30 Deep: A Fantasy Basketball Recap of Every Team's Performance over the Last 7 Days

30 Deep: A Fantasy Basketball Recap of Every Team's Performance over the Last 7 Days

Welcome to the first edition of 30 Deep. I will be taking you through each team’s last week, with this week’s edition starting with the games that took place on Friday the 15th up until Thursday the 21st. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Welcome to the first edition of 30 Deep. I will be taking you through each team’s last week, with this week’s edition starting with the games that took place on Friday the 15th up until Thursday the 21st. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

View by team or just continue scrolling to view teams in alphabetical order:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Atlanta Hawks: Getting That Swagger Back

What You Need to Know

The Hawks fell in their first two outings in the week, losing 92-116 to the Jazz and then falling 106-112 to the Trail Blazers. Young was held in check in the first game versus the Jazz with just a 4/4/7 line on 1/11 shooting, while he bounced back against Portland with a 26 point and 11 assist double-double to go with 7 rebounds despite the loss.

The Hawks turned it around winning their next two games of the week against Minnesota and Detroit. Young had two more great games in their two wins of the week averaging a line of 29/6/11.5 on 41% shooting from the field.

Clint Capela was incredible this week as well, here is his rebounding total in order from the Hawks’ four games this week: 11, 15, 16, 26. He recorded a double-double in all four games and averaged a team-high 35.5 minutes per game in this span.

Injury Report

Danillo Gallinari, Kris Dunn, Bogdon Bogdanovic: Gallinari is getting healthier after tweaking his ankle back in late December, while Dunn and Bogdanovic both seem like they will be out for the foreseeable future Gallo’s return does take a hit to Hunter, Reddish, and Huerter’s value.

Cam Reddish: Reddish bruised his left knee vs Utah and missed the last 3 out of 4 games in the week Reddish being out along with the three veterans they signed in free agency, has translated to lots of run for Huerter who averaged a 16/5/5 line in 39 minutes over their past three games.

Rookie Report

Onyeka Okongwu: In a pretty wild few days in the NBA, it was pretty easy to not even notice that the 6th overall draft pick in this year's draft, Onyeka Okongwu made his debut for Atlanta. Okongwu saw the court in two games with a 4/5/2 line vs Utah in 15 minutes and scored 2 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 13 minutes vs the Pistons.

With the way Capela is playing right now, it is hard to see Okngwu really being a fantasy producer this season, but he is a fantastic dynasty option.

Star of the week

Clint Capela (22.8 PPG, 16.8 RPG, 3.0 BPG, 66% Fg%, 35.5 Min)

Faller of the week

John Collins (16.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 52.8% Fg%, 34.0 Min)

A Final Word

This Hawks team has the capability of being one of the better teams in this league. It really relies on Young keeping his play at a high level, but with Capela looking strong and their free agents that they signed coming back sooner than later, better days could be ahead for the Hawks.

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Boston Celtics: Get Healthy Tatum

What You Need to Know

In just a three-game week for the Celtics, they were without their star player Jayson Tatum for all three games due to COVID-19 protocols. The Celtic’s beat down on the Magic in their first game back since having three games postponed winning 124-97 behind a 21 point showing from Jaylen Brown as he also tied his career-high with 8 assists.

The rest of the week had both good news and bad news for Boston.

The good news: Kemba Walker is officially back.

The bad news: the Celtic’s lost their next two games including an embarrassing 75-105 loss to the Knicks despite a great showing from Brown with a 25/6/3 line in 32 minutes on 9/20 shooting while Walker struggled with a 9/3/4 line on 3/13 shooting with 5 turnovers in 19 minutes in his return.

To end their week the Celtics lost to the 76ers 109-117 Wednesday night. Jaylen Brown was great in the loss again with 26/5/3 in the loss on 10/24 shooting in 32 minutes, while Marcus Smart looked good as well with a season-high 25 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the losing effort. Walker played better in this game than his debut with 19 points on 6/15 shooting to go with 6 assists in just 21 minutes.

Injury Report

Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams: Tatum and Williams missed the entire week due to COVID-19 protocols, but both have a shot at playing Friday versus the 76ers. Brown is the de facto number 1 option in Boston while Tatum remains out, while no real fantasy value opened up while Williams has been sidelined as well.

Rookie Report

Payton Pritchard: Pritchard has looked very strong throughout the early season, but Kemba Walker is now officially back which in turn diminishes Pritchard’s value quite a bit. In Walker’s first two games, Pritchard averaged just 3 points, 1 assist, and 2 rebounds in just 18 minutes a game. Pritchard may have little to zero value now that Kemba is back in action.

Star of the Week

Jaylen Brown (24 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, 44.6% Fg%, 30.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tristan Thompson (3.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 33.3% Fg%, 22.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Celtics are sitting at 8-5 with Kemba Walker just returning and they also have been without their young superstar in Tatum for the time being with COVID. This Celtics team is proving themselves to be a deep team and one that you do not want to run into come playoff time.

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Brooklyn Nets: **** Just Got Real

What You Need to Know

The Net’s broke all the headlines in the league with their monstrous trade for James Harden and we got to see a glimpse of what the future will look like in Brooklyn. The Nets got out to a 2-0 start on the week with wins over the Magic and Bucks without Kyrie Irving. Harden made a statement debut with the Nets, dropping a ridiculous 32/12/14 while scoring another 34 points to go with 12 assists in their win over Milwaukee. His co-star Kevin Durant was also on his game in those first two outings, scoring 42 versus the Magic and putting up a 30/9/6 vs the Bucks.

Finally, for their last game of the week, Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup in what was a spectacular double-overtime loss versus Cleveland. Despite the loss, the newest Big 3 all put up ridiculous numbers in their first time all together. Durant had a team-high 38 points to go with 12 rebounds and 8 assists, while Kyrie was right behind him with 37 points of his own. Harden had his own solid line with a triple-double on a 21/10/12 line.

This team is going to be instant entertainment all season long.

Injury Report

Kyrie Irving: Irving missed the first two games of the week due to COVID-19 protocols, but returned for the last game of the week against his former team in Cleveland If I had to guess, I would say that Irving’s return will hamper Harden’s value a little bit more than Durant’s, however, all three will continue to be elite fantasy options this season.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to report here besides 2nd round pick Reggie Perry who has seen some increased action as of recently with around 10 minutes a game last week, but has no fantasy relevance as of now.

Star of the Week

Kevin Durant (36.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 3.0 BPG, 53.6% Fg%, 42 Min)

Faller of the Week

Landry Shamet (3.33 PPG, .33 RPG, .33 APG, 50% Fg%, 9 Min)

A Final Word

KD, Kyrie, James Harden. This team is going to be so fun to watch all season long and I am curious to see how they respond to the pressure they have put on themselves.

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Charlotte Hornets: A Quiet Week in Buzz City

What You Need to Know

In just a one-game week for the Hornets due to their game against Washington being postponed, the Hornets fell 113-116 to the Raptors all the way back on Saturday. It was another solid showing from Gordon Hayward, with a 25/5/3 line on 7/13 shooting and 10/10 from the stripe in the losing effort. Rozier and Graham combined for 44 points and 10 threes in a solid showing from both of the guards, however, Rozier air-balled what would have been the game-tying shot for the Hornets.

Injury Report

Cody Zeller: Cody Zeller has not seen the court since the Hornets first game of the season with a hand injury but is probable to make his return Friday versus the Bulls This will certainly affect Bismack Biyombo’s value going forward. Biyombo has been playing around 27 minutes per game and is averaging 7.6 pointers per game to go with 7.3 rebounds per game. All three of those numbers should drop with Zeller returning.

Rookie Report

LaMelo Ball: When we last saw Ball on the court, he played 22 minutes of action dropping 11 points on 4/11 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ball’s early-season play has him atop most people’s early ROY rankings as the dynamic rookie continues to prove himself with each game this season. Fantasy-owners, Hornets fans, and just basketball fans, in general, are all alike in wanting to see this kid play even more.

Star of the Week

Gordon Hayward (25 Pts, 5 Rbs, 3 Asts, 54% shooting, 38 minutes)

Faller of the Week

Only one game so no real candidates here.

A Final Word

The Hornets are sitting at 6-8 and seem to be a team where no one quite knows what direction they will go. The East is so wide open that this team could easily be a playoff team or a bottom 4 team by the end of the season, but they need to turn this three-game losing streak around. Hopefully, we get to see some more LaMelo Ball going forward as well.

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Chicago Bulls: Lauri to the Rescue

What You Need to Know

The Bulls started this week on a down note blowing a 16 point lead away to the Thunder with 4:40 remaining in the game and eventually losing 127-125 in overtime last Friday. LaVine and Coby were both on their game in the loss with a 35/7/6 line and a 22/9/7 line respectively. Lauri made his return in his first action since December 29th with 16 points and 6 birds on 5/14 shooting in 35 minutes with a steal and 2 blocks in the loss. The Bulls ended up turning around their streak of bad luck(4 straight losses by a combined 11 points) by winning their next two outings versus the Mavericks and Rockets. LaVine and Coby struggled in the win versus Houston with Lavine scoring just 10 points while White had 0 points on 0/5 shooting, but it was Markkanen who lead the way for the Bulls with a 29 point and 10 rebound game on 10/19 shooting to help Chicago take down Dallas 117-101. LaVine woke back up in their next game versus the Rockets with a 33/4/7 line on 11/16 shooting with 2 steals and a block, while Markkanen continued his solid play since with 18 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes on 4/12 shooting, with 11 of those 12 attempts being threes in the win.

Injury Report

Lauri Markkanen: Markkanen returned from both a calf injury and COVID protocols and looked really solid in his first few games back scoring 21 points a game to go with 7.7 boards per game in 34 minutes of action If his return impacts someone specifically I would say Thaddeus Young takes the biggest hit of all the Bulls.

Thomas Satoranksy and Chandler Hutchinson: Satoransky and Hutchinson have been out with COVID protocols since late December but should both see the court Friday for the Bulls. Their return should take some value away from both Coby White and Patrick Williams.

Patrick Williams and Otto Porter Williams missed the Bulls last outing of the week with a hip injury while Otto Porter Jr. also missed the last game due to a back injury Garrett Temple saw the start with both of them out and put in 13 points with 2 assists and 2 rebounds in 32 minutes in the spot start. He and Valentine are the two players who benefit the most from Williams and Porter missing.

Rookie Report

Patrick Williams Willams continued his solid play for the Bulls this week with 14 points and 7 rebounds to go with 2 blocks on 5/7 shooting against the Thunder while only putting in 5 points in his second outing of the week against Dallas but only saw 22 minutes as he hurt his hip in the game. His injury does not seem too serious, but he could be held out a few games just as a precaution, but the kid looks like he belongs in this league, and having him on the court is crucial for the Bull.

Stud of the Week

Zach LaVine (26 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 7.7 APG, 53.5% Fg%, 2.0 Spg, 36.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Coby White (10.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 32.3% Fg%, 34 Min)

A Final Word

After an early week meltdown against the Thunder, the Bulls started to figure it out with back to back wins to end the week. This Bulls team is talented, but if they want to really take that next step, it starts with them being able to close out games late.

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Cleveland Cavaliers: No Luck for New York

What You Need to Know

The Cavs only played two games this week due to having two games vs Washington postponed, but ended up going 2-0 on the week in some tight finishes. Andre Drummond was fantastic in their 106-103 win over the Knicks with 33 points and 23 rebounds on 10/18 shooting while adding 2 steals and 2 blocks to go with his monster double-double. Cedi Osman also chipped in to help with a season-high 25 points for himself.

After their next two games against the Wizards got postponed, the new-look Nets came to town as well as Sexton coming back to the lineup and we may have had our game of the season in this one, with Sexton putting up one of the grittiest performances you will ever see with 42 points to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 16/29 shooting in 38 minutes, including 20 straight points in the overtimes as the Cavs ended the game victorious winning 147-135.

Osman once again scored 25 points to go with 7 rebounds and 7 assists to continue his solid week of play. The Cavs ended their week by sending away Kevin Porter after his most recent outbreak to the Rockets for a second-round pick.

Injury Report

Kevin Love: Love continues to be out with a calf injury he suffered in late December. Larry Nance Jr. will continue to see heavy minutes and be a solid option while Love is out.

Collin Sexton: Sexton made his emphatic return to the court after missing about two weeks with an ankle injury. Sexton should continue to go back into his role of being the Cavs’ leading scorer and should continue to be a very solid fantasy option throughout the rest of the year.

Darius Garland: Garland has been out with a shoulder injury since the beginning of the month, but should be back in action Friday night. Damyean Dotson has seen extended minutes for the Cavs but that should change once Garland is back in the lineup as Sexton has already made his return back to the lineup.

Rookie Report

Isaac Okoro: Okoro continues to see heavy minutes for Cleveland(37.4 Mpg) and has started to play pretty solid for them as well. He fouled out in their game versus Brooklyn and finished with 8 points, but in his previous three games, he had reached double digits while also recording 2 or more steals in each of those games as well. It will be interesting to see how he continues to play with both Sexton and Garland back.

Star of the Week

Cedi Osman (25 PPG, 5 RPG, 6 APG, 51.4% Fg%, 45 Min)

Faller of the Week

Javale McGee (1.0 PPG, .5 RPG, .5 APG, 0% Fg%, 6.5 Min). Did not see the court in the game after the Jarett Allen trade.

A Final Word

I think it is easy to forget the success that Clevland was having early in the year with Garland and Sexton. I think we are all excited to see if the Cavs can really get back on track with those two players back and healthy.

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Dallas Mavericks: At Least Luka is Covid Free

What You Need to Know

The Dallas Mavericks were without Kleber, Brunson, Powell, and Richardson for this week due to COVID-19 protocols and got off to a rough start. First, they lost a close one to Giannis and the Bucks, falling 109-112, despite Doncic putting up a triple-double with a 28/10/13 line on 13/24 shooting. Porzingis put up a 15 point and 10 rebound double-double in 29 minutes in the loss as well.

Next, Luka Doncic’s video game-like numbers of a stat line with a 36 point, 16 rebounds, and 15 assist performance was not enough to fend off the Bulls in a 101-117 loss, and then they fell again to the Raptors losing 93-116 marking their 3rd straight loss. Luka played decent with a 15/7/9 line on 4/11 shooting while Porzingis also looked solid with 23 points and 9 rebounds in 31 minutes in the loss to Toronto.

Finally, the Mavs were able to find themselves back in the win column with a 124-112 win over the Pacers on Wednesday. Doncic put up another triple-double with a 13/12/12 line while Porzingis had a season-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds on 12/15 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Dorial Finney-Smith: All four of these players were out the whole week with COVID-19 protocols and while none of these players are necessarily great players, this is still 4 rotation players the Mavericks are missing. Their return should not hurt Doncic or Porzingis’ value too much, but may hurt Jalen Brunson’s a decent amount as he has been playing 30 minutes a game over his past four.

Tim Hardaway Jr: Hardaway missed the game versus Chicago with a groin injury during the week but returned to play the next two games of the week despite massively struggling against Toronto going 0/12 from the field.

Rookie Report

Josh Green: Green has not been a productive rookie so far, but did see the start with Hardaway being out against Chicago and saw 32 minutes that game, but only put up 4 points. Would love to see a little bit more out of Green in the time he is on the court.

Star of the Week

Luka Doncic (23 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 12.3 APG, 42.5 Fg%, 36.4 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tim Hardaway Jr (13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 35.7% Fg%, 32.6 Min)

A Final Word

This Maverick’s team was far from its final form, missing many rotation players due to COVID. Hopefully, this team can turn this week around once they finally start to get healthy again.

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Denver Nuggets: The Joker Keeps Rolling

What You Need to Know

Jokic started off the Nuggets week with another monster game with a 35/14/9 line, but that was not enough to take down Utah as they fell 105-109 in Denver on Sunday. Jamal Murray also looked great in the loss with 30 points on 11/27 shooting for Denver in their Western Conference playoff rematch.

The Nuggets turned it around with a win over the Thunder later in the week behind another dominant showing from the Joker with a 27/12/6 line on 12/21 shooting. 6 other Nugget players reached double-digits in a solid team effort for Denver.

Injury Report

Michael Porter Jr: MPJ continues to be held back by COVID-19 protocols, not seeing the court since late December, but he could join the team’s road trip starting this Friday. His return will for sure help the Nuggets get some more wins, but is bound to take a hit at everyone on the Nuggets value a little bit due to his scoring presence.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to note here, 29 year old rookie Facanduo Campazzo is the only one seeing at least somewhat consistent time with at least 10 minutes in his past 8 games, but is not doing anything to make him fantasy relevant, however.

Star of the Week

Nikola Jokic (31 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 7.5 APG, 59% Fg%, 34.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Will Barton (7.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 46.2% Fg%, 25.1 Min)

A Final Word

The Nuggets are patiently waiting for MPJ to come back and help give this team his dynamic scoring ability and if the Nuggets start to reel off some wins, then the Jokic MVP talks will only start getting louder and louder.

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Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant Won’t Slow Down

What You Need to Know

The Pistons started off their week with a game postponement against the Wizards on Friday, but took down the Heat the next night in Miami as Jerami Grant continued his excellent start to the season with a 24/9/6 line on 10/19 shooting to go with 2 steals and 4 blocks in the 120-100 win over a short-handed Heat team.

Derrick Rose had a solid outing with 23 points on 8/12 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench for Detroit. The Pistons could not sweep the Heat as they fell to the Heat in their second game, losing 107-113 despite another great outing from Jerami Grant with a 27/4/6 line on 10/19 shooting.

Veterans Derrick Rose and Wayne Ellington both had solid games with 21 points and 24 points respectively in the loss to Miami. The Pistons ended their week with an overtime loss to the Hawks falling 115-123, but once again we saw Jerami Grant produce at a high level with 32 points to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the losing effort.

Injury Report

Nothing to report here besides Killian Hayes still sidelined with his strained hip.

Rookie Report

Saddiq Bey: Saddiq has gone from a solid contributor to the Pistons to barely seeing the court over his past three games. Saddiq saw a combined 22 minutes over his last three games and was scoreless in his past two games. This is not the direction you would have had thought Bey’s season would start to spiral too after his pretty solid start to the season.

Isiah Stewart: The Pistons’ other rookie that gets decent time is Isaiah Stewart who has proved himself to be a tenacious rebounder when on the court evident by his 10 point and 11 board double-double in their win against Miami in just 19 minutes. Stewart has seen 5 straight games with double-digit minutes, but did not top 20 minutes in each of those games. I would love to see Stewart get some more time as the season progresses.

Star of the Week

Jerami Grant (27.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 53.3% Fg%, 36.6 Min)

Faller of the Week

Saddiq Bey (1.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, .3 APG, 16.7% Fg%, 7.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Pistons have fallen to a league-worst 3-11 on the season. Grant’s success on the court just is not quite translating to wins, however, this Pistons team is infused with young talent, so better days are most certainly ahead for Detroit.

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Golden State Warriors: Chef Curry is Officially Back

What You Need to Know

The Warriors had their first game postponed Friday against the Suns, so their first action was on MLK day where Steph Curry led the Dubs to an amazing comeback win over the Lakers with a 26 point and 7 assist outing on 8/22 shooting, including a dagger three over Anthony Davis.

Kelly Oubre put in a season-high 23 points on 9/18 shooting in the win while Draymond Green had a solid outing with a 7/8/9 line on 3/6 shooting in 30 minutes. Curry continued his strong play with a 26/11/7 line with their 121-99 win against Spurs. The Warriors could not end the week on a high note, however, as they fell 119-104 to the New York Knicks, despite another strong showing by Curry with a 30/3/4 line while Draymond Green was questionably ejected early on in the game, which did not help the Warriors in their battle against the Knicks.

Injury Report

Nothing new here, except for still missing watching Klay shoot the ball.

Rookie Report

Wiseman had quite an up and down week for himself. He struggled against the Lakers with 4 points and 3 rebounds with 5 turnovers in just 12 minutes, but bounced back against the Spurs with a career-high 20 points to go with 6 rebounds on 8/11 shooting in 25 minutes in the win.

Wiseman finished the week strongly with a 15/8/2 line in 25 minutes in their loss against the Knicks. He is clearly full of talent and if/when he starts seeing consistent minutes he will be a solid fantasy option, just this year might not be the year for him to be getting that consistent run.

Star of the Week

Stephen Curry (27.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 46.6% Fg%, 34 Min)

Faller of the Week

I really don’t see any options here honestly.

A Final Word

Steph is playing at his usual high level here and it is just so much fun to watch the Warriors again. Sitting at 8-7, let’s see if Kerr and the Warriors can hold on to find themselves back in the playoffs again.

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Houston Rockets: Hurting With No Harden

What You Need to Know

The Rockets made their blockbuster trade last week, but we are still waiting to see their new-look team finally play together due to injuries. In their second game post the Harden trade, they put up a solid effort with only 8 active players despite losing 103-91 to the Spurs. Wood led the way for the Rockets with 24 points and 18 boards on 9/20 shooting and 3 blocks, while undrafted rookie Mason Jones put up a 26/6/4 line in 35 minutes in the spot start going 8/12 from the field and 6/8 from three.

In their next outing, Victor Oladipo made his Rockets debut with a monster showing with 32 points to go with 5 rebounds and 9 assists on 13/23 shooting despite losing 120-125 to the Bulls. Christian Wood continued his elite start to the season with 30 points and 9 rebounds on 11/16 shooting in 30 minutes in the loss to Chicago.

The Rockets ended their week with a 103-109 loss to the Suns with Oladipo and Eric Gordon both dropping 22 points while Wood had 20 of his points to go with 11 rebounds and 2 steals and 2 blocks in the losing effort. The Rockets ended their week by taking a stab at Kevin Porter Jr for a future 2nd round pick. Porter had not touched the floor at all for Cleveland, so it will be interesting to see how the Rockets go about handling him.

Injury Report

John Wall: Wall missed the whole week with left knee soreness and will be out through this weekend as well. While we don’t know how they will play together yet, this seems to be a bit of an upgrade to Victor Oladipo and his usage for the time being.

Christian Wood: Wood suffered an ankle injury in their outing versus Phoenix and has already been ruled out for Friday. This should mean more value for Demarcus Cousins, but we will see as Silas has played Cousins over 20 minutes just once this year.

Rookie Report

Jae’Sean Tate: Tate has seen some serious run this past week with 31.2 minutes per game, averaging a 9.0/5.7/1.7 line. While these numbers are not very noteworthy, I am curious to see if his role in this offense stays when Houston has their pieces fully healthy.

Mason Jones: Jones saw 35 minutes in his start versus the Spurs and produced with a 24/6/4 line, but saw just 25 minutes combined over his next two games as Oladipo and other Rocket players returned. His role in the offense does not seem like it will be sticking going forward.

Star of the Week

Victor Oladipo (27 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 7.5 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 31.7 Min)

Faller of the Week

PJ Tucker (3.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 23.1% Fg%, 30.6 Min)

A Final Word

We are all eager to see this new look Rocket’s team finally all in action as they really are a huge wild card at this point in the season. Will this new starting 5 generate quick success? Does Oladipo even end the season in Houston? Lot of questions to be answered in the future in Houston.

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Indiana Pacers: No Victories Without Vic

What You Need to Know

Their game with the Suns was postponed on Saturday, so their first action of the week was Sunday versus the Clippers which was also their first game without Victor Oladipo and while also missing Turner and LeVert, the Pacers got handled, losing 96-129. Sabonis stuffed the sheet once again with a 19/14/6 line on 7/14 shooting while Brogdon put in 16 points on 7/21 shooting to go with 8 assists.

The Pacers finished off their week with a 112-124 loss to the Mavericks despite more big showings from Sabonis with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Brogdon who had 26 of his own points in the loss. Jeremy Lamb made his season debut with 10 points in 19 minutes.

Injury Report

Caris LeVert: LeVert was found to have a mass on his kidney during his physical with the Pacers and is out for the time being. This means more opportunity for Brogdon, Sabonis, and Justin Holiday.

Myles Turner: Myles Turner is out with a hand fracture, but it appears that he will be back sooner than later which is good for both fantasy owners and Pacers fans With Myles Turner out Doug McDermott has taken over the spot in the starting 5, with Sabonis moving to the 5. McDermott has averaged a 19.5/4.5/2.5 line in 33.4 minutes per game over their last two outings.

Rookie Report

Nada.

Star of the Week

Domantas Sabonis (22.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 55.2% Fg%, 37.5 Min)

Faller of the Week

No real good candidate here.

A Final Word

This Pacers team is really hurting here right now honestly, with only two opening day starters being active for them currently in Sabonis and Brogdon. The Pacers are currently 8-6, and while they might struggle with some games in this portion of the season, it is important to note that this Pacers team is very far away from its strongest form.

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Los Angeles Clippers: Making it Look Easy

What You Need to Know

The Clippers had a strong week starting with a 138-100 beatdown over the Kings behind strong games from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Leonard poured in 27 points on 10/15 shooting to go with 4 boards and 6 assists in just 27 minutes while George had 26 points, 4 boards and 2 assists on 8/14 shooting in 29 minutes, while 6 players scored in double figures in the win over Sacramento.

A balanced effort by the Clippers helped lead them to a 129-96 win over the Pacers in their next outing with Paul George, Luke Kennard, and Marcus Morris all scoring exactly 20 points on an impressive 61% from the field. Kawhi had a solid game as well with a 17/7/5 line on 8/13 shooting in the win. The Clippers ended their week Wednesday with another win over the Kings, winning 115-96.

The Clippers stars showed out once again, with Leonard pouring in 32 points while George put up a near triple-double with a 19/7/12 line in the win. This marked their third win of the week and their 5th in a row.

Injury Report

Lou Williams: Lou Williams returned Wednesday versus the Kings after missing a week of basketball with a hip injury. Williams only saw 14 minutes, but he should be seeing more time as the season continues. Leonard and George are really the only two Clippers you can trust in fantasy for the moment, however.

Rookie Report

Nope.

Star of the Week

Kawhi Leonard (25.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 62% Fg%, 2.3 Spg, 31.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Nicolas Batum (9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, .7 APG, 47% Fg%, 24.1 Min)

A Final Word

The Clippers are really starting to find their gear with 5 straight easy wins to put them at 11-4 on the season. The battle for LA between the Lakers and Clippers is going to be a fun storyline to watch all season long.

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Los Angeles Lakers: Roller Coaster Week for the Reigning Champs

What You Need to Know

It was quite an up and down week for the Lakers, starting with a 112-95 win over the Pelicans behind a near triple-double from LeBron James with a 21/8/11 line while AD scored 17 points to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 5/16 shooting in his revenge game against New Orleans.

In their next outing, The Lakers choked one away to the Warriors losing 113-115 despite a 17 point and 17 rebound double-double from Anthony Davis and a 19/5/5 line from LeBron James. Dennis Schroeder dropped a season-high 25 points on 8/15 shooting in 33 minutes in the losing effort for the Lakers.

They ended their week on a high note with a 113-106 win Thursday night against Giannis and the Bucks with a dominant showing from James who poured in a season-high 34 points to go with 6 rebounds and 8 assists while AD had a near triple-double himself with a 18/9/6 line in the win.

Injury Report

None.

Rookie Report

Also None.

Star of the Week

LeBron James (24.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.0 APG, 48% Fg%, 35.5 Min)

Faller of the Week

Marc Gasol (4.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 41.7 Fg%, 18.2 Min)

A Final Word

The Lakers are sitting pretty with an NBA best 12-4. What matters for them is staying healthy and being ready to take a stab at their second straight Larry O'Brien Trophy come playoff time while maintaining this regular-season success.

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Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies Are Fun Again

What You Need to Know

The Grizzlies first game this week was supposed to be against the Timberwolves, but was postponed due to COVID protocols. The Grizzlies returned to the court on Saturday versus the 76ers, while Ja Morant made his return as well from his tweaked ankle to lead them to a 106-104 win.

Morant finished with 17 points and 6 assists on 7/14 shooting in 30 minutes while Brandon Clarke put an 11 point and 11 rebound double-double for Memphis in the win. Morant and company finished with another win in their next showing with a 108-104 win over the Suns. Morant scored 17 points to go with 10 assists and 2 steals while Clarke scored 17 of his own points on 8/13 shooting with 2 steals in 34 minutes in the win as well.

The Grizzlies last game of the week against Portland was postponed due to COVID and their game on Friday versus them has already been postponed as well.

Injury Report

Ja Morant: Ja Morant made his return to this team after being out since late December with a tweaked ankle. Morant makes this team so much more dynamic and more competitive which bodes well for fantasy owners. If anyone takes a hit from Morant’s return it would be Tyus Jones who saw around 20 minutes per game over these past two outings.

Jonas Valanciunas: Valanciunas tested positive during the week and missed their outing against Phoenix. This helps both Brandon Clarke, who scored 17 points in 34 minutes, and Xavier Tillman who slid into the starting five playing 28 minutes scoring 12 points, and grabbing 6 rebounds.

Rookie Report

Desmond Bane: Bane is consistently seeing around 20-25 minutes a night for the Grizzlies and is playing pretty solid for them as well. He averaged a 10.0/1.5/1.5 line on 57% shooting throughout the week. Bane has shown some promise for the future as he has shown glimpses of scoring, shooting the ball efficiently, and defense.

Xavier Tillman: The rookie big man had been seeing around 17 minutes per game throughout the season, but has seen his minutes bump up to 28.2 minutes per game over his past week in tune to a 13.5/5.0/1.5 line on 57% shooting. Tillman could be a solid spot start as long as Jonas remains out with COVID-19.

Star of the Week

Ja Morant (17.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 8.0 APG, 50% Fg%, 32.4 Mins)

Faller of the Week

Dillon Brooks (7.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 24% Fg%, 24.6 Mins)

A Final Word

Ja Morant’s return is great for Memphis as they are sitting already at a 7-6 record. Jaren Jackson Jr’s return is looming, and with him coming back sooner than later, the Grizzlies could be in a good spot to capitalize on their early-season success.

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Miami Heat: Bam Back in Action

What You Need to Know

The Heat started their week by splitting two matchups against the Pistons. They lost the first one 100-120, despite a monster game from Bam Adebayo in his return with a 28/7/6 line on 8/11 shooting while Duncan Robinson put in 22 points on 6/10 shooting and ? from three.

The Heat took the next one against Detroit winning 113-107 while Bam continued to dominate with a 28/11/5 line with 2 steals and a block on 9/15 shooting and 10/11 from the charity line. Goran Dragic dropped in 22 points on 33 minutes while Duncan Robinson had 18 of his own on 6/9 shooting from three.

Kendrick Nunn put in 18 points in the win off the bench in 34 minutes as well. Nunn continued this solid play leading the Heat to a 111-102 win over the Raptors with a 28/8/5 line on 9/12 shooting while Bam Adeboy continued his solid play with another near triple-double 14/13/7 on 6/14 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

Jimmy Butler: Jimmy Butler remains out for the Heat due to COVID protocols His return may diminish the values of certain Heat players such as Herro and Iguodala.

Tyler Herro: Herro missed the entire week due to neck problems and is questionable for Friday. Kendrick Nunn seems to be the main benefactor from this with both Herro and Butler out, averaging a 17.7/6.0/3.0 line on 60% shooting in 32 minutes per game.

Rookie Report

Precious Achiuwa: Achiuwa was seeing good minutes earlier this season with Bam out due to COVID protocols, but as Bam returned, Achiuwa went back to his original value. Achiuwa averaged a 5.7/2.3/1.3 line on 64% shooting in just 13 minutes per game.

Star of the Week

Bam Adebayo (23.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 Bpg, 57.1% Fg%, 34 Min)

Faller of the Week

Precious Achiuwa (5.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 64% Fg%, 13 Min

A Final Word

This Heat team is starting to gain its pieces back together, sitting at 6-7 they seem bound to make a little bit of jump in their record when finally healthy. Bam is looking incredible so far this season and hopefully, a rested Jimmy Butler can get them on the right track.

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Milwaukee Bucks: Rocky Week for Giannis and Co.

What You Need to Know

The Bucks started their week with Giannis scoring a game-high 31 points to go with 9 rebounds on 14/21 shooting, despite going 1/10 from the free-throw line, to help lead the Bucks to a win over Dallas and Doncic. Middleton dropped in a 25/8/6 line on 8/20 shooting and hit some clutch shots to help secure the win for Milwaukee.

In their next showing, despite a big outing from the Bucks “Big 3” they fell 123-125 in a great MLK day game. Giannis’s 34/12/7 line on 13/26 shooting and a combined 47 points from Middleton and Holiday was not enough to take down KD and Harden’s Nets.

The Bucks ended their week with another loss, this time in a 106-113 defeat to the Lakers. Giannis, Middleton, and Holiday all looked solid once again with all of them scoring 20+ points despite the losing effort.

Injury Report

None.

Rookie Report

Also None.

Star of the Week

Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 59% Fg%, 35.0 Min)

Faller of the Week

Bobby Portis (5.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, .7 APG, 39% Fg%, 16.0 Min)

A Final Word

The Bucks had a pretty tough week facing off against Dallas, Brooklyn, and the Lakers, but they really have not looked as strong as we have seen them before, but for this team, nothing really matters until we enter the playoffs.

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Minnesota Timberwolves: Can’t Catch a Break

What You Need to Know

The Timberwolves first game of this week was postponed against the Hawks due to Karl Anthony-Towns having a positive COVID test. In their first game since finding out that they will be missing KAT once again, D’Angelo Russel’s big game with 31 points on 11/22 shooting to go with 7 assists and 4 steals was not enough to take down the Hawks as they fell 108-97.

Malik Beasley had 15 points on 5/17 shooting in the loss to Atlanta. The TWolves ended their week Wednesday with a little bit of a heartbreak in a loss against the Magic. After controlling most of the game, even winning by 20 points at a point, Cole Anthony hit a game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Magic a 97-96 lead. Russell once again led the way with 19 points to go with 6 assists in the losing effort.

Injury Report

Karl Anthony-Towns: After Towns already missed a good early chunk of the season with a wrist injury, KAT is out some more games with a positive COVID test. This once again opens up the floor for Naz Reid(28.5 Mpg last week) and Jarred Vanderbilt(23.4 Mpg).

Ricky Rubio: Rubio is out due to COVID protocols as well. This means we are seeing more of Russell running the one with no one player really seeing a huge boost in value with no Rubio.

Juancho Hernangomez: Hernangomez is also out due to COVID protocols This again opens up time for Reid and Vanderbilt, but also helps Jaden McDaniel sneak in some more playing time with two bigs on the COVID list.

Rookie Report

Anthony Edwards: The number one pick of the draft continues to impress early on. After seeing his minutes dip a bit with Okogie coming back, Edwards started to see some more time on the court again with three key players for the TWolves being out. He averaged a 10/2.5/1 line in 26.6 minutes in their two appearances on just 26% shooting. If there is one area that is a bit of a concern for Edwards, his shot just is not very accurate right now, but he is showing some utmost confidence in himself which is assuring.

Jaden McDaniels: After pretty much not seeing the court for the entire year, McDaniels saw himself playing 26 minutes in their loss to Orlando, putting up 12 points to go with 8 assists on 5/9 shooting. I am curious to see if we start to see more of McDaniels as long as KAT and Hernangomez are out and maybe even with them back in the lineup.

Star of the Week

D’Angelo Russell (25.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.5 Spg, 46% Fg%, 32 Min)

Faller of the Week

Josh Okogie (7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, .5 APG, 50% Fg%, 23.8 Min)

A Final Word

The Timberwolves keep getting struck by bad luck with KAT being out for even longer and then falling apart late against the Magic. Hopefully, KAT can get back soon enough to help this team as they are currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference at 3-10.

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New Orleans Pelicans: Rough week for NOLA

What You Need to Know

The Pelicans had a busy week on the road, starting with a match against the Lakers, where Zion’s 21 point and 12 rebound double-double were not enough to thwart off the Lakers and Lebron while Ingram dropped in a 20/3/5 line on 9/15 shooting with 2 steals and a block in the losing effort for the Pelicans. In their next outing, The Pelicans took one from the Kings with a monster performance from Zion who dropped in 31 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 13/15 shooting for New Orleans, while Brandon Ingram put in 22 points on 8/19 shooting in the 128-123 win over Sacramento.

This ended up being their last win of the week as the Pelicans dropped back to back games against the Jazz to end their week. Zion Williamson was once again dominant in those two losses, scoring 32 points on 14/29 shooting in the first game while dropping in 27 in their second game as well against the Jazz. Ingram also continued his solid play averaging 20 a game in those two outings against the Jazz. It was really just the Ingram and Zion show for the Pelicans this week.

Injury Report

Lonzo Ball: Ball missed the first two outings of the week with a knee injury that occurred on Jan 8th, but made his return on the 19th this week in their first loss vs Utah. This does make a bit of a damper on Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s value with Ball back in the lineup.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to report here, Kira Lewis was seeing around 12 minutes per game in the games Lonzo was out, but is back to riding the pine with him in.

Star of the Week

Zion Williamson (27.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 67% Fg%, 34.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Steven Adams (7.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 29.8 Min)

A Final Word

These Pelicans move to 5-9 and this team needs to start playing better as right now it is simply just the Zion and Ingram show for New Orleans. Hopefully, Ball’s return could help right the ship for them, but they need more help from all their teammates if they want to turn this season around.

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New York Knicks: Defense Reigns Supreme

What You Need to Know

The Knicks had a very busy 4 game week starting with Julius Randle dropping in a loaded 28/6/6 line in a 103-106 loss vs Drummond and the Cavs, continuing his strong start to the season for the Knicks. RJ Barrett also reached 20 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 7/12 shooting. First-round pick Obi Toppin also made his return to the court with a 2/4/2 line in just 9 minutes.

The Knicks bounced back from the close loss to the Cavs with a beautiful defensive effort versus the Celtics with a 105-75 win in Boston behind a 20/12/4 line for Julius Randle on 7/14 shooting to go with 3 steals while RJ Barrett had a double-double of his own with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 5/11 shooting in 31 minutes.

Julius Randle shined once again for the Knicks helping them to an MLK day win with 21 points and 17 rebounds in their 91-84 win over the Magic. RJ Barrett put up his own double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Orlando. The Knicks ended their week strong with their third straight win in their resounding 119-104 win over the Warriors behind RJ Barrett putting up his career-high in points with 28 big ones on 10/17 shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 5 assists. Randle continued his incredible week with a near triple-double on a 16/17/9 line while Alec Burks made his return to the court scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in 30 minutes in the Knicks win.

Injury Report

Alec Burks: Burks, who had been out since late December with a sprained ankle, made his return to the court against the Warriors. This is definitely a positive for the Knicks team in general, as Burks adds a nice layer of scoring for the Knicks, but this does hurt other player’s values such as Bullock and Quickley.

Austin Rivers: Rivers was held out of the Knicks last game of the week with an Achilles injury. We saw Payton see 37 minutes with no Rivers, while Quickley only saw 10 minutes of action. You would expect to see some more action from Quickley, but with Burke also returning he might be seeing fewer minutes regardless.

Rookie report

Obi Toppin: Toppin made his return to the court this week after missing some time with a calf injury. Toppin’s role is seeming to be pretty limited early this season with him averaging a 5.3/3.5/1 line on 47% shooting from the field while playing just 11.8 minutes per game. Toppin is a player to keep your eye on, but in this current situation is not seeing the court enough to produce fantasy numbers.

Immanuel Quickley: Quickley had an up and down week for himself in this one. He started the week playing a good amount of minutes with 27 minutes in the loss against Cleveland and 21 in the win over Boston. However, we saw those minutes shoot down as he played just 14 minutes against the Magic and only 10 against the Warriors, even with Rivers ruled out. What is weird is that Quickley was playing pretty good in those extended minutes, including scoring a career-high 23 points against the Cavs. I don’t think it is time to give up on Quickley right yet for this season, but you would love to see his minutes take a rebound.

Star of the Week

Julius Randle (21.3 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 42.2% Fg%, 34.3 Min)

Faller of the Week

Austin Rivers (1.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 7.7% Fg%, 17.0 Min)

A Final Word

This Knicks team is playing pretty well to start this season, and it is looking like they may be a legit team to watch out for in the East with their incredible defense to start the year, with them allowing a league-best 102.8 points allowed.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: SGA Continues to Shine in OKC

What You Need to Know

The Thunder started out their week in a revenge game against former coach Billy Donovan, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned up late for the Thunder helping upset the Bulls in overtime with a career-high 33 points to go with 5 rebounds and 10 assists on 13/19 shooting in 43 minutes. Lou Dort also had a solid outing with 21 points and 8 rebounds on 7/15 shooting to go with 6 steals in 39 minutes.

The Thunder’s next outing of the week which was supposed to be against the 76ers was postponed on Sunday due to COVID. They ended their week in a tough loss against the Nuggets losing 101-119. Shai had another decent game with a 14/5/7 line on 5/11 shooting in 27 minutes, while Dort also looked good with 20 points on 8/11 shooting in the loss.

Injury Report

Al Horford: Horford missed the week for the Thunder due to personal reasons. In Horford’s place, we saw Isiah Roby see the bulk of his minutes with about 26 minutes a game over their past week, which is third-highest on the team behind SGA and Dort. He averaged a 12/6.5/3 line on 43% shooting from the field in his two spot starts for Horford.

Rookie Report

The two rookies that get run for the Thunder are Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski. The two foreigners are seeing around 18 minutes per game, but are both just not doing enough to be considered for fantasy options at all and are both long term projects as the Thunder are clearly in it for the long haul here.

Star of the Week

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 60% Fg%, 35.4 Min)

Faller of the Week

Hamidou Diallo (5.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 21.4% Fg%, 16.3 Min)

A Final Word

This Thunder team is just in a beautiful spot once again as they have assets loaded for the future, while are still a competitive team sitting at 6-7 on the season. Sam Presti is a genius.

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Orlando Magic: Ending on a High Note

What You Need to Know

The Magic had quite a busy week with 4 games in 6 days, starting with them getting blown out by the Celtics losing 124-97. Vuc put up a season-low 15 points and 6 rebounds while Aaron Gordon had a 17/2/3 line in the loss. In their next outing, Vuc bounced back with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists on 14/22 shooting, but it was not enough to take down the Nets in Harden’s debut.

Terrence Ross dropped in 23 points off the bench on 9/17 shooting in 31 minutes in the losing effort as this loss marked the Magic’s 5th straight loss. The Magic fell once again, this time to the Knicks 84-91, marking their 6th straight loss falling to 6-8 on the season. Vucevic had a solid outing with 24 points and 14 rebounds on 10/16 shooting, while Aaron Gordon stuffed the stat sheet with an 18/17/9 line on 6/18 shooting in the loss to the Knicks.

Finally, the Magic were able to get back in the win column with a buzzer-beating three by Cole Anthony in an amazing comeback win over the Timberwolves, winning 97-96. Vuc filled up the sheet once again with a 28/8/4 line, while Evan Fournier led the way for Orlando with 24 points on 9/21 shooting in 28 minutes in his return from injury. Hopefully, this game is a sign for better things to come for Orlando after breaking their losing streak.

Injury Report

Evan Fournier: Fournier had been out since late December with back problems but made his return in the Magic’s win over the Timberwolves. His return does not seem to change things too much for the Magic fantasy-wise. The player that really takes a hinder seems to be Dwayne Bacon who saw less than 20 minutes of action with Fournier back, but Bacon was not a fantasy option to start with. You could maybe expect a little decrease in Gordon’s production as well with Fournier back.

Michael Carter-Williams: MCW has been out since early January with a foot injury, but he is seeming to be getting closer to making his return to the court. MCW’s return should mean less run for Cole Anthony, but we will see what happens when he comes back in what could be this next week.

Rookie Report

Cole Anthony: Anthony has been seeing heavy run with Fultz out for the year and MCW hurt, but has not been too great with this opportunity. He averaged a 12.5/5.3/3.8 line in 28.6 minutes of action this past week. What has really been hampering Anthony is his shooting, going 38% from the field this week, but he did have a much stronger week from three going 42% from beyond the arc in this past week. I am a bit nervous that we are going to see a decent decline in Anthony’s run with MCW coming back to the lineup, however.

Star of the Week

Nikola Vucevic (25.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 52.6% Fg%, 2.0 Spg, 1.0 Bpg, 35.3 Min)

Faller of the Week

Dwayne Bacon (7.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, .8 APG, 33% Fg%, 25.3 Min)

A Final Word

Hopefully, Anthony’s buzzer-beater and Fournier’s return get this Magic team back on the right track. This team is too good to be losing 6 games in a row with Vuc having himself a career year.

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Philadelphia 76ers: The Gang Gets Back Together

What You Need to Know

The Sixers started this week without Joel Embiid, as he was out with right knee pain, while the Sixers fell 106-104 to the Grizzlies in Morant’s return. Simmons dropped a near triple-double with an 11/16/9 line on 3/9 shooting, but with 7 turnovers while Tobias Harris dropped in 21 points on 7/17 shooting.

Shake Milton scored 28 off the bench on 10/18 shooting in 32 minutes, is it possible that Milton is taking on the Lou Williams role in this Doc River’s offense? The 76ers were supposed to play the Thunder on Sunday, but that game was postponed due to COVID, so their next action was Wednesday against Boston. Embiid dominated the Celtics with a 42 point and 10 rebound double-double in his return back to the court while Simmons had a near triple-double on an 11/8/8 line. Harris put in 22 points in 39 minutes in the win as well.

Injury Report

Joel Embiid: Embiid was out Saturday against the Grizzlies this week due to knee pain, but made his return back later in the week to play against the Celtics. In the game without Embiid, we saw Dwight Howard take on most of the work at center with an 8/18/3 line to go with 3 blocks in 33 minutes. He seems to be a great DFS punt when Embiid misses time.

Seth Curry: Seth Curry has been out due to COVID since early January, but should be making his return back to the lineup next week. We have seen heavy run and usage from both Maxey and Milton in Curry’s absence. It will be interesting to see how Rivers handles the rotations with Curry coming back into the lineup.

Rookie Report

Tyrese Maxey: Maxey continues to see solid run for the 76ers, staying in the starting rotation for them throughout the week. He put in 12 points in the loss against Memphis, but was held scoreless in 20 minutes in the win over the Celtics. The rookie’s numbers are down since the games where 76ers were really struggling to get enough guys on the court. It seems like he will continue to be a rotation piece for the 76ers, but it is hard to trust him considering the fire power the 76ers already have ahead of him.

Star of the Week

Ben Simmons (11.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 35.7% Fg%, 34.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tyrese Maxey(6.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 29.4% Fg%, 22.6 Min)

A Final Word

This 76ers team is finally getting healthy and ready to get their season that they started off so strongly back on track. It will be interesting to see if Embiid can keep his MVP campaign going as we move forward.

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Phoenix Suns: Bahamian Rhapsody

What You Need to Know

The Suns had their first two games of the week postponed due to COVID protocols but made their return to the court Monday in a 104-108 loss to the Grizzlies, despite a solid showing from Deandre Ayton with 18 points and 16 rebounds on 7/14 shooting in 34 minutes. Mikal Bridges had 17 points and 8 rebounds on 6/9 shooting while Booker went for 12 points on 5/21 shooting in the loss to the Grizzlies as they held him in check.

The Suns ended their week Wednesday with a 109-103 win over the Rockets behind a 26 point and 17 rebound double-double from Ayton on 11/15 shooting to go with 5 blocks, while Booker rebounded well with a 24/5/2 line on 10/18 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

No relevant injuries here.

Rookie Report

No rookies playing here as first-round pick Jalen Smith has been out with COVID protocols since late December, but should be making his return to the lineup soon.

Star of the Week

Deandre Ayton (22.0 PPG, 16.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 Bpg, 62% Fg%, 35 Min)

Faller of the Week

Cameron Johnson (9.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 39% Fg%, 25.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Suns continue to play solid basketball with an 8-5 record so far this year. Chris Paul just makes this team so much better and if Ayton can keep up this play then Phoenix is for sure a team you have to be watching out for.

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Portland Trail Blazers: Entering Life Without CJ

What You Need to Know

The Trail Blazers started their week bittersweet as Damian Lillard’s monster night with a 36/7/7 line pushed Portland past the Hawks with a 112-106 win, but CJ McCollum did not return to the game in the second half and ended up fracturing his foot early in the game. Enes Kanter dropped in a 12 point, 15 rebound double-double in 28 minutes filling in for Nurkic, while Trent saw 28 minutes off the bench scoring 18 points on 7/14 shooting.

Next Portland took on the Spurs In their first game without CJ, while Lillard had a big outing in the 104-125 loss to Portland with a 35/3/6 line on 10/23 shooting to go with a steal and a block. Rodney Hood played solid filling in for McCollum, with 21 points on 9/14 shooting in 25 minutes in the loss.

The next two games for the Trail Blazers were supposed to be against the Grizzlies but both of their games got canceled due to COVID protocols.

Injury Report

CJ McCollum: CJ fractured his foot this week, which is just absolutely devastating for the Trail Blazers as he was having a career year alongside Lillard. This injury seems to open up more playing time for both Rodney Hood and Gary Trent. I would say Trent has more upside while Hood is the safer play for now, but what CJ’s injury really means is that we might start to see some even more ridiculous stat lines from Damian Lillard.

Jusuf Nurkic: Nurkic is also out of the Trailblazers due to a fractured wrist as the Blazers are now down two key starters with CJ also being injured. Enes Kanter seems to be the main candidate filling in for Nurkic seeing 27 minutes per game over this last week, while I also think this helps open up more room for Carmelo Anthony who also saw 27 minutes a game last week.

Rookie Report

Nope.

Star of the Week

Damian Lillard(35.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.5 APG, 43.5% Fg%, 39.2 Min)

Faller of the Week

Robert Covington(6.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 23.8% Fg%, 28.4 Min)

A Final Word

Losing McCollum is a huge blow for this Trail Blazers team as McCollum was playing at maybe the highest level we had seen from him ever, but I honestly just am pretty excited to see the numbers that Damian Lillard might start putting up these next few games.

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Sacramento Kings: Fox and Co. in Trouble

What You Need to Know

The Kings had a rough week, starting by getting worked by the Clippers losing 138-100, despite Marvin Bagley putting up a decent effort with a 20/5/2 line on 8/12 shooting in 31 minutes, Holmes was also efficient with a 17/5/1 line on 8/11 shooting despite losing by almost 40 to the Clips.

The Kings then went on to battle the Pelicans, but fell 123-128 despite De’Aaron Fox’s career night with 43 points and 13 assists on 17/27 shooting. Marvin Bagley dropped in a 26 point and 10 rebound double-double in the losing effort.

The Kings ended their week with another matchup against the Clippers in tune to another big loss, this time losing 95-116 with Fox having another strong showing with a 25/4/7 line on 10/18 shooting in what marked their 4th straight loss.

Injury Report

Hassan Whiteside: Whiteside missed the whole week for the King's due to a hip injury and is marked as day-to-day currently. Whiteside’s injury bodes well for Holmes and Bagley who both saw 32 minutes+ this past week with Whiteside out.

Rookie Report

Tyrese Haliburton: Haliburton had a pretty quiet week and started to cool down a bit averaging just a 6.0/2.7/3.0 line for the Kings this week in 24.1 minutes. Haliburton is someone that seems to be needing either Fox or Hield to be out to have real fantasy relevance this season, but the rookie is still looking like one of the most promising players out of this year’s class.

Star of the Week

De’Aaron Fox (27.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 7.7 APG, 59% Fg%, 32.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tyrese Haliburton (6.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 33.3% Fg%, 24.1 Min)

A Final Word

This King’s team is off to a bad start sitting at 5-10, as it is seeming like their stretch of missing the playoffs is bound to continue this season unless they turn it around fast...and that might start with finding a new coach instead of Walton.

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San Antonio Spurs: Pop and the Spurs Continue to Get it Done

What You Need to Know

The Spurs started their week out with Demar DeRozan helping push San Antonio past the injury-depleted Rockets with a 24/7/4 line on 9/25 shooting with 2 steals and a block while Dejounte Murray put up 18 points and 10 boards in the Spurs 103-91 win.

San Antonio then took down the Trail Blazers in a 125-104 win with a balanced effort from the Spurs veterans with 22 points from Aldridge and a 20/6/11 line from DeRozan, while Patty Mills and Rudy Gay both dropped 21 for the San Anotnio in the win.

The Spurs ended their week with a 99-121 loss to the Warriors with Dejounte Murray leading the Spurs in their losing effort with a 22/6/3 line in 29 minutes, while Steph proved to be too much for San Antonio to handle in the loss.

Injury Report

All healthy here.

Rookie Report

Devin Vassell: Vassell had an okay week for the Spurs averaging a 7.7/5.7/2.0 line on 32% shooting from the field, while also snagging 2 steals a game in 24.3 minutes. What is most encouraging is that Vassell is continuing to see decent minutes in this Spurs offense and should continue to see some action throughout his rookie year here in San Antonio.

Star of the Week

Demar DeRozan (19.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 43% Fg%, 31.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Lonnie Walker IV (5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, .7 APG, 23.8% Fg%, 27.1 Min)

A Final Word

Pop and the Spurs continue their solid year, currently sitting at 8-7 in the West. San Antonio’s blend of youth and veterans makes them one of the more enjoyable teams of the season so far.

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Toronto Raptors: Baby Step Forwards

What You Need to Know

The Raptors started their week out with a solid team effort in a 116-113 win over the Hornets. Lowry dropped in a 19/6/6 line on 6/13 shooting while Fred VanVleet had a 15/7/10 line himself in the win. Boucher and Powell were both awesome off the bench as well with a 20 point 9 rebound game from Boucher and a 24/3/2 line on 6/12 shooting for Powell.

Next, The Raptors won their third straight game with their 116-93 win over Dallas behind a 23/9/7 line from Lowry and another great showing for Boucher off the bench with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8/12 shooting to go with 3 blocks in 27 minutes. Siakam put up 19 points on 7/19 shooting in 33 minutes in the win as well.

The Raptors could not keep their streak alive against the Heat, falling 102-111, despite solid efforts from the Raptors trio of Lowry, FVV, and Siakam once again. Lowry had a near triple-double on an 8/10/7 line while Siakam and VanVleet combined for 42 points in the losing effort.

Injury Report

None here.

Rookie Report

Also none here.

Star of the Week

Kyle Lowry (16.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.7 APG, 46% Fg%, 36.0 Min)

Faller of the Week

Aron Baynes (1.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 20% Fg%, 9.7 Min)

A Final Word

Toronto is now at a 5-9 record on the year, nothing to completely panic about, but they can’t afford to lose more games than they should be winning as the season progresses.

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Utah Jazz: Let the Trumpets Blare

What You Need to Know

The Jazz entered the week on a 3 game win streak and started out their week with Donovan Mitchell leading the way for the Jazz in an easy 116-92 win over the Hawks with a 26/3/4 line on 10/20 shooting on 6/10 shooting from three with 3 steals. Gobert put up a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards on 6/7 shooting to go with 4 blocks in the solid effort by Utah to handle Atlanta.

Next, the Jazz took down the Nuggets 109-105 to get their 5th straight win in a solid team effort for Utah. Mitchell put in 18 points and 7 assists, Gobert had a 15 point and 13 rebound double-double, and Clarkson dropped 23 points on 9/13 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench. The Jazz ended their week with two more wins, both against the Pelicans. Mitchell led the way in the first matchup with a 28/7/4 line while Gobert had a 13 point and 18 rebound double-double in their 118-102 win.

Mitchell then took it a step even further, dropping in 36 points to go with 7 points and 5 assists on 11/19 shooting to help Utah win 129-118 in their second matchup against New Orleans. Mike Conley dropped in 20 of his own points in what marked the Jazz 7th straight win, moving them to a quiet 11-4 on the season. Utah is simply on fire.

Injury Report

Joe Ingles: Ingles was out the first two games of the week with an Achilles injury, but returned to the lineup for the final two games of the week against the Jazz. Ingles injury really did not open up much value for other players, but I am sure Utah is happy to have him back in their lineup anyway.

Rookie Report

No rookies getting meaningful time here.

Star of the Week

Donovan Mitchell (27.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 50% Fg%, 50% 3P%, 33.7 Min)

Faller of the Week

Royce O’Neal (6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 33.5 Min)

A Final Word

This Jazz team is looking really strong early on this season going under the radar and sitting at 11-4, but all that really matters is if they can start to find some success in the Playoffs as well.

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Washington Wizards: COVID in the Capital

What You Need to Know

The Wizards have had their past 6 games canceled and haven’t played since January 11th. The Wizards look to get back on the court Sunday the 24th against the Spurs if that game does not get canceled.

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Atlanta Hawks: Getting That Swagger Back

What You Need to Know

The Hawks fell in their first two outings in the week, losing 92-116 to the Jazz and then falling 106-112 to the Trail Blazers. Young was held in check in the first game versus the Jazz with just a 4/4/7 line on 1/11 shooting, while he bounced back against Portland with a 26 point and 11 assist double-double to go with 7 rebounds despite the loss.

The Hawks turned it around winning their next two games of the week against Minnesota and Detroit. Young had two more great games in their two wins of the week averaging a line of 29/6/11.5 on 41% shooting from the field.

Clint Capela was incredible this week as well, here is his rebounding total in order from the Hawks’ four games this week: 11, 15, 16, 26. He recorded a double-double in all four games and averaged a team-high 35.5 minutes per game in this span.

Injury Report

Danillo Gallinari, Kris Dunn, Bogdon Bogdanovic: Gallinari is getting healthier after tweaking his ankle back in late December, while Dunn and Bogdanovic both seem like they will be out for the foreseeable future Gallo’s return does take a hit to Hunter, Reddish, and Huerter’s value.

Cam Reddish: Reddish bruised his left knee vs Utah and missed the last 3 out of 4 games in the week Reddish being out along with the three veterans they signed in free agency, has translated to lots of run for Huerter who averaged a 16/5/5 line in 39 minutes over their past three games.

Rookie Report

Onyeka Okongwu: In a pretty wild few days in the NBA, it was pretty easy to not even notice that the 6th overall draft pick in this year's draft, Onyeka Okongwu made his debut for Atlanta. Okongwu saw the court in two games with a 4/5/2 line vs Utah in 15 minutes and scored 2 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 13 minutes vs the Pistons.

With the way Capela is playing right now, it is hard to see Okngwu really being a fantasy producer this season, but he is a fantastic dynasty option.

Star of the week

Clint Capela (22.8 PPG, 16.8 RPG, 3.0 BPG, 66% Fg%, 35.5 Min)

Faller of the week

John Collins (16.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 52.8% Fg%, 34.0 Min)

A Final Word

This Hawks team has the capability of being one of the better teams in this league. It really relies on Young keeping his play at a high level, but with Capela looking strong and their free agents that they signed coming back sooner than later, better days could be ahead for the Hawks.

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Boston Celtics: Get Healthy Tatum

What You Need to Know

In just a three-game week for the Celtics, they were without their star player Jayson Tatum for all three games due to COVID-19 protocols. The Celtic’s beat down on the Magic in their first game back since having three games postponed winning 124-97 behind a 21 point showing from Jaylen Brown as he also tied his career-high with 8 assists.

The rest of the week had both good news and bad news for Boston.

The good news: Kemba Walker is officially back.

The bad news: the Celtic’s lost their next two games including an embarrassing 75-105 loss to the Knicks despite a great showing from Brown with a 25/6/3 line in 32 minutes on 9/20 shooting while Walker struggled with a 9/3/4 line on 3/13 shooting with 5 turnovers in 19 minutes in his return.

To end their week the Celtics lost to the 76ers 109-117 Wednesday night. Jaylen Brown was great in the loss again with 26/5/3 in the loss on 10/24 shooting in 32 minutes, while Marcus Smart looked good as well with a season-high 25 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the losing effort. Walker played better in this game than his debut with 19 points on 6/15 shooting to go with 6 assists in just 21 minutes.

Injury Report

Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams: Tatum and Williams missed the entire week due to COVID-19 protocols, but both have a shot at playing Friday versus the 76ers. Brown is the de facto number 1 option in Boston while Tatum remains out, while no real fantasy value opened up while Williams has been sidelined as well.

Rookie Report

Payton Pritchard: Pritchard has looked very strong throughout the early season, but Kemba Walker is now officially back which in turn diminishes Pritchard’s value quite a bit. In Walker’s first two games, Pritchard averaged just 3 points, 1 assist, and 2 rebounds in just 18 minutes a game. Pritchard may have little to zero value now that Kemba is back in action.

Star of the Week

Jaylen Brown (24 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, 44.6% Fg%, 30.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tristan Thompson (3.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 33.3% Fg%, 22.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Celtics are sitting at 8-5 with Kemba Walker just returning and they also have been without their young superstar in Tatum for the time being with COVID. This Celtics team is proving themselves to be a deep team and one that you do not want to run into come playoff time.

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Brooklyn Nets: **** Just Got Real

What You Need to Know

The Net’s broke all the headlines in the league with their monstrous trade for James Harden and we got to see a glimpse of what the future will look like in Brooklyn. The Nets got out to a 2-0 start on the week with wins over the Magic and Bucks without Kyrie Irving. Harden made a statement debut with the Nets, dropping a ridiculous 32/12/14 while scoring another 34 points to go with 12 assists in their win over Milwaukee. His co-star Kevin Durant was also on his game in those first two outings, scoring 42 versus the Magic and putting up a 30/9/6 vs the Bucks.

Finally, for their last game of the week, Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup in what was a spectacular double-overtime loss versus Cleveland. Despite the loss, the newest Big 3 all put up ridiculous numbers in their first time all together. Durant had a team-high 38 points to go with 12 rebounds and 8 assists, while Kyrie was right behind him with 37 points of his own. Harden had his own solid line with a triple-double on a 21/10/12 line.

This team is going to be instant entertainment all season long.

Injury Report

Kyrie Irving: Irving missed the first two games of the week due to COVID-19 protocols, but returned for the last game of the week against his former team in Cleveland If I had to guess, I would say that Irving’s return will hamper Harden’s value a little bit more than Durant’s, however, all three will continue to be elite fantasy options this season.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to report here besides 2nd round pick Reggie Perry who has seen some increased action as of recently with around 10 minutes a game last week, but has no fantasy relevance as of now.

Star of the Week

Kevin Durant (36.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 3.0 BPG, 53.6% Fg%, 42 Min)

Faller of the Week

Landry Shamet (3.33 PPG, .33 RPG, .33 APG, 50% Fg%, 9 Min)

A Final Word

KD, Kyrie, James Harden. This team is going to be so fun to watch all season long and I am curious to see how they respond to the pressure they have put on themselves.

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Charlotte Hornets: A Quiet Week in Buzz City

What You Need to Know

In just a one-game week for the Hornets due to their game against Washington being postponed, the Hornets fell 113-116 to the Raptors all the way back on Saturday. It was another solid showing from Gordon Hayward, with a 25/5/3 line on 7/13 shooting and 10/10 from the stripe in the losing effort. Rozier and Graham combined for 44 points and 10 threes in a solid showing from both of the guards, however, Rozier air-balled what would have been the game-tying shot for the Hornets.

Injury Report

Cody Zeller: Cody Zeller has not seen the court since the Hornets first game of the season with a hand injury but is probable to make his return Friday versus the Bulls This will certainly affect Bismack Biyombo’s value going forward. Biyombo has been playing around 27 minutes per game and is averaging 7.6 pointers per game to go with 7.3 rebounds per game. All three of those numbers should drop with Zeller returning.

Rookie Report

LaMelo Ball: When we last saw Ball on the court, he played 22 minutes of action dropping 11 points on 4/11 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ball’s early-season play has him atop most people’s early ROY rankings as the dynamic rookie continues to prove himself with each game this season. Fantasy-owners, Hornets fans, and just basketball fans, in general, are all alike in wanting to see this kid play even more.

Star of the Week

Gordon Hayward (25 Pts, 5 Rbs, 3 Asts, 54% shooting, 38 minutes)

Faller of the Week

Only one game so no real candidates here.

A Final Word

The Hornets are sitting at 6-8 and seem to be a team where no one quite knows what direction they will go. The East is so wide open that this team could easily be a playoff team or a bottom 4 team by the end of the season, but they need to turn this three-game losing streak around. Hopefully, we get to see some more LaMelo Ball going forward as well.

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Chicago Bulls: Lauri to the Rescue

What You Need to Know

The Bulls started this week on a down note blowing a 16 point lead away to the Thunder with 4:40 remaining in the game and eventually losing 127-125 in overtime last Friday. LaVine and Coby were both on their game in the loss with a 35/7/6 line and a 22/9/7 line respectively. Lauri made his return in his first action since December 29th with 16 points and 6 birds on 5/14 shooting in 35 minutes with a steal and 2 blocks in the loss. The Bulls ended up turning around their streak of bad luck(4 straight losses by a combined 11 points) by winning their next two outings versus the Mavericks and Rockets. LaVine and Coby struggled in the win versus Houston with Lavine scoring just 10 points while White had 0 points on 0/5 shooting, but it was Markkanen who lead the way for the Bulls with a 29 point and 10 rebound game on 10/19 shooting to help Chicago take down Dallas 117-101. LaVine woke back up in their next game versus the Rockets with a 33/4/7 line on 11/16 shooting with 2 steals and a block, while Markkanen continued his solid play since with 18 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes on 4/12 shooting, with 11 of those 12 attempts being threes in the win.

Injury Report

Lauri Markkanen: Markkanen returned from both a calf injury and COVID protocols and looked really solid in his first few games back scoring 21 points a game to go with 7.7 boards per game in 34 minutes of action If his return impacts someone specifically I would say Thaddeus Young takes the biggest hit of all the Bulls.

Thomas Satoranksy and Chandler Hutchinson: Satoransky and Hutchinson have been out with COVID protocols since late December but should both see the court Friday for the Bulls. Their return should take some value away from both Coby White and Patrick Williams.

Patrick Williams and Otto Porter Williams missed the Bulls last outing of the week with a hip injury while Otto Porter Jr. also missed the last game due to a back injury Garrett Temple saw the start with both of them out and put in 13 points with 2 assists and 2 rebounds in 32 minutes in the spot start. He and Valentine are the two players who benefit the most from Williams and Porter missing.

Rookie Report

Patrick Williams Willams continued his solid play for the Bulls this week with 14 points and 7 rebounds to go with 2 blocks on 5/7 shooting against the Thunder while only putting in 5 points in his second outing of the week against Dallas but only saw 22 minutes as he hurt his hip in the game. His injury does not seem too serious, but he could be held out a few games just as a precaution, but the kid looks like he belongs in this league, and having him on the court is crucial for the Bull.

Stud of the Week

Zach LaVine (26 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 7.7 APG, 53.5% Fg%, 2.0 Spg, 36.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Coby White (10.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 32.3% Fg%, 34 Min)

A Final Word

After an early week meltdown against the Thunder, the Bulls started to figure it out with back to back wins to end the week. This Bulls team is talented, but if they want to really take that next step, it starts with them being able to close out games late.

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Cleveland Cavaliers: No Luck for New York

What You Need to Know

The Cavs only played two games this week due to having two games vs Washington postponed, but ended up going 2-0 on the week in some tight finishes. Andre Drummond was fantastic in their 106-103 win over the Knicks with 33 points and 23 rebounds on 10/18 shooting while adding 2 steals and 2 blocks to go with his monster double-double. Cedi Osman also chipped in to help with a season-high 25 points for himself.

After their next two games against the Wizards got postponed, the new-look Nets came to town as well as Sexton coming back to the lineup and we may have had our game of the season in this one, with Sexton putting up one of the grittiest performances you will ever see with 42 points to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 16/29 shooting in 38 minutes, including 20 straight points in the overtimes as the Cavs ended the game victorious winning 147-135.

Osman once again scored 25 points to go with 7 rebounds and 7 assists to continue his solid week of play. The Cavs ended their week by sending away Kevin Porter after his most recent outbreak to the Rockets for a second-round pick.

Injury Report

Kevin Love: Love continues to be out with a calf injury he suffered in late December. Larry Nance Jr. will continue to see heavy minutes and be a solid option while Love is out.

Collin Sexton: Sexton made his emphatic return to the court after missing about two weeks with an ankle injury. Sexton should continue to go back into his role of being the Cavs’ leading scorer and should continue to be a very solid fantasy option throughout the rest of the year.

Darius Garland: Garland has been out with a shoulder injury since the beginning of the month, but should be back in action Friday night. Damyean Dotson has seen extended minutes for the Cavs but that should change once Garland is back in the lineup as Sexton has already made his return back to the lineup.

Rookie Report

Isaac Okoro: Okoro continues to see heavy minutes for Cleveland(37.4 Mpg) and has started to play pretty solid for them as well. He fouled out in their game versus Brooklyn and finished with 8 points, but in his previous three games, he had reached double digits while also recording 2 or more steals in each of those games as well. It will be interesting to see how he continues to play with both Sexton and Garland back.

Star of the Week

Cedi Osman (25 PPG, 5 RPG, 6 APG, 51.4% Fg%, 45 Min)

Faller of the Week

Javale McGee (1.0 PPG, .5 RPG, .5 APG, 0% Fg%, 6.5 Min). Did not see the court in the game after the Jarett Allen trade.

A Final Word

I think it is easy to forget the success that Clevland was having early in the year with Garland and Sexton. I think we are all excited to see if the Cavs can really get back on track with those two players back and healthy.

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Dallas Mavericks: At Least Luka is Covid Free

What You Need to Know

The Dallas Mavericks were without Kleber, Brunson, Powell, and Richardson for this week due to COVID-19 protocols and got off to a rough start. First, they lost a close one to Giannis and the Bucks, falling 109-112, despite Doncic putting up a triple-double with a 28/10/13 line on 13/24 shooting. Porzingis put up a 15 point and 10 rebound double-double in 29 minutes in the loss as well.

Next, Luka Doncic’s video game-like numbers of a stat line with a 36 point, 16 rebounds, and 15 assist performance was not enough to fend off the Bulls in a 101-117 loss, and then they fell again to the Raptors losing 93-116 marking their 3rd straight loss. Luka played decent with a 15/7/9 line on 4/11 shooting while Porzingis also looked solid with 23 points and 9 rebounds in 31 minutes in the loss to Toronto.

Finally, the Mavs were able to find themselves back in the win column with a 124-112 win over the Pacers on Wednesday. Doncic put up another triple-double with a 13/12/12 line while Porzingis had a season-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds on 12/15 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Dorial Finney-Smith: All four of these players were out the whole week with COVID-19 protocols and while none of these players are necessarily great players, this is still 4 rotation players the Mavericks are missing. Their return should not hurt Doncic or Porzingis’ value too much, but may hurt Jalen Brunson’s a decent amount as he has been playing 30 minutes a game over his past four.

Tim Hardaway Jr: Hardaway missed the game versus Chicago with a groin injury during the week but returned to play the next two games of the week despite massively struggling against Toronto going 0/12 from the field.

Rookie Report

Josh Green: Green has not been a productive rookie so far, but did see the start with Hardaway being out against Chicago and saw 32 minutes that game, but only put up 4 points. Would love to see a little bit more out of Green in the time he is on the court.

Star of the Week

Luka Doncic (23 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 12.3 APG, 42.5 Fg%, 36.4 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tim Hardaway Jr (13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 35.7% Fg%, 32.6 Min)

A Final Word

This Maverick’s team was far from its final form, missing many rotation players due to COVID. Hopefully, this team can turn this week around once they finally start to get healthy again.

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Denver Nuggets: The Joker Keeps Rolling

What You Need to Know

Jokic started off the Nuggets week with another monster game with a 35/14/9 line, but that was not enough to take down Utah as they fell 105-109 in Denver on Sunday. Jamal Murray also looked great in the loss with 30 points on 11/27 shooting for Denver in their Western Conference playoff rematch.

The Nuggets turned it around with a win over the Thunder later in the week behind another dominant showing from the Joker with a 27/12/6 line on 12/21 shooting. 6 other Nugget players reached double-digits in a solid team effort for Denver.

Injury Report

Michael Porter Jr: MPJ continues to be held back by COVID-19 protocols, not seeing the court since late December, but he could join the team’s road trip starting this Friday. His return will for sure help the Nuggets get some more wins, but is bound to take a hit at everyone on the Nuggets value a little bit due to his scoring presence.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to note here, 29 year old rookie Facanduo Campazzo is the only one seeing at least somewhat consistent time with at least 10 minutes in his past 8 games, but is not doing anything to make him fantasy relevant, however.

Star of the Week

Nikola Jokic (31 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 7.5 APG, 59% Fg%, 34.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Will Barton (7.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 46.2% Fg%, 25.1 Min)

A Final Word

The Nuggets are patiently waiting for MPJ to come back and help give this team his dynamic scoring ability and if the Nuggets start to reel off some wins, then the Jokic MVP talks will only start getting louder and louder.

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Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant Won’t Slow Down

What You Need to Know

The Pistons started off their week with a game postponement against the Wizards on Friday, but took down the Heat the next night in Miami as Jerami Grant continued his excellent start to the season with a 24/9/6 line on 10/19 shooting to go with 2 steals and 4 blocks in the 120-100 win over a short-handed Heat team.

Derrick Rose had a solid outing with 23 points on 8/12 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench for Detroit. The Pistons could not sweep the Heat as they fell to the Heat in their second game, losing 107-113 despite another great outing from Jerami Grant with a 27/4/6 line on 10/19 shooting.

Veterans Derrick Rose and Wayne Ellington both had solid games with 21 points and 24 points respectively in the loss to Miami. The Pistons ended their week with an overtime loss to the Hawks falling 115-123, but once again we saw Jerami Grant produce at a high level with 32 points to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the losing effort.

Injury Report

Nothing to report here besides Killian Hayes still sidelined with his strained hip.

Rookie Report

Saddiq Bey: Saddiq has gone from a solid contributor to the Pistons to barely seeing the court over his past three games. Saddiq saw a combined 22 minutes over his last three games and was scoreless in his past two games. This is not the direction you would have had thought Bey’s season would start to spiral too after his pretty solid start to the season.

Isiah Stewart: The Pistons’ other rookie that gets decent time is Isaiah Stewart who has proved himself to be a tenacious rebounder when on the court evident by his 10 point and 11 board double-double in their win against Miami in just 19 minutes. Stewart has seen 5 straight games with double-digit minutes, but did not top 20 minutes in each of those games. I would love to see Stewart get some more time as the season progresses.

Star of the Week

Jerami Grant (27.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 53.3% Fg%, 36.6 Min)

Faller of the Week

Saddiq Bey (1.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, .3 APG, 16.7% Fg%, 7.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Pistons have fallen to a league-worst 3-11 on the season. Grant’s success on the court just is not quite translating to wins, however, this Pistons team is infused with young talent, so better days are most certainly ahead for Detroit.

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Golden State Warriors: Chef Curry is Officially Back

What You Need to Know

The Warriors had their first game postponed Friday against the Suns, so their first action was on MLK day where Steph Curry led the Dubs to an amazing comeback win over the Lakers with a 26 point and 7 assist outing on 8/22 shooting, including a dagger three over Anthony Davis.

Kelly Oubre put in a season-high 23 points on 9/18 shooting in the win while Draymond Green had a solid outing with a 7/8/9 line on 3/6 shooting in 30 minutes. Curry continued his strong play with a 26/11/7 line with their 121-99 win against Spurs. The Warriors could not end the week on a high note, however, as they fell 119-104 to the New York Knicks, despite another strong showing by Curry with a 30/3/4 line while Draymond Green was questionably ejected early on in the game, which did not help the Warriors in their battle against the Knicks.

Injury Report

Nothing new here, except for still missing watching Klay shoot the ball.

Rookie Report

Wiseman had quite an up and down week for himself. He struggled against the Lakers with 4 points and 3 rebounds with 5 turnovers in just 12 minutes, but bounced back against the Spurs with a career-high 20 points to go with 6 rebounds on 8/11 shooting in 25 minutes in the win.

Wiseman finished the week strongly with a 15/8/2 line in 25 minutes in their loss against the Knicks. He is clearly full of talent and if/when he starts seeing consistent minutes he will be a solid fantasy option, just this year might not be the year for him to be getting that consistent run.

Star of the Week

Stephen Curry (27.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 46.6% Fg%, 34 Min)

Faller of the Week

I really don’t see any options here honestly.

A Final Word

Steph is playing at his usual high level here and it is just so much fun to watch the Warriors again. Sitting at 8-7, let’s see if Kerr and the Warriors can hold on to find themselves back in the playoffs again.

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Houston Rockets: Hurting With No Harden

What You Need to Know

The Rockets made their blockbuster trade last week, but we are still waiting to see their new-look team finally play together due to injuries. In their second game post the Harden trade, they put up a solid effort with only 8 active players despite losing 103-91 to the Spurs. Wood led the way for the Rockets with 24 points and 18 boards on 9/20 shooting and 3 blocks, while undrafted rookie Mason Jones put up a 26/6/4 line in 35 minutes in the spot start going 8/12 from the field and 6/8 from three.

In their next outing, Victor Oladipo made his Rockets debut with a monster showing with 32 points to go with 5 rebounds and 9 assists on 13/23 shooting despite losing 120-125 to the Bulls. Christian Wood continued his elite start to the season with 30 points and 9 rebounds on 11/16 shooting in 30 minutes in the loss to Chicago.

The Rockets ended their week with a 103-109 loss to the Suns with Oladipo and Eric Gordon both dropping 22 points while Wood had 20 of his points to go with 11 rebounds and 2 steals and 2 blocks in the losing effort. The Rockets ended their week by taking a stab at Kevin Porter Jr for a future 2nd round pick. Porter had not touched the floor at all for Cleveland, so it will be interesting to see how the Rockets go about handling him.

Injury Report

John Wall: Wall missed the whole week with left knee soreness and will be out through this weekend as well. While we don’t know how they will play together yet, this seems to be a bit of an upgrade to Victor Oladipo and his usage for the time being.

Christian Wood: Wood suffered an ankle injury in their outing versus Phoenix and has already been ruled out for Friday. This should mean more value for Demarcus Cousins, but we will see as Silas has played Cousins over 20 minutes just once this year.

Rookie Report

Jae’Sean Tate: Tate has seen some serious run this past week with 31.2 minutes per game, averaging a 9.0/5.7/1.7 line. While these numbers are not very noteworthy, I am curious to see if his role in this offense stays when Houston has their pieces fully healthy.

Mason Jones: Jones saw 35 minutes in his start versus the Spurs and produced with a 24/6/4 line, but saw just 25 minutes combined over his next two games as Oladipo and other Rocket players returned. His role in the offense does not seem like it will be sticking going forward.

Star of the Week

Victor Oladipo (27 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 7.5 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 31.7 Min)

Faller of the Week

PJ Tucker (3.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 23.1% Fg%, 30.6 Min)

A Final Word

We are all eager to see this new look Rocket’s team finally all in action as they really are a huge wild card at this point in the season. Will this new starting 5 generate quick success? Does Oladipo even end the season in Houston? Lot of questions to be answered in the future in Houston.

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Indiana Pacers: No Victories Without Vic

What You Need to Know

Their game with the Suns was postponed on Saturday, so their first action of the week was Sunday versus the Clippers which was also their first game without Victor Oladipo and while also missing Turner and LeVert, the Pacers got handled, losing 96-129. Sabonis stuffed the sheet once again with a 19/14/6 line on 7/14 shooting while Brogdon put in 16 points on 7/21 shooting to go with 8 assists.

The Pacers finished off their week with a 112-124 loss to the Mavericks despite more big showings from Sabonis with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Brogdon who had 26 of his own points in the loss. Jeremy Lamb made his season debut with 10 points in 19 minutes.

Injury Report

Caris LeVert: LeVert was found to have a mass on his kidney during his physical with the Pacers and is out for the time being. This means more opportunity for Brogdon, Sabonis, and Justin Holiday.

Myles Turner: Myles Turner is out with a hand fracture, but it appears that he will be back sooner than later which is good for both fantasy owners and Pacers fans With Myles Turner out Doug McDermott has taken over the spot in the starting 5, with Sabonis moving to the 5. McDermott has averaged a 19.5/4.5/2.5 line in 33.4 minutes per game over their last two outings.

Rookie Report

Nada.

Star of the Week

Domantas Sabonis (22.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 55.2% Fg%, 37.5 Min)

Faller of the Week

No real good candidate here.

A Final Word

This Pacers team is really hurting here right now honestly, with only two opening day starters being active for them currently in Sabonis and Brogdon. The Pacers are currently 8-6, and while they might struggle with some games in this portion of the season, it is important to note that this Pacers team is very far away from its strongest form.

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Los Angeles Clippers: Making it Look Easy

What You Need to Know

The Clippers had a strong week starting with a 138-100 beatdown over the Kings behind strong games from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Leonard poured in 27 points on 10/15 shooting to go with 4 boards and 6 assists in just 27 minutes while George had 26 points, 4 boards and 2 assists on 8/14 shooting in 29 minutes, while 6 players scored in double figures in the win over Sacramento.

A balanced effort by the Clippers helped lead them to a 129-96 win over the Pacers in their next outing with Paul George, Luke Kennard, and Marcus Morris all scoring exactly 20 points on an impressive 61% from the field. Kawhi had a solid game as well with a 17/7/5 line on 8/13 shooting in the win. The Clippers ended their week Wednesday with another win over the Kings, winning 115-96.

The Clippers stars showed out once again, with Leonard pouring in 32 points while George put up a near triple-double with a 19/7/12 line in the win. This marked their third win of the week and their 5th in a row.

Injury Report

Lou Williams: Lou Williams returned Wednesday versus the Kings after missing a week of basketball with a hip injury. Williams only saw 14 minutes, but he should be seeing more time as the season continues. Leonard and George are really the only two Clippers you can trust in fantasy for the moment, however.

Rookie Report

Nope.

Star of the Week

Kawhi Leonard (25.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 62% Fg%, 2.3 Spg, 31.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Nicolas Batum (9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, .7 APG, 47% Fg%, 24.1 Min)

A Final Word

The Clippers are really starting to find their gear with 5 straight easy wins to put them at 11-4 on the season. The battle for LA between the Lakers and Clippers is going to be a fun storyline to watch all season long.

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Los Angeles Lakers: Roller Coaster Week for the Reigning Champs

What You Need to Know

It was quite an up and down week for the Lakers, starting with a 112-95 win over the Pelicans behind a near triple-double from LeBron James with a 21/8/11 line while AD scored 17 points to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 5/16 shooting in his revenge game against New Orleans.

In their next outing, The Lakers choked one away to the Warriors losing 113-115 despite a 17 point and 17 rebound double-double from Anthony Davis and a 19/5/5 line from LeBron James. Dennis Schroeder dropped a season-high 25 points on 8/15 shooting in 33 minutes in the losing effort for the Lakers.

They ended their week on a high note with a 113-106 win Thursday night against Giannis and the Bucks with a dominant showing from James who poured in a season-high 34 points to go with 6 rebounds and 8 assists while AD had a near triple-double himself with a 18/9/6 line in the win.

Injury Report

None.

Rookie Report

Also None.

Star of the Week

LeBron James (24.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.0 APG, 48% Fg%, 35.5 Min)

Faller of the Week

Marc Gasol (4.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 41.7 Fg%, 18.2 Min)

A Final Word

The Lakers are sitting pretty with an NBA best 12-4. What matters for them is staying healthy and being ready to take a stab at their second straight Larry O'Brien Trophy come playoff time while maintaining this regular-season success.

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Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies Are Fun Again

What You Need to Know

The Grizzlies first game this week was supposed to be against the Timberwolves, but was postponed due to COVID protocols. The Grizzlies returned to the court on Saturday versus the 76ers, while Ja Morant made his return as well from his tweaked ankle to lead them to a 106-104 win.

Morant finished with 17 points and 6 assists on 7/14 shooting in 30 minutes while Brandon Clarke put an 11 point and 11 rebound double-double for Memphis in the win. Morant and company finished with another win in their next showing with a 108-104 win over the Suns. Morant scored 17 points to go with 10 assists and 2 steals while Clarke scored 17 of his own points on 8/13 shooting with 2 steals in 34 minutes in the win as well.

The Grizzlies last game of the week against Portland was postponed due to COVID and their game on Friday versus them has already been postponed as well.

Injury Report

Ja Morant: Ja Morant made his return to this team after being out since late December with a tweaked ankle. Morant makes this team so much more dynamic and more competitive which bodes well for fantasy owners. If anyone takes a hit from Morant’s return it would be Tyus Jones who saw around 20 minutes per game over these past two outings.

Jonas Valanciunas: Valanciunas tested positive during the week and missed their outing against Phoenix. This helps both Brandon Clarke, who scored 17 points in 34 minutes, and Xavier Tillman who slid into the starting five playing 28 minutes scoring 12 points, and grabbing 6 rebounds.

Rookie Report

Desmond Bane: Bane is consistently seeing around 20-25 minutes a night for the Grizzlies and is playing pretty solid for them as well. He averaged a 10.0/1.5/1.5 line on 57% shooting throughout the week. Bane has shown some promise for the future as he has shown glimpses of scoring, shooting the ball efficiently, and defense.

Xavier Tillman: The rookie big man had been seeing around 17 minutes per game throughout the season, but has seen his minutes bump up to 28.2 minutes per game over his past week in tune to a 13.5/5.0/1.5 line on 57% shooting. Tillman could be a solid spot start as long as Jonas remains out with COVID-19.

Star of the Week

Ja Morant (17.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 8.0 APG, 50% Fg%, 32.4 Mins)

Faller of the Week

Dillon Brooks (7.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 24% Fg%, 24.6 Mins)

A Final Word

Ja Morant’s return is great for Memphis as they are sitting already at a 7-6 record. Jaren Jackson Jr’s return is looming, and with him coming back sooner than later, the Grizzlies could be in a good spot to capitalize on their early-season success.

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Miami Heat: Bam Back in Action

What You Need to Know

The Heat started their week by splitting two matchups against the Pistons. They lost the first one 100-120, despite a monster game from Bam Adebayo in his return with a 28/7/6 line on 8/11 shooting while Duncan Robinson put in 22 points on 6/10 shooting and ? from three.

The Heat took the next one against Detroit winning 113-107 while Bam continued to dominate with a 28/11/5 line with 2 steals and a block on 9/15 shooting and 10/11 from the charity line. Goran Dragic dropped in 22 points on 33 minutes while Duncan Robinson had 18 of his own on 6/9 shooting from three.

Kendrick Nunn put in 18 points in the win off the bench in 34 minutes as well. Nunn continued this solid play leading the Heat to a 111-102 win over the Raptors with a 28/8/5 line on 9/12 shooting while Bam Adeboy continued his solid play with another near triple-double 14/13/7 on 6/14 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

Jimmy Butler: Jimmy Butler remains out for the Heat due to COVID protocols His return may diminish the values of certain Heat players such as Herro and Iguodala.

Tyler Herro: Herro missed the entire week due to neck problems and is questionable for Friday. Kendrick Nunn seems to be the main benefactor from this with both Herro and Butler out, averaging a 17.7/6.0/3.0 line on 60% shooting in 32 minutes per game.

Rookie Report

Precious Achiuwa: Achiuwa was seeing good minutes earlier this season with Bam out due to COVID protocols, but as Bam returned, Achiuwa went back to his original value. Achiuwa averaged a 5.7/2.3/1.3 line on 64% shooting in just 13 minutes per game.

Star of the Week

Bam Adebayo (23.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 Bpg, 57.1% Fg%, 34 Min)

Faller of the Week

Precious Achiuwa (5.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 64% Fg%, 13 Min

A Final Word

This Heat team is starting to gain its pieces back together, sitting at 6-7 they seem bound to make a little bit of jump in their record when finally healthy. Bam is looking incredible so far this season and hopefully, a rested Jimmy Butler can get them on the right track.

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Milwaukee Bucks: Rocky Week for Giannis and Co.

What You Need to Know

The Bucks started their week with Giannis scoring a game-high 31 points to go with 9 rebounds on 14/21 shooting, despite going 1/10 from the free-throw line, to help lead the Bucks to a win over Dallas and Doncic. Middleton dropped in a 25/8/6 line on 8/20 shooting and hit some clutch shots to help secure the win for Milwaukee.

In their next showing, despite a big outing from the Bucks “Big 3” they fell 123-125 in a great MLK day game. Giannis’s 34/12/7 line on 13/26 shooting and a combined 47 points from Middleton and Holiday was not enough to take down KD and Harden’s Nets.

The Bucks ended their week with another loss, this time in a 106-113 defeat to the Lakers. Giannis, Middleton, and Holiday all looked solid once again with all of them scoring 20+ points despite the losing effort.

Injury Report

None.

Rookie Report

Also None.

Star of the Week

Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 59% Fg%, 35.0 Min)

Faller of the Week

Bobby Portis (5.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, .7 APG, 39% Fg%, 16.0 Min)

A Final Word

The Bucks had a pretty tough week facing off against Dallas, Brooklyn, and the Lakers, but they really have not looked as strong as we have seen them before, but for this team, nothing really matters until we enter the playoffs.

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Minnesota Timberwolves: Can’t Catch a Break

What You Need to Know

The Timberwolves first game of this week was postponed against the Hawks due to Karl Anthony-Towns having a positive COVID test. In their first game since finding out that they will be missing KAT once again, D’Angelo Russel’s big game with 31 points on 11/22 shooting to go with 7 assists and 4 steals was not enough to take down the Hawks as they fell 108-97.

Malik Beasley had 15 points on 5/17 shooting in the loss to Atlanta. The TWolves ended their week Wednesday with a little bit of a heartbreak in a loss against the Magic. After controlling most of the game, even winning by 20 points at a point, Cole Anthony hit a game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Magic a 97-96 lead. Russell once again led the way with 19 points to go with 6 assists in the losing effort.

Injury Report

Karl Anthony-Towns: After Towns already missed a good early chunk of the season with a wrist injury, KAT is out some more games with a positive COVID test. This once again opens up the floor for Naz Reid(28.5 Mpg last week) and Jarred Vanderbilt(23.4 Mpg).

Ricky Rubio: Rubio is out due to COVID protocols as well. This means we are seeing more of Russell running the one with no one player really seeing a huge boost in value with no Rubio.

Juancho Hernangomez: Hernangomez is also out due to COVID protocols This again opens up time for Reid and Vanderbilt, but also helps Jaden McDaniel sneak in some more playing time with two bigs on the COVID list.

Rookie Report

Anthony Edwards: The number one pick of the draft continues to impress early on. After seeing his minutes dip a bit with Okogie coming back, Edwards started to see some more time on the court again with three key players for the TWolves being out. He averaged a 10/2.5/1 line in 26.6 minutes in their two appearances on just 26% shooting. If there is one area that is a bit of a concern for Edwards, his shot just is not very accurate right now, but he is showing some utmost confidence in himself which is assuring.

Jaden McDaniels: After pretty much not seeing the court for the entire year, McDaniels saw himself playing 26 minutes in their loss to Orlando, putting up 12 points to go with 8 assists on 5/9 shooting. I am curious to see if we start to see more of McDaniels as long as KAT and Hernangomez are out and maybe even with them back in the lineup.

Star of the Week

D’Angelo Russell (25.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.5 Spg, 46% Fg%, 32 Min)

Faller of the Week

Josh Okogie (7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, .5 APG, 50% Fg%, 23.8 Min)

A Final Word

The Timberwolves keep getting struck by bad luck with KAT being out for even longer and then falling apart late against the Magic. Hopefully, KAT can get back soon enough to help this team as they are currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference at 3-10.

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New Orleans Pelicans: Rough week for NOLA

What You Need to Know

The Pelicans had a busy week on the road, starting with a match against the Lakers, where Zion’s 21 point and 12 rebound double-double were not enough to thwart off the Lakers and Lebron while Ingram dropped in a 20/3/5 line on 9/15 shooting with 2 steals and a block in the losing effort for the Pelicans. In their next outing, The Pelicans took one from the Kings with a monster performance from Zion who dropped in 31 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 13/15 shooting for New Orleans, while Brandon Ingram put in 22 points on 8/19 shooting in the 128-123 win over Sacramento.

This ended up being their last win of the week as the Pelicans dropped back to back games against the Jazz to end their week. Zion Williamson was once again dominant in those two losses, scoring 32 points on 14/29 shooting in the first game while dropping in 27 in their second game as well against the Jazz. Ingram also continued his solid play averaging 20 a game in those two outings against the Jazz. It was really just the Ingram and Zion show for the Pelicans this week.

Injury Report

Lonzo Ball: Ball missed the first two outings of the week with a knee injury that occurred on Jan 8th, but made his return on the 19th this week in their first loss vs Utah. This does make a bit of a damper on Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s value with Ball back in the lineup.

Rookie Report

Nothing much to report here, Kira Lewis was seeing around 12 minutes per game in the games Lonzo was out, but is back to riding the pine with him in.

Star of the Week

Zion Williamson (27.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 67% Fg%, 34.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Steven Adams (7.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 29.8 Min)

A Final Word

These Pelicans move to 5-9 and this team needs to start playing better as right now it is simply just the Zion and Ingram show for New Orleans. Hopefully, Ball’s return could help right the ship for them, but they need more help from all their teammates if they want to turn this season around.

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New York Knicks: Defense Reigns Supreme

What You Need to Know

The Knicks had a very busy 4 game week starting with Julius Randle dropping in a loaded 28/6/6 line in a 103-106 loss vs Drummond and the Cavs, continuing his strong start to the season for the Knicks. RJ Barrett also reached 20 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 7/12 shooting. First-round pick Obi Toppin also made his return to the court with a 2/4/2 line in just 9 minutes.

The Knicks bounced back from the close loss to the Cavs with a beautiful defensive effort versus the Celtics with a 105-75 win in Boston behind a 20/12/4 line for Julius Randle on 7/14 shooting to go with 3 steals while RJ Barrett had a double-double of his own with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 5/11 shooting in 31 minutes.

Julius Randle shined once again for the Knicks helping them to an MLK day win with 21 points and 17 rebounds in their 91-84 win over the Magic. RJ Barrett put up his own double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Orlando. The Knicks ended their week strong with their third straight win in their resounding 119-104 win over the Warriors behind RJ Barrett putting up his career-high in points with 28 big ones on 10/17 shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 5 assists. Randle continued his incredible week with a near triple-double on a 16/17/9 line while Alec Burks made his return to the court scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in 30 minutes in the Knicks win.

Injury Report

Alec Burks: Burks, who had been out since late December with a sprained ankle, made his return to the court against the Warriors. This is definitely a positive for the Knicks team in general, as Burks adds a nice layer of scoring for the Knicks, but this does hurt other player’s values such as Bullock and Quickley.

Austin Rivers: Rivers was held out of the Knicks last game of the week with an Achilles injury. We saw Payton see 37 minutes with no Rivers, while Quickley only saw 10 minutes of action. You would expect to see some more action from Quickley, but with Burke also returning he might be seeing fewer minutes regardless.

Rookie report

Obi Toppin: Toppin made his return to the court this week after missing some time with a calf injury. Toppin’s role is seeming to be pretty limited early this season with him averaging a 5.3/3.5/1 line on 47% shooting from the field while playing just 11.8 minutes per game. Toppin is a player to keep your eye on, but in this current situation is not seeing the court enough to produce fantasy numbers.

Immanuel Quickley: Quickley had an up and down week for himself in this one. He started the week playing a good amount of minutes with 27 minutes in the loss against Cleveland and 21 in the win over Boston. However, we saw those minutes shoot down as he played just 14 minutes against the Magic and only 10 against the Warriors, even with Rivers ruled out. What is weird is that Quickley was playing pretty good in those extended minutes, including scoring a career-high 23 points against the Cavs. I don’t think it is time to give up on Quickley right yet for this season, but you would love to see his minutes take a rebound.

Star of the Week

Julius Randle (21.3 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 42.2% Fg%, 34.3 Min)

Faller of the Week

Austin Rivers (1.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 7.7% Fg%, 17.0 Min)

A Final Word

This Knicks team is playing pretty well to start this season, and it is looking like they may be a legit team to watch out for in the East with their incredible defense to start the year, with them allowing a league-best 102.8 points allowed.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: SGA Continues to Shine in OKC

What You Need to Know

The Thunder started out their week in a revenge game against former coach Billy Donovan, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned up late for the Thunder helping upset the Bulls in overtime with a career-high 33 points to go with 5 rebounds and 10 assists on 13/19 shooting in 43 minutes. Lou Dort also had a solid outing with 21 points and 8 rebounds on 7/15 shooting to go with 6 steals in 39 minutes.

The Thunder’s next outing of the week which was supposed to be against the 76ers was postponed on Sunday due to COVID. They ended their week in a tough loss against the Nuggets losing 101-119. Shai had another decent game with a 14/5/7 line on 5/11 shooting in 27 minutes, while Dort also looked good with 20 points on 8/11 shooting in the loss.

Injury Report

Al Horford: Horford missed the week for the Thunder due to personal reasons. In Horford’s place, we saw Isiah Roby see the bulk of his minutes with about 26 minutes a game over their past week, which is third-highest on the team behind SGA and Dort. He averaged a 12/6.5/3 line on 43% shooting from the field in his two spot starts for Horford.

Rookie Report

The two rookies that get run for the Thunder are Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski. The two foreigners are seeing around 18 minutes per game, but are both just not doing enough to be considered for fantasy options at all and are both long term projects as the Thunder are clearly in it for the long haul here.

Star of the Week

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 60% Fg%, 35.4 Min)

Faller of the Week

Hamidou Diallo (5.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 21.4% Fg%, 16.3 Min)

A Final Word

This Thunder team is just in a beautiful spot once again as they have assets loaded for the future, while are still a competitive team sitting at 6-7 on the season. Sam Presti is a genius.

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Orlando Magic: Ending on a High Note

What You Need to Know

The Magic had quite a busy week with 4 games in 6 days, starting with them getting blown out by the Celtics losing 124-97. Vuc put up a season-low 15 points and 6 rebounds while Aaron Gordon had a 17/2/3 line in the loss. In their next outing, Vuc bounced back with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists on 14/22 shooting, but it was not enough to take down the Nets in Harden’s debut.

Terrence Ross dropped in 23 points off the bench on 9/17 shooting in 31 minutes in the losing effort as this loss marked the Magic’s 5th straight loss. The Magic fell once again, this time to the Knicks 84-91, marking their 6th straight loss falling to 6-8 on the season. Vucevic had a solid outing with 24 points and 14 rebounds on 10/16 shooting, while Aaron Gordon stuffed the stat sheet with an 18/17/9 line on 6/18 shooting in the loss to the Knicks.

Finally, the Magic were able to get back in the win column with a buzzer-beating three by Cole Anthony in an amazing comeback win over the Timberwolves, winning 97-96. Vuc filled up the sheet once again with a 28/8/4 line, while Evan Fournier led the way for Orlando with 24 points on 9/21 shooting in 28 minutes in his return from injury. Hopefully, this game is a sign for better things to come for Orlando after breaking their losing streak.

Injury Report

Evan Fournier: Fournier had been out since late December with back problems but made his return in the Magic’s win over the Timberwolves. His return does not seem to change things too much for the Magic fantasy-wise. The player that really takes a hinder seems to be Dwayne Bacon who saw less than 20 minutes of action with Fournier back, but Bacon was not a fantasy option to start with. You could maybe expect a little decrease in Gordon’s production as well with Fournier back.

Michael Carter-Williams: MCW has been out since early January with a foot injury, but he is seeming to be getting closer to making his return to the court. MCW’s return should mean less run for Cole Anthony, but we will see what happens when he comes back in what could be this next week.

Rookie Report

Cole Anthony: Anthony has been seeing heavy run with Fultz out for the year and MCW hurt, but has not been too great with this opportunity. He averaged a 12.5/5.3/3.8 line in 28.6 minutes of action this past week. What has really been hampering Anthony is his shooting, going 38% from the field this week, but he did have a much stronger week from three going 42% from beyond the arc in this past week. I am a bit nervous that we are going to see a decent decline in Anthony’s run with MCW coming back to the lineup, however.

Star of the Week

Nikola Vucevic (25.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 52.6% Fg%, 2.0 Spg, 1.0 Bpg, 35.3 Min)

Faller of the Week

Dwayne Bacon (7.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, .8 APG, 33% Fg%, 25.3 Min)

A Final Word

Hopefully, Anthony’s buzzer-beater and Fournier’s return get this Magic team back on the right track. This team is too good to be losing 6 games in a row with Vuc having himself a career year.

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Philadelphia 76ers: The Gang Gets Back Together

What You Need to Know

The Sixers started this week without Joel Embiid, as he was out with right knee pain, while the Sixers fell 106-104 to the Grizzlies in Morant’s return. Simmons dropped a near triple-double with an 11/16/9 line on 3/9 shooting, but with 7 turnovers while Tobias Harris dropped in 21 points on 7/17 shooting.

Shake Milton scored 28 off the bench on 10/18 shooting in 32 minutes, is it possible that Milton is taking on the Lou Williams role in this Doc River’s offense? The 76ers were supposed to play the Thunder on Sunday, but that game was postponed due to COVID, so their next action was Wednesday against Boston. Embiid dominated the Celtics with a 42 point and 10 rebound double-double in his return back to the court while Simmons had a near triple-double on an 11/8/8 line. Harris put in 22 points in 39 minutes in the win as well.

Injury Report

Joel Embiid: Embiid was out Saturday against the Grizzlies this week due to knee pain, but made his return back later in the week to play against the Celtics. In the game without Embiid, we saw Dwight Howard take on most of the work at center with an 8/18/3 line to go with 3 blocks in 33 minutes. He seems to be a great DFS punt when Embiid misses time.

Seth Curry: Seth Curry has been out due to COVID since early January, but should be making his return back to the lineup next week. We have seen heavy run and usage from both Maxey and Milton in Curry’s absence. It will be interesting to see how Rivers handles the rotations with Curry coming back into the lineup.

Rookie Report

Tyrese Maxey: Maxey continues to see solid run for the 76ers, staying in the starting rotation for them throughout the week. He put in 12 points in the loss against Memphis, but was held scoreless in 20 minutes in the win over the Celtics. The rookie’s numbers are down since the games where 76ers were really struggling to get enough guys on the court. It seems like he will continue to be a rotation piece for the 76ers, but it is hard to trust him considering the fire power the 76ers already have ahead of him.

Star of the Week

Ben Simmons (11.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 35.7% Fg%, 34.8 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tyrese Maxey(6.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 29.4% Fg%, 22.6 Min)

A Final Word

This 76ers team is finally getting healthy and ready to get their season that they started off so strongly back on track. It will be interesting to see if Embiid can keep his MVP campaign going as we move forward.

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Phoenix Suns: Bahamian Rhapsody

What You Need to Know

The Suns had their first two games of the week postponed due to COVID protocols but made their return to the court Monday in a 104-108 loss to the Grizzlies, despite a solid showing from Deandre Ayton with 18 points and 16 rebounds on 7/14 shooting in 34 minutes. Mikal Bridges had 17 points and 8 rebounds on 6/9 shooting while Booker went for 12 points on 5/21 shooting in the loss to the Grizzlies as they held him in check.

The Suns ended their week Wednesday with a 109-103 win over the Rockets behind a 26 point and 17 rebound double-double from Ayton on 11/15 shooting to go with 5 blocks, while Booker rebounded well with a 24/5/2 line on 10/18 shooting in the win.

Injury Report

No relevant injuries here.

Rookie Report

No rookies playing here as first-round pick Jalen Smith has been out with COVID protocols since late December, but should be making his return to the lineup soon.

Star of the Week

Deandre Ayton (22.0 PPG, 16.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 Bpg, 62% Fg%, 35 Min)

Faller of the Week

Cameron Johnson (9.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 39% Fg%, 25.5 Min)

A Final Word

The Suns continue to play solid basketball with an 8-5 record so far this year. Chris Paul just makes this team so much better and if Ayton can keep up this play then Phoenix is for sure a team you have to be watching out for.

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Portland Trail Blazers: Entering Life Without CJ

What You Need to Know

The Trail Blazers started their week bittersweet as Damian Lillard’s monster night with a 36/7/7 line pushed Portland past the Hawks with a 112-106 win, but CJ McCollum did not return to the game in the second half and ended up fracturing his foot early in the game. Enes Kanter dropped in a 12 point, 15 rebound double-double in 28 minutes filling in for Nurkic, while Trent saw 28 minutes off the bench scoring 18 points on 7/14 shooting.

Next Portland took on the Spurs In their first game without CJ, while Lillard had a big outing in the 104-125 loss to Portland with a 35/3/6 line on 10/23 shooting to go with a steal and a block. Rodney Hood played solid filling in for McCollum, with 21 points on 9/14 shooting in 25 minutes in the loss.

The next two games for the Trail Blazers were supposed to be against the Grizzlies but both of their games got canceled due to COVID protocols.

Injury Report

CJ McCollum: CJ fractured his foot this week, which is just absolutely devastating for the Trail Blazers as he was having a career year alongside Lillard. This injury seems to open up more playing time for both Rodney Hood and Gary Trent. I would say Trent has more upside while Hood is the safer play for now, but what CJ’s injury really means is that we might start to see some even more ridiculous stat lines from Damian Lillard.

Jusuf Nurkic: Nurkic is also out of the Trailblazers due to a fractured wrist as the Blazers are now down two key starters with CJ also being injured. Enes Kanter seems to be the main candidate filling in for Nurkic seeing 27 minutes per game over this last week, while I also think this helps open up more room for Carmelo Anthony who also saw 27 minutes a game last week.

Rookie Report

Nope.

Star of the Week

Damian Lillard(35.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.5 APG, 43.5% Fg%, 39.2 Min)

Faller of the Week

Robert Covington(6.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 23.8% Fg%, 28.4 Min)

A Final Word

Losing McCollum is a huge blow for this Trail Blazers team as McCollum was playing at maybe the highest level we had seen from him ever, but I honestly just am pretty excited to see the numbers that Damian Lillard might start putting up these next few games.

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Sacramento Kings: Fox and Co. in Trouble

What You Need to Know

The Kings had a rough week, starting by getting worked by the Clippers losing 138-100, despite Marvin Bagley putting up a decent effort with a 20/5/2 line on 8/12 shooting in 31 minutes, Holmes was also efficient with a 17/5/1 line on 8/11 shooting despite losing by almost 40 to the Clips.

The Kings then went on to battle the Pelicans, but fell 123-128 despite De’Aaron Fox’s career night with 43 points and 13 assists on 17/27 shooting. Marvin Bagley dropped in a 26 point and 10 rebound double-double in the losing effort.

The Kings ended their week with another matchup against the Clippers in tune to another big loss, this time losing 95-116 with Fox having another strong showing with a 25/4/7 line on 10/18 shooting in what marked their 4th straight loss.

Injury Report

Hassan Whiteside: Whiteside missed the whole week for the King's due to a hip injury and is marked as day-to-day currently. Whiteside’s injury bodes well for Holmes and Bagley who both saw 32 minutes+ this past week with Whiteside out.

Rookie Report

Tyrese Haliburton: Haliburton had a pretty quiet week and started to cool down a bit averaging just a 6.0/2.7/3.0 line for the Kings this week in 24.1 minutes. Haliburton is someone that seems to be needing either Fox or Hield to be out to have real fantasy relevance this season, but the rookie is still looking like one of the most promising players out of this year’s class.

Star of the Week

De’Aaron Fox (27.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 7.7 APG, 59% Fg%, 32.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Tyrese Haliburton (6.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 33.3% Fg%, 24.1 Min)

A Final Word

This King’s team is off to a bad start sitting at 5-10, as it is seeming like their stretch of missing the playoffs is bound to continue this season unless they turn it around fast...and that might start with finding a new coach instead of Walton.

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San Antonio Spurs: Pop and the Spurs Continue to Get it Done

What You Need to Know

The Spurs started their week out with Demar DeRozan helping push San Antonio past the injury-depleted Rockets with a 24/7/4 line on 9/25 shooting with 2 steals and a block while Dejounte Murray put up 18 points and 10 boards in the Spurs 103-91 win.

San Antonio then took down the Trail Blazers in a 125-104 win with a balanced effort from the Spurs veterans with 22 points from Aldridge and a 20/6/11 line from DeRozan, while Patty Mills and Rudy Gay both dropped 21 for the San Anotnio in the win.

The Spurs ended their week with a 99-121 loss to the Warriors with Dejounte Murray leading the Spurs in their losing effort with a 22/6/3 line in 29 minutes, while Steph proved to be too much for San Antonio to handle in the loss.

Injury Report

All healthy here.

Rookie Report

Devin Vassell: Vassell had an okay week for the Spurs averaging a 7.7/5.7/2.0 line on 32% shooting from the field, while also snagging 2 steals a game in 24.3 minutes. What is most encouraging is that Vassell is continuing to see decent minutes in this Spurs offense and should continue to see some action throughout his rookie year here in San Antonio.

Star of the Week

Demar DeRozan (19.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 43% Fg%, 31.1 Min)

Faller of the Week

Lonnie Walker IV (5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, .7 APG, 23.8% Fg%, 27.1 Min)

A Final Word

Pop and the Spurs continue their solid year, currently sitting at 8-7 in the West. San Antonio’s blend of youth and veterans makes them one of the more enjoyable teams of the season so far.

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Toronto Raptors: Baby Step Forwards

What You Need to Know

The Raptors started their week out with a solid team effort in a 116-113 win over the Hornets. Lowry dropped in a 19/6/6 line on 6/13 shooting while Fred VanVleet had a 15/7/10 line himself in the win. Boucher and Powell were both awesome off the bench as well with a 20 point 9 rebound game from Boucher and a 24/3/2 line on 6/12 shooting for Powell.

Next, The Raptors won their third straight game with their 116-93 win over Dallas behind a 23/9/7 line from Lowry and another great showing for Boucher off the bench with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8/12 shooting to go with 3 blocks in 27 minutes. Siakam put up 19 points on 7/19 shooting in 33 minutes in the win as well.

The Raptors could not keep their streak alive against the Heat, falling 102-111, despite solid efforts from the Raptors trio of Lowry, FVV, and Siakam once again. Lowry had a near triple-double on an 8/10/7 line while Siakam and VanVleet combined for 42 points in the losing effort.

Injury Report

None here.

Rookie Report

Also none here.

Star of the Week

Kyle Lowry (16.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 6.7 APG, 46% Fg%, 36.0 Min)

Faller of the Week

Aron Baynes (1.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 20% Fg%, 9.7 Min)

A Final Word

Toronto is now at a 5-9 record on the year, nothing to completely panic about, but they can’t afford to lose more games than they should be winning as the season progresses.

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Utah Jazz: Let the Trumpets Blare

What You Need to Know

The Jazz entered the week on a 3 game win streak and started out their week with Donovan Mitchell leading the way for the Jazz in an easy 116-92 win over the Hawks with a 26/3/4 line on 10/20 shooting on 6/10 shooting from three with 3 steals. Gobert put up a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards on 6/7 shooting to go with 4 blocks in the solid effort by Utah to handle Atlanta.

Next, the Jazz took down the Nuggets 109-105 to get their 5th straight win in a solid team effort for Utah. Mitchell put in 18 points and 7 assists, Gobert had a 15 point and 13 rebound double-double, and Clarkson dropped 23 points on 9/13 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench. The Jazz ended their week with two more wins, both against the Pelicans. Mitchell led the way in the first matchup with a 28/7/4 line while Gobert had a 13 point and 18 rebound double-double in their 118-102 win.

Mitchell then took it a step even further, dropping in 36 points to go with 7 points and 5 assists on 11/19 shooting to help Utah win 129-118 in their second matchup against New Orleans. Mike Conley dropped in 20 of his own points in what marked the Jazz 7th straight win, moving them to a quiet 11-4 on the season. Utah is simply on fire.

Injury Report

Joe Ingles: Ingles was out the first two games of the week with an Achilles injury, but returned to the lineup for the final two games of the week against the Jazz. Ingles injury really did not open up much value for other players, but I am sure Utah is happy to have him back in their lineup anyway.

Rookie Report

No rookies getting meaningful time here.

Star of the Week

Donovan Mitchell (27.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 50% Fg%, 50% 3P%, 33.7 Min)

Faller of the Week

Royce O’Neal (6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 44.4% Fg%, 33.5 Min)

A Final Word

This Jazz team is looking really strong early on this season going under the radar and sitting at 11-4, but all that really matters is if they can start to find some success in the Playoffs as well.

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Washington Wizards: COVID in the Capital

What You Need to Know

The Wizards have had their past 6 games canceled and haven’t played since January 11th. The Wizards look to get back on the court Sunday the 24th against the Spurs if that game does not get canceled.

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