Fantasy Basketball News

LeBron James' incredible run of 1,297 regular-season NBA games scoring 10 or more points ends as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 123-120.

Not many can recall the last time LeBron James scored fewer than 10 points. Why? Because it was in 2007.

Tyrese Maxey's block of De'Anthony Melton in the final seconds preserved the 76ers 99-98 win over the Warriors on Thursday night.

Not many can recall the last time LeBron James scored fewer than 10 points in a regular-season game. Why? Because it was exactly 18 years ago.

On a night when Anthony Edwards finished with more turnovers (eight) than shot attempts (six), Randle led the way as other Timberwolves picked up the slack. The roles were reversed in Tuesday's win over the Pelicans, so it's only right that the veteran forward stepped up in the rematch. Based on his Yahoo! ADP, many expected Randle to be a middle-round option in category leagues. Well, he's providing third-round value in eight- and nine-cat formats, much to the delight of those who drafted him. Minnesota ends its Week 7 with a home game against the Clippers on Saturday.

Over his last five games, Wolf has averaged 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.2 three-pointers per game. It goes without saying that these are solid numbers for a rookie coming off the bench behind two young bigs in Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney. However, the lackluster defensive production makes Wolf difficult to trust this early in the season. While the recent run has been encouraging, he has not reached the point where he should be considered in most redraft leagues. That's likely to change later this season, especially with the Nets dropping to 1-10 at home on Thursday.

Seven Timberwolves scored in double figures on Thursday, with Reid's total being surpassed only by Julius Randle, who scored 28. With head coach Chris Finch being willing to go small down the stretch, as he has on a few occasions this season, it was Reid who was on the floor while starting center Rudy Gobert was on the bench. Reid is already rostered in 74 percent of Yahoo! leagues, but, notably, he's played at least 28 minutes in each of his last four appearances (33 on Thursday). Consistently hitting or exceeding that number would likely raise his fantasy ceiling.

James made the right play, not the selfish one, and it led to a Lakers' victory

With Terance Mann limited to 18 minutes after a two-game absence and the hard fall he took during the second half of Thursday's game, there was more room for Williams to contribute despite coming off the bench. The former lottery pick finished with his second 20-point game of the season and first since October 24. However, while Thursday was good, Williams' season-long fantasy value remains subpar. The only reason to consider adding him ahead of Sunday's game against the Pelicans would be if Mann and Michael Porter Jr. can't play.

While his season-long fantasy value remains relatively low, now would be a good time to hop onto the Clowney bandwagon if he's sitting on your league's waiver wire. Over the past two weeks, the Nets forward/center has provided fourth-round value in eight-cat formats, and he's scored at least 16 points in seven of his last eight games. Clowney is rostered in 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so he's certainly available in some 12-team formats. Now would be a good time to change that.

With Jusuf Nurkic (rib) unavailable, Filipowski made his first start since Halloween and sixth of the season on Thursday. All that was missing from the second-year center's stat line was a blocked shot, but many fantasy managers will take what Filipowski did bring to the table. Rostered in 18 percent of Yahoo! leagues, his fantasy value in the short term hinges upon Nurkic's availability. However, there's likely to come a point later in the season when the Jazz prioritize getting young players like Filipowski even more minutes than they're already playing.

While his name may not be mentioned very often in early Most Improved Player conversations, there's no denying that George has made impressive strides after two uneven seasons in Utah. On Thursday, the guard recorded his third double-double of the season, and he only committed one turnover in 31 minutes of play. George is providing third-round value in eight-cat formats, well ahead of his Yahoo! ADP (116). Rostered in 79 percent of Yahoo! leagues, managers in shallow formats must ensure that George isn't sitting on the waiver wire.

Markkanen has scored at least 30 points in nine games this season, including Thursday's win over the Nets. Entering the season with a Yahoo! ADP of 56, the Jazz forward has been close to a top-25 player in eight-cat formats thus far. Of course, the possibility of a late-season shutdown is why Markkanen's ADP took a hit. As a result, those who were willing to roll the dice were rewarded handsomely during the season's first quarter. Markkanen should face more resistance on Friday when the Jazz visit the Knicks.

While Walter entered Thursday having started four of Toronto's previous five games due to RJ Barrett's knee injury, he hadn't taken advantage of the opportunity. The one double-digit scoring effort in that run occurred in the game that the second-year guard did not start, and he averaged 6.6 points on 36.4 percent shooting. There were no such issues for Walter against the Lakers, as he tallied a season-high point total. One game doesn't make Walter trustworthy in most fantasy leagues, but Thursday was a step in the right direction.

Ingram had a difficult night from beyond the arc, missing all five of his three-point attempts in the 123-120 defeat. However, he shot well over 50 percent from two, preserving the overall field-goal percentage, and the rebounds and assists were also helpful to fantasy managers. With Ingram not providing consistently good value in the defensive categories or assists, his margin for error is relatively slim when discussing fantasy value. As a result, he's slipped outside the top-75 in eight-cat formats after a promising start to the season.

Barnes and the Raptors didn't get the victory on Thursday, but he provided fantasy managers with another exquisite stat line. The forward/guard finished one assist shy of his first triple-double of the season, and he did so on excellent percentages. Over the past two weeks, Barnes has provided top-10 per-game value in eight-cat formats, slightly better than his season-long production. While it's still early, he's trending toward making the second All-Star Game appearance of his career.

With Luka Doncic (personal) away from the team and LeBron James struggling with his shot, the Lakers once again looked to Reaves to lead the way offensively. As has been the case many times this season, he answered the call in Toronto. Having scored at least 30 points in four of his last five appearances, Reaves surpassed 40 for the third time this season. He continues to provide first-round fantasy value and has shown no signs of slowing down. For that reason, the "sell-high" window for Reaves should be closed, if it wasn't already.