Craig

Porter

The Cavaliers are locked into the No. 4 seed regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s games, so most of their key contributors won’t play. The exception is Strus, and given the time he missed after undergoing offseason foot surgery, managers in active fantasy leagues should not expect to see him on the court for too long. The other four starters should play significant minutes, although Tyson only recently returned from an injury.

Porter has been considered a dynasty sleeper for a long time, and while he doesn’t play a large enough role to do this consistently, he’s certainly capable of filling up the box score when he gets the chance. With James Harden (personal) and Donovan Mitchell (ankle) out, Porter took on a larger role and stuffed the stat sheet. Cleveland is too deep on the perimeter for Porter to be worth rostering, but if he ever gets the chance to be a starter in the future, he can be a fantasy star.

Sidelined by a groin injury, Porter is available to make his first appearance in a game since March 13. While there may be a few rotation minutes available, Porter is unlikely to get the run needed to affect fantasy basketball.

Friday’s game will be the fourth missed by Tyson and the seventh by Porter due to their respective injuries. The former’s absence is more impactful on fantasy basketball, with Max Strus and Keon Ellis in line to absorb the minutes that would have gone to Tyson.

Porter strained his left groin during Friday’s win over the Mavericks in Dallas. While his absence leaves the Cavaliers down an option at the point guard position, they should have enough depth to compensate.

Porter is out with a strained groin, and the injury may cost him multiple games. While his absence alone doesn’t affect fantasy basketball, it does leave the Cavaliers down another option on the perimeter. James Harden and Dennis Schröder will continue to handle point guard duties, as they do when Porter is healthy.

Proctor’s continued absence does not affect fantasy basketball, as he had fallen behind Dennis Schröder and Craig Porter Jr. even before the injury. Proctor should only be rostered in dynasty leagues.

The showdown between Harden and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham was one in which both players struggled to knock down shots. Given the defensive abilities of both teams, that isn’t surprising. However, one of the differences for Cleveland was that Harden received more help from the other guards in the rotation. Dennis Schröder (15/5/5 with two three-pointers), Craig Porter Jr. (7/8/3 with one three-pointer) and Keon Ellis (7/3/2/2/1) all gave the Cavaliers good minutes off the bench against the team with the best record in the East.

Ellis did not play in Friday’s loss to the Pistons, with Craig Porter Jr. and Tyrese Proctor picking up additional minutes off the bench. Whether either of those players would be worth the streaming risk also depends on the availability of James Harden, who is questionable with a fractured right thumb.

Schröder got the start on Wednesday and scored 26 points with James Harden (thumb) sidelined. Harden is questionable, so if he remains out and Schröder plays, he’ll get another start. However, if both are sidelined, Craig Porter Jr. would be next in line. He had nine assists in 22 minutes off the bench on Wednesday.