Myles

Turner

Portis didn’t make the initial injury report, but now there is a chance he is held out against Detroit. His potential absence would likely result in his minutes being divided among Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma and Jericho Sims, which doesn’t open the door for any streaming options.

Turner had one of his more productive games in quite some time on Wednesday. Accurate shooting inside the arc helped the veteran center set a new season-high in points, and also log his third 20-point outing of the season. Poor shooting from beyond the arc and a few misses from the charity stripe prevented him from producing more. Still, Turner did his part and nearly notched a double-double in the loss.

Turner recorded his second double-double in three games on Monday, but the production since Milwaukee lost Giannis Antetokounmpo to a strained groin has been underwhelming. Over the last three games, the Bucks’ center has averaged 12.3 points on 39.4 percent shooting from the field. The good news is that the rebounds, blocks and three-pointers have been there, but a more accurate Turner would be more valuable to fantasy managers. The good news is that Milwaukee plays three more games during Week 6, starting with the Heat on Wednesday.

Portis was Bucks head coach Doc Rivers’ choice to fill the massive void left by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks after suffering a strained groin. After a slow start to his 11th NBA season, “The Mayor of Milwaukee” was productive in his 28 minutes. The playing time is a concern, especially with Myles Turner (14/10/1 with three three-pointers) also playing 28 minutes. Gary Trent Jr. (11 points, two assists, one steal and three three-pointers) replaced Portis in the lineup to begin the third quarter, a sign that the matchup influenced the minutes. Despite that, Milwaukee’s lack of dependable frontcourt options makes rostering Portis a risk worth taking in deeper leagues.

Turner will be asked to play an exponentially larger role on both ends of the floor if Giannis Antetokounmpo winds up requiring a lengthy absence after leaving Monday’s contest with a left groin strain. He’s set to undergo further testing and there should be some clarity on his status in the coming days. The veteran center knocked down four of five from three-point range in this one but wound up with just four additional shot attempts.

The Bucks did not have Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) on the floor for Wednesday’s game, which increased Turner’s importance on offense. He shot the ball well, making half of his 14 attempts while also recording two steals and two blocks on defense. The lone disappointment for fantasy managers was Turner’s inactivity on the boards, grabbing just three rebounds. However, he’s never been the strongest rebounder, so a night like Wednesday is unsurprising.

While he’s only recorded one 20-point game as a Buck, Turner’s defensive production has been what fantasy managers hoped for. The 6-foot-11 center recorded three steals and three blocks on Sunday, the third time in four games that he’s produced at least five “stocks.” Turner is providing fifth-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats, and all that’s needed to improve that would be a modest boost to his scoring.

For the first time as a Buck, Turner has recorded a 20-point game. In fact, he entered Friday having surpassed 15 points just once. While he can provide valuable spacing for Giannis Antetokounmpo, that has generally resulted in the “Greek Freak” getting downhill even more and finishing at the basket, rather than a few more catch-and-shoot opportunities for Turner. He was more involved in the offense on Friday, resulting in his best performance of the season thus far.

Turner started his return to Indiana off hot, scoring seven points in the first five minutes. However, he only scored one more bucket over the remainder of the game. Turner has started his Bucks tenure off slowly, but he was able to set a new season-high for swats in this game. He needs to turn things around on offense in order for him to play to his fourth-round ADP in Yahoo! leagues.

Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) back in the Bucks’ lineup, Portis’ playing time increased on Saturday, playing 23 minutes after logging 16 in Thursday’s win over the Warriors. The reason for the increase in playing time was Myles Turner (9/3/0/2 with three three-pointers) getting into early foul trouble, which limited him to 24 minutes. While a fixture in the Bucks’ rotation, Portis’ opportunities are dictated primarily by Turner’s production, which limits his fantasy ceiling.