NBA Player News

Gafford will miss his second game in as many days, as the Mavericks gear up for the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday. Gafford has dealt with injuries all season long, appearing in only 55 games this season. His absence should lead to more minutes for Marvin Bagley III.

Wembanyama threw an elbow while being fouled, striking Minnesota’s Naz Reid above the neck. After a video review, the Spurs star was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected. Wembanyama finished with four points (2-of-5 FGs), four rebounds and one assist. His absence means more minutes for Luke Kornet, and there may be periods when Carter Bryant plays the five as part of a smaller lineup.

After coming off the bench in his return to action on Friday, Dosunmu moves into the starting lineup for Sunday night. As a result, Mike Conley will head to the bench and could fall out of the rotation entirely. With Dosunmu available, Conley played four minutes in Friday’s Game 3 defeat despite remaining in the starting lineup.

After totaling 41 points in Games 2 and 3, Oubre was limited to 10 points in Sunday’s series finale. While this performance was disappointing, the forward’s overall showing this season should boost his value in free agency this summer. A return to Philadelphia would limit Oubre’s fantasy ceiling in 2026-27, but he should be a reliable late-round option, sitting just outside the top-100 in category league formats.

In Games 2 and 3, George’s production faltered after hot starts. Unfortunately for him and the 76ers, he could never get going in Game 4, and the Knicks would win by a 144-114 final score, which does not accurately reflect how things went off the rails. After appearing in 41 games in his first season with the 76ers, George appeared in 37 this year, limiting his fantasy value. Like Joel Embiid, the recent availability issues are something that fantasy managers will have to take into consideration when draft season rolls around.

Edgecombe’s outstanding rookie season ended disappointingly, as he missed all six of his three-point attempts in Game 4. The series was a learning experience for the rookie guard, who shot 40.4 percent from the field. Between Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers’ future appears to be bright, especially on the perimeter. VJ’s fantasy value for 2026-27 depends partially on the availability of Paul George and Joel Embiid, who both played fewer than 40 games this season. Edgecombe’s fantasy floor will be fine, but his ceiling may be limited if George and Embiid are consistently available.

A standout performer for most of this season, Maxey appeared to be a shell of himself in the second round. He had just one 20-point game in the four-game sweep, with the combination of the Knicks’ defense, specifically Mikal Bridges, and an injured right pinky finger being too much to overcome. Maxey will take some heat for his play in this series, and rightfully so. But there should be no concern from fantasy managers regarding the point guard’s outlook for 2026-27. Maxey provided first-round per-game value this season, and his emergence makes him a player who should come off the board in the first round of drafts next fall.

Despite clearly being compromised physically, Embiid deserves credit for the effort he put forth in Sunday’s series finale. The 76ers’ center didn’t miss a shot from the field and led his team in scoring. Unfortunately for Embiid and the 76ers, the Knicks were able to attack him on the other end of the floor when they weren’t knocking down one of their 25 three-pointers. During the regular season, Embiid provided second-round per-game fantasy value, but he was limited to 38 games due to injuries. Availability concerns decreased his ADP by a few rounds in drafts last fall, and that’s likely to remain the case ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

The Knicks shot 25-of-44 from beyond the arc in Game 4, and Hart got in on the fun with a 4-of-6 afternoon. Add in the rebounds, and the Knicks forward finished one rebound shy of a double-double while recording a complete stat line. The hope moving forward is that Hart’s performance in Game 4 will serve as a slump-buster for Hart, similar to what Game 5 of the Atlanta series was for Mikal Bridges. Bridges also played well on Sunday, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.

After offering limited production as OG Anunoby’s replacement in the starting lineup for Game 3, McBride was outstanding in Sunday’s series clincher. Deuce shot 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, which was one less than Philadelphia’s total as a team (8-of-35). McBride led the Knicks in scoring, while Landry Shamet contributed 12 points and four three-pointers in 11 minutes off the bench. What their roles will be in the conference finals depends on Anunoby’s hamstring, which he strained late in Game 2.

Since Game 4 of the Knicks’ first-round series against the Hawks, the team has run more of its offense through Towns. New York has not lost since, and KAT has recorded at least six assists in each of the seven victories. Foul trouble limited him to 20 minutes on Sunday, but that doesn’t matter much when your team scores 43 points in the first quarter and 81 in the first half. Whether it’s Detroit or Cleveland in the conference finals, the Knicks will need Towns to do a better job of avoiding silly fouls.