NBA Player News

Mitchell has reached double figures in assists on nine occasions this season, with Thursday’s 11 being the most in a game for him since a New Year’s Day win over the Pistons. Add in the points, and “Off Night” finished with his fifth double-double of the season. The three-point shooting remains a work in progress, but Mitchell has made strides as a point guard this season.

Robinson entered Tuesday averaging 19.7 points and 5.0 three-pointers per game. The Knicks focused more on him defensively, and the Pistons’ wing had a rough night. Robinson shot 0-of-8 from the field in the first half and missed all six of his three-point attempts. He got a couple to fall in the second half, but the final return wasn’t what fantasy managers hoped for.

Given Cunningham’s scoring trend in Detroit’s first four games, he’s likely to score 20+ against the Hornets on Wednesday. The Knicks kept him in check for most of the night, with Cade totaling 10 points in the final three quarters of Tuesday’s defeat. The good news for fantasy managers was that he put up quality rebound and assist numbers, finishing one board and two helpers shy of a triple-double.

Making a second consecutive start for the injured Jalen Duren (hamstring), Reed was hot to start Tuesday’s game. Shooting 5-of-6 from the field, he was responsible for 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot in the first quarter. Unfortunately for Reed and the Pistons, he went quiet in the second and third quarters, totaling one less foul (four) than points (five) in those periods. As long as Duren’s out, Reed is a must-roster player in fantasy leagues.

The scoring output was limited, but Anunoby’s complete stat line should benefit category-league managers. Over four games, he’s shooting 38.8 percent from the field, which has hurt OG’s fantasy value. But he’s close to being a top-100 player, and Anunoby provided top-50 fantasy value in each of his first two full seasons in New York. He’ll be fine.

Towns’ only negative on Tuesday was his seven turnovers. He had a good night scoring-wise, and the Knicks’ center finished with his 17th 20/20 game, five of which have occurred since he was traded to New York. Towns was at his best in the third quarter, shooting 5-of-5 from the field and scoring 13 points. He’ll look to build on this showing when the Knicks visit the Bulls on Wednesday.

While we aren’t going to proclaim Bridges “back” after a rough first week, Tuesday’s performance was much needed. He shot 4-of-8 from three against the Pistons, including 2-of-4 in the second quarter. New York outscored Detroit 26-12 in the period, rebounding from a slow start. Bridges can be a valuable fantasy option, but many managers were getting close to the point where they had to seriously consider cutting bait. Tuesday’s performance may buy him a little more time.

Ausar Thompson hounded Brunson for most of the night, which contributed to the low field-goal percentage. A busy night at the foul line boosted the point total, and the Knicks guard dished out seven assists, so Brunson gave fantasy managers some value on Tuesday. He’ll look to bounce back on Wednesday against the Bulls.

Active after sitting out Sunday’s loss to the Pacers for injury management reasons, Brown played 28 minutes in Tuesday’s overtime defeat. With Egor Dëmin (leg) leaving in the second quarter and Nolan Traoré (cramps) in the fourth, Brown gained valuable crunch-time experience. His three-pointer with two-tenths of a second remaining forced overtime, but Brown also missed a couple of close-range shots in the extra period that proved costly. Overall, this was an encouraging night for the rookie, even with the outcome and the low field-goal percentage.

Traoré got off to a good start on Tuesday, scoring 10 points in the first half. Unfortunately, he was relatively quiet after halftime and left the game in the fourth quarter with cramps. Over his last two games, Traoré has totaled 32 points, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. He was inserted into the starting lineup on Tuesday, and the results were encouraging. Traoré isn’t a must-roster player, but he’s worth adding to watch lists in deep leagues.

Porter shot 6-of-12 from three on Tuesday, bouncing back from a 0-of-5 effort in Sunday’s loss to the Pacers. He’s made at least four three-pointers in three of Brooklyn’s first four games, and that output is one reason MPJ has been close to a top-25 player through the season’s first week. Another challenging matchup looms, however, as the Nets host the Pistons on Friday.