Terrence

Ross

After 11 years in the NBA, Ross has retired from the NBA. He spent most of his career with the Raptors and Magic before playing the final 21 games of his career with Phoenix last season. The former No. 8 pick won two Slam Dunk Contests in his career and finishes his career with the fifth most 3-pointers in Toronto’s history and the sixth most in Orlando’s history.

Phoenix is locked in as the 4-seed in the West, which is why they played without Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton in this game. That will likely continue against the Clippers on Sunday, which means that their rotation from this game will likely be used again in game 82. Craig led the team in scoring, though Jock Landale recorded a 17/10 double-double and started the second half after Bismack Biyombo exited with a knee injury. Cameron Payne also exited at halftime due to a back issue, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he missed Sunday’s game. That’ll leave Josh Okogie, Terrence Ross and Saben Lee as other solid options.

Booker has been on a roll recently, scoring 29 points or more in four straight and six of his last seven games. Yet even with the scoring “explosion,” D Book has been ranked just outside the top 50 in 9-cat, per-game value over the last two weeks. The issue has been a lack of defensive stats and turnovers. While the former isn’t going to change much, Booker can certainly improve in the turnover department. He had four turnovers on Saturday, which wasn’t an issue due to the nature of the game. He led six Suns double-digit scorers, with Bismack Biyombo (17/13/1/0/5) having one of his best games of the season and Terrence Ross (15/7/4 with three 3-pointer) surpassing 8,000 points for his career. Phoenix will begin a four-game Week 23 in Utah on Monday.

Since giving up a lot of their depth to acquire Kevin Durant, the Suns have lacked offensive firepower outside of Devin Booker, since KD has been injured. Ross reminded us in this game what he can bring to a team. He had his highest-scoring game since January of last year, and his performance was a big reason that they were able to stay close in this game. It was a big game for Ross, but it won’t make him worth rostering in standard leagues, as his production hasn’t ever been consistent.

Craig is listed as probable on the initial injury report, and this bodes well for his availability Tuesday, with this being the second game in as many nights for the Suns. Should something change, and he can’t play, Terrence Ross may be the biggest winner from a fantasy standpoint, even if he remains with the bench unit. Damion Lee and Ishmail Wainright would likely see their minutes increase.

Despite Kevin Durant (ankle) being a late scratch, Wednesday’s game was essentially done by the end of the third quarter. Booker checked out for good with 7:26 remaining in the fourth, and he’s scored 40 points or more in six games this season. Having cracked the top 40 in 9-cat, per-game value for the season, Booker’s been a top 5 player over the last week. And he made some history Wednesday, becoming the first player in Suns history to score 35 or more in four straight games. While neither Josh Okogie (5/4/3/0/1 with one 3-pointer) nor Torrey Craig (3/4/2/0/2 with one 3-pointer) offered much production in their starting roles, Terrence Ross shot 6-of-10 from three and finished with 24 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 23 minutes off the bench.

As expected, Ross will return after missing the Suns’ last two games. He’s always got the potential to heat up as a scorer, but there are plenty of mouths to feed in Phoenix, so he can safely be left on your league’s waiver wire.

Ross is expected to return following a two-game absence, but it’s unlikely he plays a significant role in Phoenix’s rotation now that Kevin Durant is back in action.

With Kevin Durant back in action, Ross’ rest-of-season role figures to be quite marginalized, so his availability doesn’t impact fantasy hoops managers’ lineup decisions.

Ross missed their game on Wednesday, but there’s a chance that it’s only a one game absence. Even if he’s back on Friday, he won’t be worth streaming in 12-team leagues, especially with Kevin Durant in the lineup for the Suns.