More injuries. More trade rumors. More hot and cold streaks. Ah yes, what more could you want out of the NBA as a fantasy hoops enthusiast?!
Here's a list of the most fantasy-relevant news and notes for all 30 teams around the league heading into this week:
Atlanta Hawks: Kent Bazemore tied a season-high with 25 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and for the month he is shooting 43.2 percent. That may not sound all that great until you consider how poorly Bazemore shot in December (33.6 percent) and November (39.2 percent). Atlanta's trade of Kyle Korver may have been the jolt Bazemore needed to get going offensively.
Boston Celtics: Isaiah Thomas lifted his scoring average to 29 points per game with games of 35, 39 and 41 points last week. He enters Tuesday ranked second in the league in scoring behind only Russell Westbrook (30.8 PPG) and cashed in for 26 3-pointers in the last five games (5.2 3PG). Not bad for a player selected with the last pick of the 2011 NBA draft.
Brooklyn Nets: The Nets announced on Monday that Jeremy Lin will be out at least 3-5 more weeks after aggravating his left hamstring during rehab. Lin has played in only 12 of Brooklyn's 44 games and his new timetable means the soonest he'll be back on the court is mid-February. In the meantime, it will be up to young players like Caris LeVert, Isaiah Whitehead, Sean Kilpatrick and Spencer Dinwiddie to continue to carry the load in the Nets backcourt while Lin remains out.
Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker made 3.5 threes per game in four games last week, the eighth-highest average in the league over the span, and Walker's improvement from long range is no joke. He is shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point land this season after shooting no better than 37.1 percent in any of his first five seasons in the league.
Chicago Bulls: According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are looking to trade both point guard Rajon Rondo and forward Nikola Mirotic, with the hopes of "bolstering the roster and making a second-half run in the wide-open Eastern Conference." To this point, however, the Bulls reportedly haven't been offered much of value in return.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Many are asking what's wrong with the Cavaliers following a rough stretch of five losses in seven games, and there are many theories for the recent struggles. One thing that hasn't helped is the ice-cold shooting of Kevin Love, who has averaged only 15.1 PPG this month while shooting only 33.8 percent and 26.2 percent from 3-point land. This would be a good time to buy-low on Love in your fantasy leagues.
Dallas Mavericks: J.J. Barea suffered his second major calf injury of the season in Friday's overtime loss to Utah and is expected to be sidelined until late February. "We're looking at most likely after the All-Star break," coach Rick Carlisle told the Star-Telegram. "It's the same leg, but a different area." Meanwhile, the team isn't sure when Andrew Bogut will return from a strained right hamstring that has cost him the last six games. "This week is a possibility," Carlisle told the newspaper. "We've got to get him onto the court for some practice time before we get him in a game."
Denver Nuggets: ESPN's Marc Stein reported last Friday that the Nuggets are working to find a new home for center Jusuf Nurkic, a player once considered the possible center of the future in Denver before the emergence of Nikola Jokic. Nurkic is only 22 and has enough upside to command a good player back in any trade, which could allow the Nuggets to address their biggest areas of need such as point guard and power forward. All eyes will be on this situation leading up to the NBA's Feb. 23 trade deadline.
Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond's offensive game is in the tank right now. His 14.2 PPG is two points under last season's average and he has put up only 10.8 PPG in the last five games, shooting a cool 44.2 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from the free throw line in that span.
Golden State Warriors: The spacing and passing and sheer amount of playmakers on the Warriors has allowed Kevin Durant to shoot much more efficiently than ever before this season. He enters Tuesday shooting 54.3 percent from the field after never eclipsing 51 percent in his previous nine seasons. Additionally, KD is shooting 59.3 percent in his last five games.
Houston Rockets: Clint Capela returned to the starting lineup Monday against Milwaukee in just his fifth game back from a broken fibula injury that cost him 15 games. Capela's return has meant little opportunity for Montrezl Harrell, who filled in nicely in Capela's absence but has played only 10 minutes a game in the last two contests.
Indiana Pacers: The brutal season for Monta Ellis got even worse on Monday when the veteran shooting guard sprained his ankle in a loss to the Knicks. He will likely miss some time and allow C.J. Miles to play more minutes than usual. All in all, it's difficult to remember a player whose game fell off a cliff as fast as Ellis' did this season at the age of 31. This is a player who averaged 18.9 PPG with Dallas just two seasons ago.
Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin is expected to return to the court on Tuesday as the Clippers face the 76ers. The star power forward has missed the past 18 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Dec. 20 to remove loose bodies from his right knee. Though he'll certainly be eased back into the rotation, you can expect Griffin's presence to decrease the fantasy value of Marreese Speights, who played admirably in a larger role while Griffin was out.
Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton is using rookie forward Brandon Ingram as the team's primary ball-handler in the absence of D'Angelo Russell, but that isn't going well, and that may be the understatement of the day. Ingram finished with a plus-minus of minus-45 in the 49-point loss to Dallas on Sunday and ended up with six points, five fouls, three turnovers and zero assists in 36 minutes. Russell, who sprained his MCL last Wedneday and is expected to miss 1-2 weeks, can't get back soon enough for the reeling Lakers.
Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol is playing like a top-20 fantasy player right now. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has put up three straight games of at least 28 points and has averaged 25.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1 steal, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 threes in his last five games. He has also shot 54.1 percent during that span.
Miami Heat: Don't look now, but Dion Waiters is starting to demand our attention in fantasy after posting back-to-back games with 33 points. Waiters' improbable 3-pointer lifted the Heat to the upset victory over Golden State on Monday, but don't forget that much of his recent uptick in production is the result of Tyler Johnson being on the shelf with a shoulder injury. Johnson has been one of the top scorers off the bench in the NBA this season, averaging 14.2 PPG in 31 minutes a game.
Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson was a DNP-CD in Monday's game as Bucks coach Jason Kidd elected to start Miles Plumlee at center and use Greg Monroe in his customary role off the bench. Henson had been averaging 19.6 minutes in his previous 10 games, but this is something to keep a close eye on. The little-used Plumlee has played only 9.3 MPG in 30 games this season, and more than likely this was just a matter of coach Kidd trying to light a fire under Henson.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio missed Sunday's game against Denver due to a personal matter, which enabled rookie Kris Dunn to fill in as the starting point guard and put up 10 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals, but Rubio is slated to return to the starting lineup for Tuesday's game in Phoenix.
New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis missed Monday's game due to a nagging quad injury that has limited his lateral mobility, and that could be part of the reason for his underwhelming numbers of late. The Pelicans' star has averaged 19.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1 block in the last three games, which would be good numbers for other players but not for the Brow.
New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis clearly hasn't been himself while dealing with a nagging Achilles injury -- just look at the stats. The 7-foot-3 forward has averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in seven games this month, but well below his season averages of 18.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. The big man could become a shutdown candidate in the months ahead if the Knicks continue to struggle and the ailing Achilles doesn't show improvement.
Oklahoma City Thunder: A lot of attention is being placed on Russell Westbrook's incredible season, and for good reason -- he enters Tuesday averaging a ridiculous 30.8 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 10.4 APG, 1.6 SPG and 2 3PG. One of the things that is going overlooked in all this, though, is how inefficient the star point guard has been in recent weeks. Westbrook is shooting 39.9 percent in his last 10 games, causing his shooting percentage to drop to 42.1 percent. He hasn't finished a season shooting that poorly since 2009-10, his second year in the league.
Orlando Magic: Elfrid Payton may only be averaging 12.5 PPG on the season, but the young point guard has picked up his scoring as of late. In fact, he has scored 19 points or more in five of the last six games and is shooting at least 48.5 percent for the second month in a row. Add in his rebound (3.8 RPG), assist (6 APG) and steal (1.2) output this season and we have one of 2016-17's most underrated fantasy players.
Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid suffered a knee contusion in Friday's win over Portland and he will miss at least two games, including Tuesday's home tilt against the Clippers. It remains to be seen how long the all-everything center will be out, but the soonest he could return to the court would be Friday against Houston.
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe have both turned it on lately. Booker has scored 20 points or more in nine consecutive games, averaging 26.2 PPG over the last five games. Meanwhile, Bledsoe has put up 26.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 9.6 APG and 1.2 SPG in the same span. The Suns may still seem far away from contention in the talented Western Conference, but these are two players who can carry them if they continue to play this well on the offensive end.
Portland Trail Blazers: In an effort to shake things up on the spiraling Trail Blazers, coach Terry Stotts altered his starting lineup last week by moving Al-Farouq Aminu and Mo Harkless to the bench in favor of Noah Vonleh and Evan Turner. It remains to be seen if this change will stick, but Stotts kept with it for a second game on Saturday and it resulted in a 127-123 overtime win over Boston. Aminu played 37 minutes in that game while coming off the bench, which shows that his value isn't tied up in whether he starts.
Sacramento Kings: Garrett Temple moved into the Kings' starting lineup following the season-ending Achilles injury to Rudy Gay, and Temple's versatile game makes him a solid puzzle piece on any fantasy team. He has averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 threes in 33.3 minutes per game in the three games since Gay went down, and he's the safer fantasy option than inconsistent veteran Matt Barnes at this point.
San Antonio Spurs: In the three games since Pau Gasol went down due to a fractured finger, veteran David Lee has averaged 13 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. Lee may be undersized at the center position, but often times that's okay in today's small-ball NBA, and he's one guy to go after in your fantasy leagues right now (28.3 percent owned).
Toronto Raptors: Clearly, it's going to take some time for Jared Sullinger to get into NBA shape after missing the first three months of the season recovering from a foot injury. He made his season-debut last Wednesday and has averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in his first three games, logging merely 14.3 minutes per game so far. Looking ahead, Sullinger will likely battle Patrick Patterson for minutes as a rugged forward who can start or come off the bench.
Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert is tied with Embiid for the league lead in blocks per game with 2.5. He ranks fifth in rebounds per game (12.7) and second in field goal percentage (66.8), trailing only DeAndre Jordan. Additionally, he is fourth in the league with 31 double-doubles. Maybe the most impressive stat, though, is the fact that the big man has played in all 46 of Utah's games this season. That's 16 more games than Embiid has logged in 2016-17, for example, and an underrated part of Gobert's immense fantasy value.
Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal is dealing with a nagging knee issue and that could be the reason for his recent cold spell. Beal, who is averaging a career-high 21.6 PPG in his fifth NBA season, hasn't scored more than 18 points in his last four games, shooting just 18-for-58 (31 percent) in that span.