Oklahoma City

Thunder

While Williams did not shoot the ball well on Saturday, fantasy managers will be pleased with the rebounds, assists and steals. His four pilfers were a season-high; Williams entered Saturday with seven steals across six appearances. J-Dub is providing third-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats, not far removed from his Yahoo! ADP (26). Unfortunately, the Thunder play just twice in Week 9, a Thursday/Friday back-to-back against the Clippers and Timberwolves.

Victor Wembanyama wasn’t the only post player making their return to action on Saturday. Hartenstein was back in the Thunder lineup after missing six games with a strained right calf, and his minutes were restricted. The 7-footer played 20 minutes and was productive, recording a complete stat line. Hartenstein doesn’t need a high usage to provide reliable fantasy value, but he is more “high floor” than “high ceiling.” Cason Wallace moved to the bench on Saturday, finishing with seven points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one three-pointer in 27 minutes.

Holmgren didn’t have the best night shooting the basketball, but the foul line helped boost the final point total. Having to deal with Victor Wembanyama for portions of Saturday’s game didn’t help, but there’s no need for fantasy managers to have any concern about Holmgren. He’s still providing excellent value in eight- and nine-cat formats, proving to be slightly more valuable in the latter. The Thunder play twice in Week 9, starting with the Clippers on Thursday.

While the Spurs made life difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander in some ways, he still extended his streak of games with at least 20 points to 97. The reigning MVP shot 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, and he committed a season-high five turnovers. Entering Saturday, SGA had just two games this season with at least four turnovers. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, the Thunder don’t have a good Week 9 schedule. They play twice, with a back-to-back on Thursday/Friday against the Clippers and Timberwolves.

Hartenstein is back after missing six games with a strained right calf, and he will start. In the lone change to the lineup that began Wednesday’s rout of the Suns, Cason Wallace heads to the bench. While he will remain in the Thunder rotation, Wallace’s fantasy ceiling is lowered with the lineup change.

The Thunder will get their starting center back ahead of Saturday’s NBA Cup Semifinals matchup with the Spurs. While OKC has remained successful in Hartenstein’s absence, the defending champions will welcome him back as they may face Victor Wembanyama, who is likely to return from injury. Hartenstein is averaging 12.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists across 19 games.

Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal will be the third game Joe has missed due to a left knee contusion. With everyone else of consequence available for the Thunder, his minutes will be absorbed by Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and Aaron Wiggins.

Holmgren had his second game this season with at least four three-pointers, after making six three-pointers against the Hawks on October 25. The 23-year-old center has recorded at least eight rebounds in eight consecutive games as well. Holmgren also had at least 24 points in 25 minutes or less for the second consecutive game. He’s one of a few players on the Thunder that might have better numbers if the team didn’t have so many blowouts.

Gilgeous-Alexander showed once again that he’s one of the top players in the entire league on Wednesday. The 27-year-old point guard dropped 28 points on 15 attempts and only three free throws. The Suns were no match for the Thunder so Gilgeous-Alexander’s night was over after 27 minutes played. Oklahoma City is on an historic pace with a 24-1 record to begin the season.

Caruso will return from a four-game absence, where he will play a role off the bench on the wing. In a game with extra stakes due to the NBA Cup, Caruso could end up seeing a bump in minutes. However, with how deep OKC is, he has been difficult to rely on for fantasy production this season.