Golden State

Warriors

While Melton’s production outside of the points category was relatively lean, fantasy managers should not be concerned. He was moved into the starting lineup on Thursday, but his playing time was limited as the Warriors take a measured approach to Melton’s return from a torn ACL. He remains a valuable option in deep category leagues, especially while the Warriors are without Stephen Curry (knee).

Santos has reached double figures in five straight games, with Thursday’s tally being a season-high for the fourth-year forward. Rostered in six percent of Yahoo! leagues, Santos has been close to a top-50 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. While he certainly represents a risky streaming play, Gui will be worth a look in deep leagues ahead of Saturday’s game against the Lakers to end Week 16.

After getting through a trade deadline that appeared to have a significant impact on the team, Golden State picked up one of its best wins of the season in Phoenix. And Spencer was a key contributor, hitting six of the Warriors’ 20 three-pointers and leading five double-digit scorers with a career-high 20 points. The two-way player was inserted into the starting lineup for Thursday’s game, and he may have played well enough to hold onto that role until Stephen Curry (knee) returns. With Brandin Podziemski being limited to 13 minutes because of an unspecified injury — he did return during the third quarter — Spencer’s role may take on added importance in Saturday’s game against the Lakers.

Moody, Santos and Green are the holdovers from the quintet that started Tuesday’s blowout loss to the 76ers. The changes are Spencer and Melton, with Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford moving to the bench. Of the replacements, Melton offers a higher fantasy ceiling in this spot.

Melton is good to go after initially being questionable with a sore left knee. With Stephen Curry (knee) still out and Buddy Hield no longer in the picture, Melton boasts a higher fantasy ceiling despite coming off the bench.

Acquired from the Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, Porziņǵis missed time due to Achilles tendinitis before the trade. While he will join his new teammates in Los Angeles on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game against the Lakers, the 7-foot-2 forward/center is not expected to play until Monday’s home game against the Grizzlies.

Melton is a late addition to the injury report, so there is definitely a chance he misses this game. Pat Spencer and Gary Payton II should be in line for extra minutes if he’s out, and with Buddy Hield now in Atlanta, Spencer would hold some upside as a streamer.

Curry banged knees with a player during Friday’s loss to the Pistons, aggravating a case of “runner’s knee” that has lingered for a bit. Thursday’s game will be the second that he’s missed. Gui Santos played reasonably well as Curry’s replacement in the lineup for Tuesday’s loss to the 76ers, but Golden State’s offensive struggles in the 113-94 defeat will likely prompt other changes to the lineup.

Moody played just 20 minutes in the blowout loss against the 76ers. The 23-year-old had scored at least 19 points in two of his last for games entering play Tuesday, but had just 12 points Tuesday. Moody has provided 13th-round per game value this year. The Warriors will look to bounce back Thursday against the Suns.

The Warriors won’t have Stephen Curry for Tuesday’s game, opening up a spot in the starting lineup. Santos will fill the void, which shifts Podziemski and Moody up a position. Santos isn’t worth the streaming risk in most leagues, but playing time should not be an issue for him on Tuesday.