported that Jerome was questionable for this game with back tightness. Despite the flare up, he was able to start, though it ended up being his worst performance of the season, and he only played 24 minutes. This is worth keeping an eye on, especially ahead of their next game against the Kings on Saturday. Cam Spencer and Scotty Pippen Jr. would fill out the point guard minutes if Jerome were unavailable.

Morant was ruled out more than halfway through the fourth quarter, and they pulled the starters a couple minutes later. This could have been precautionary, but the team should provide more of an update in the coming days. Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday should take on more minutes if Morant misses time, with Jrue likely starting.

Matković got the starting nod in this game, with head coach Jamahl Mosley opting to take DeAndre Jordan out of the rotation entirely. Matković played 28 minutes to Derik Queen’s 22 and was more productive. If this rotation continues until Yves Missi (knee) returns, Matković could have some value in deeper leagues. On the other hand, Queen’s lack of opportunity continues to be frustrating.