NBA Player News

Goodwin hurt his calf five minutes into Game 1 of the series against the Thunder and hasn’t played since. Even with Goodwin sidelined in Game 2, Grayson Allen got a DNP-CD again. Collin Gillespie moved into the starting lineup for Game 2 and had seven points in 29 minutes. Expect Gillespie to start again with Goodwin still out.

One of the positives for the Pacers this preseason has been Walker’s play, as his decision-making has improved noticeably. One game removed from recording 10 assists and committing just one turnover in a win over the Timberwolves, the former lottery pick was solid in his 20 minutes against the Hawks. Coming off the bench limits Walker’s fantasy ceiling, especially in redraft leagues, but dynasty managers rostering him should be encouraged by his play this preseason.

With Tyrese Haliburton getting the night off, Oubre was inserted into the Pacers’ starting lineup on Saturday. The overall stat line was underwhelming, but he shot well, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. The move to Indiana limits Oubre’s fantasy ceiling because of the Pacers’ wing depth, but he may still be worth streaming at times.

Shut down for Indiana’s final five games of the 2025-26 campaign, Siakam has been a full go during the preseason. He is one of a few Pacers whose fantasy value should increase with Tyrese Haliburton’s return from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Siakam averaged a career-high 24.0 points per game last season, but the Pacers’ many injuries (including his) negatively impacted the veteran forward’s efficiency. Don’t be surprised if Spicy P bounces back in a major way this season.

After a left knee contusion kept him out of Thursday’s exhibition in San Antonio, Dort made his first appearance in a Hawks uniform on Saturday. He started, since Nickeil Alexander-Walker got the night off. While Dort gives the Hawks another quality wing defender to call upon, coming off the bench once the regular season begins likely eliminates what little fantasy value he would have as a starter. There’s no need to select him in 12-team drafts, and managers in 14-team leagues can pass as well.

Johnson had a productive night in Indy, leading all scorers with 20 points and shooting efficiently from the field. Coming off his best season to date, the Hawks forward has a Top-10 ADP in Yahoo! category leagues. Even if Johnson doesn’t meet those lofty expectations, his skill set is strong enough to still provide excellent fantasy value this season.

After scoring 13 points in Thursday’s exhibition against the Spurs, Okongwu’s production increased on Saturday. At the time of publication, the Hawks center’s Yahoo! ADP sat just outside the first 50 picks. That’s a fair expectation for Okongwu, who recorded career-best averages in points, assists, steals, blocks and three-pointers last season.

Barrett, who paced Toronto’s 57-point first half effort with a team-high 15 points, remains a one-dimensional fantasy contributor and his scoring numbers figure to take a hit with the return of Kawhi Leonard, who will be the focal point of Toronto’s offense, when healthy. There will be enough volume during the moments when Leonard is unavailable for workload management reasons that he’ll offer some fantasy appeal in deeper formats.

With little proven scoring help around him, Hachimura figures to shoulder an outsized offensive burden in his Clippers debut, with most of the opposing defense focused on containing Darius Garland. He got to the line for seven free-throw attempts and led Los Angeles with 14 first-half points. He dropped 21 points in his preseason debut earlier this week. He’s a decent late-round pick in deeper fantasy leagues based on the volume he figures to generate as one of the few reliable scoring threats for Los Angeles.

The Raptors didn’t make any significant offseason changes besides the Kawhi Leonard blockbuster, which should shift a considerable amount of the scoring burden away from Barnes this season. He made some tremendous strides from an efficiency standpoint last year and Leonard’s arrival should lead to even more favorable matchups on the offensive end of the floor. It’s worth noting that Leonard has yet to play this preseason, so we haven’t gotten a look at how the offense will run just yet. It took Barnes just over one half to record a double-double in this exhibition contest. He’s a borderline first-round pick in all fantasy drafts this fall.

Garland led the Clippers with 11 field-goal attempts in the opening half, but connected on just four of them, including 1-of-4 from three-point range. He figures to serve as the team’s primary offensive catalyst, from both a scoring and playmaking standpoint, which keeps him an early-round pick in all fantasy formats.