Who is trending up? Which rotations are changing? And what's the latest with the notable injuries around the NBA?
Here's a list of the most fantasy relevant news and notes for all 30 teams:
Atlanta Hawks: Bogdan Bogdanovic returned to the lineup on March 2, giving the injury-riddled Hawks at least one bit of good news. But the wait for Cam Reddish will be a little longer. Reddish, who hasn't played since Feb. 21, underwent a non-surgical procedure Monday to address his right Achilles soreness. He will be placed in a walking boot and re-evaluated in a week. Stay tuned.
Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart is on pace to post new career highs in points (13.1 PPG), assists (6.1 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG) this season, but the athletic guard also been out since Jan. 30 due to a calf injury. Smart said Wednesday that he expects to return to the lineup Thursday against the Nets, but he will be on a minutes restriction. He remains available in 22.0% of ESPN leagues.
Brooklyn Nets: According to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, several teams have pursued Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie in trade talks. Dinwiddie suffered a partially torn ACL in December but is reportedly progressing in his rehab and could possibly return later this season. There's suddenly a lot going on in Brooklyn, whether it be the Big Three or the addition of Blake Griffin, but this is another development to watch.
Charlotte Hornets: Among the many talents of LaMelo Ball is his ability to get steals. The prized point guard is up to No. 6 in the league with 1.6 SPG and has 19 games with at least two steals. With his playing time rising up 34.7 MPG during the month of February, it's not out of reach to think that Ball could end up leading the league in steals as a rookie when all is said and done.
Chicago Bulls: Back spasms have kept Otto Porter Jr. out of the lineup since Feb. 1, but Bulls coach Billy Donovan says there's a "very good possibility" that the veteran forward returns to the lineup for Thursday's game against Philadelphia. Porter, who is available in 69.1% of ESPN leagues, probably shouldn't be viewed as anything more than a streamer in 12-team leagues. Donovan also indicated that Lauri Markkanen (shoulder) should be ready to face the Sixers.
Cleveland Cavaliers: The Heat, Timberwolves, Celtics, 76ers, Pelicans and Mavericks are among the many teams interested in acquiring Larry Nance Jr., according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. Fedor writes that while it will take a significant package to acquire Nance, strong offers have already been made, including one that included multiple late first-round picks.
Dallas Mavericks: How important is Luka Doncic to the Mavericks? Well, the third year point guard had a usage of 36.2 during the first half of the season, putting him ahead of Bradley Beal, Trae Young, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the highest usage in the league. Interestingly, though, this isn't the highest usage of his career; Doncic posted a NBA-high 38.3 usage last season.
Denver Nuggets: Facundo Campazzo is known more for his ball-handling and playmaking than his scoring, but the 29-year-old rookie from Argentina quietly ranks No. 10 among all rookies with a 58.0 True Shooting Percentage. Campazzo is available in over 97% of ESPN Leagues and is worth keeping an eye on the rest of the way. He averaged 29.0 MPG during Denver's final seven games before the break.
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant's breakout season in his first year in Detroit has drawn the attention of trade suitors, with the Celtics being one of them according to Charania. Grant, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal before the season, is the best thing going on the rebuilding Pistons this season, but his contract could be winding down by the time the Pistons are ready to compete in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State Warriors: When you think of Steph Curry, you think of many things. The 3-pointers. The crafty runners. The smile. The joy. The mouthpiece. The pizzaz. And somewhere way down that list, you think of rebounding. Yet here, in Curry's 12th NBA season, on the cusp of turning 33, the future Hall of Famer is posting his best rebounding season to date, pulling down a career-high 5.5 RPG.
Houston Rockets: Think Christian Wood is important? Well, the Rockets have lost 13 games in a row since he went down with a sprained right ankle. Wood has resumed basketball activities, but according to a source of ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the versatile center isn't expected to return to the lineup for Thursday's game against the Kings.
Indiana Pacers: Bad news for T.J. Warren. According to a report by Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, the Pacers' efficient forward is still months away from a return from a stress fracture in his foot. On the flip side, there is better news in regards to Caris LeVert (kidney cancer); Agness writes that the versatile swingman is expected to make his Pacers debut sometime this month.
LA Clippers: With little flexibility to match roster salary and not much in the way of future draft picks, the Clippers are unlikely to make any major moves leading up to the trade deadline according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. The key for the veteran-laden Clippers roster will be staying healthy; any injuries can shift the dynamic of this team, with so many experienced players capable of picking up the slack and reserves like Ivica Zubac and Luke Kennard able to rise up and play more minutes when needed.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers reportedly have serious interest in acquiring Cleveland center Andre Drummond, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. With the Lakers already having Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell on the roster, adding someone the caliber of Drummond would create quite a log jam, especially once Davis returns to the lineup. But if you're Drummond (or a fantasy manager with Drummond) right now, any opportunity to get on the court and play is better than the current situation in Cleveland.
Memphis Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) won't be available when the Grizzlies return to the court Wednesday against the Wizards. This situation remains murky, with the Grizzlies being pretty tight-lipped about Jackson's status, but as long as Jackson remains out it will mean more opportunities for Kyle Anderson, Xavier Tillman and Brandon Clarke.
Miami Heat: The Heat found a good one when they selected Precious Achiuwa with the No. 20 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Achiuwa isn't going to help any fantasy managers when it comes to distributing or shooting the 3-ball, but his 16.2 rebound rate ranks second among rookies behind Isaiah Stewart and his 58.7 TS% is tied for seventh among the rookie class. Achiuwa may not be on the fantasy radar very often in his first year in the league, but he's showing signs of making an impact for years to come.
Milwaukee Bucks: Eased back into the rotation in his first two games back, Jrue Holiday averaged 20.5 MPG but still racked up three steals in those two games. Holiday's 1.8 SPG this season puts him second in the league behind only T.J. McConnell, and puts him on pace to set a new career-high in that category which is a tad surprising considering that Holiday has averaged 1.5 SPG during his lengthy NBA career.
Minnesota Timberwolves: We mentioned above that the Wolves were among the teams interested in acquiring Larry Nance Jr. from the Cavs, and one of the reasons why could be the connection to D'Angelo Russell. Fedor reports that Nance is good friends with Russell since the two were rookies together with the Lakers in 2015-16, and that Russell is "a strong Nance advocate." If Nance lands in Minnesota, it would likely mean less playing time for Naz Reid, Jake Layman and Jaden McDaniels. Atlanta's John Collins and Orlando's Aaron Gordon are two other power forwards who the Wolves have reportedly shown interest in acquiring.
New Orleans Pelicans: What a first half of the season it was for Brandon Ingram. His 34.9 MPG, 23.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, 0.8 BPG and 88.6 FT% all are on pace to be new career highs, and the free throw shooting in particular is indicative of the improvement he's made since entering the league with the Lakers and shooting below 68.2% from the line in each of his first three NBA seasons.
New York Knicks: Anytime a player is selected third-overall as RJ Barrett was in 2019, expectations are lofty. We've seen that with the former Duke star, as Knicks fans consistently want to see more from the 20-year-old shooting guard. A closer look at the stats shows that Barrett has become a more efficient shooter from year one to year two, improving his FG% from 40.2% to 44.3%, his 3FG% from 32.0% to 35.0%, and his FT% from 61.4% to 73.1%. Those are encouraging trends, no matter what anyone says.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has actually seen less of the court this season, with his playing time dropping from 34.7 MPG last season to 34.0 MPG. Still, he's on pace to crush his previous career highs due to a significant improvement from an efficiency standpoint. SGA's 51.1 FG% and 41.2 3FG% are both well above his previous bests (47.6 FG%, 36.7 3FG%) and it's the reason he's up to 23.2 PPG this season after going for 19.0 PPG a season ago.
Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier are among the players on the Magic who have been mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks, but according to Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports any trade by the Magic is unlikely. "The indication from Orlando is that they have no intention of blowing their team up," Smith tweeted. "They see this season as a step back because of injuries. They plan to be right back in as a playoff team next season, thus won't deal away all of their vets. Teams will have to blow them away."
Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons won't be available for Thursday or Friday's games as he continues to quarantine due to contact tracing. The absence of the star point guard makes Shake Milton, Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry more appealing for the next two games, and could lead to some monster performances by Joel Embiid.
Phoenix Suns: We haven't dedicated much of this space to Dario Saric this season, but the fifth-year forward deserves some attention for the efficiency he's played with in his second season with the Suns. Despite playing a career-low 18.1 MPG, Saric has managed to take advantage by posting career highs with a 61.2 TS% and a 25.1 usage rate. His 19.4 PER is also well above his previous high of 15.8, which is further evidence of his effectiveness of the Suns bench this season.
Portland Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic indicated Wednesday that his wrist is "doing great" and that he expects to return to the Blazers lineup within the next few weeks. Nurkic began the season out of shape and lumbered his way to 9.8 PPG and 7.7 RPG in 12 games before going down, so focusing on conditioning has likely been a priority while he's been out. Once Nurkic returns and ramps up to full speed, Enes Kanter's fantasy value will drop back down into the 90-100 range.
Sacramento Kings: Harrison Barnes has been the topic of trade rumors during the last month, and according to reports by Sam Amick of The Athletic and Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the Celtics are among the teams most interested in the scoring forward. A move from Sacramento to Boston would likely hurt Barnes from a fantasy perspective, joining a team with two big-time scorers in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, so this is something to track closely in the weeks leading up to the March 25 trade deadline.
San Antonio Spurs: Derrick White has had his share of bad luck this season, whether it be from a toe fracture or being in COVID-19 protocol, but the athletic guard isn't listed on the Spurs' injury port for Wednesday's game against Dallas. White is available in 60.1% of ESPN leagues and offers upside for the rest of the season due to the Spurs' favorable second-half schedule.
Toronto Raptors: Norman Powell is among the more overlooked players during the first half of the season. The UCLA product has quietly put up career numbers, posting 22.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 2.1 APG in 23 starts. In doing so, he has also increased his efficiency, with his 43.8 3FG% and 89.9 FT% both on pace to be new career highs. Somehow, Powell is still a free agent in 16.1% of ESPN leagues.
Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles makes for a nice piece in roto and category leagues, where his assists and 3-point shooting are impactful. But how many people realize that Ingles currently ranks No. 5 in all the NBA with a TS% of 70.6? That's a significant improvement for the veteran from Australia; prior to this season, Ingles had never registered a TS% of more than 62.3. Feed the man.
Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal enters the second half as the league leader in scoring (32.9 PPG), and it hasn't been particularly close. Beal is 2.7 PPG ahead of second place (Joel Embiid, 30.2 PPG). There's something to watch, here, though. With the Wizards in rebuild mode and Beal being one of the top names on the trade market, any trade of Beal would likely result in Beal landing on a team where his usage and shot attempts would suffer compared to where it is now (34.8 USG, 23.9 FGA).
