Pascal Siakam

Five Pacers finished Friday's defeat in double figures, with Siakam leading the way. He's scored at least 20 points in seven straight and 12 of his last 13 games, a big reason why the veteran forward has been close to a top-50 player in eight-cat formats over the past month. While Siakam's slow start didn't do fantasy managers any favors, he has turned things around. The concern now would be the Pacers deciding to pull the plug on some of its veterans, but that should not be an issue this early in the season.

After playing 34 minutes in Friday's win over the Bulls, Thompson moves into the Pacers' starting lineup. His promotion comes at the expense of Garrison Mathews, whose limited fantasy value takes a hit with the move to the bench. The other four starters are unchanged.

Counting Monday, Siakam has scored at least 23 points in six straight and eight of his last nine games. The Pacers forward has seen his season-long fantasy value decline, mainly due to the team's many injuries, most notably Tyrese Haliburton. While the point guard's absence may have been viewed as an opportunity for Siakam to do more playmaking, that isn't how things have worked out. He's providing seventh-round value in eight-cat formats, well behind his Yahoo! ADP (30).

Siakam remains the top option on the Pacers as they navigate this season without Tyrese Haliburton. The 31-year-old power forward has expanded his game to include three-point shooting and knocked down five threes against the Bulls on Friday. The Pacers are off for the rest of the weekend and have three games on the schedule in Week 8.

Siakam notched 36 points (13-24 FG, 5-7 3Pt, 5-7 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and two steals in 31 minutes during Friday's 120-105 victory over Chicago.