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: With 33 rebounds in his last two games, Clint Capela is now at 14.6 RPG. That puts him ahead of Andre Drummond (14.2) for the lead league and is a rise in rebounds per game for the seventh consecutive season for the former Houston Rocket big man. Capela also ranks third in the league in blocks with 2.3 per game, making him one of the biggest draft-day steals of the year; he had a 65.6 ADP in ESPN leagues.
Boston Celtics: In Kemba Walker's first 10 games of the season, shooting woes have been a recurring theme. The veteran point guard is logging a lot of minutes - that isn't an issue - but the knee problem that kept him out in the opening weeks of the season may be hampering his shooting; Walker 34.2 FG% is well below his career average of 41.8%, and he has made just 27.1% of his shots during the past five games.
Brooklyn Nets: If there's a bench player to consider on the Nets, Landry Shamet may be the guy - at least whenever Kevin Durant is out of the lineup. Shamet is rostered in less than 1% of ESPN leagues but has quietly found his shooting stroke and knocked down 11 3-pointers in the last three games.
Charlotte Hornets: A look at LaMelo Ball's season stats, and the numbers are impressive. But they don't tell the full story. It's easy to overlook that for around 40 days, he played 20-25 MPG while serving as Charlotte's sixth man. The numbers he's had since moving into the starting lineup five games ago are probably more telling, and they are otherworldly for a rookie - 22.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 3.8 3PG, 43.8 FG%, 51.4 3FG%, 88.9 FT%. If this continues, and there's no reason to think it won't, this Ball brother should be considered a second-round pick in fantasy drafts next season.
Chicago Bulls: Lauri Markkanen is injured again, this time with a sprained shoulder that will keep him out 2-4 weeks. With Wendell Carter Jr. (quad) and Otto Porter Jr. (back) also both out, this is a time for Bulls coach Billy Donovan to lean heavily on rookie lottery pick Patrick Williams. The No. 4 overall pick in 2020, Williams has quietly scored in double-digits for six consecutive games enter Wednesday, and posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Orlando on Saturday. Williams is available in 80.6% of ESPN leagues, and is worth taking a chance on for the weeks ahead.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Needing to replace the injured Larry Nance Jr., who is sidelined 4-6 weeks due to a fracture finger, the Cavs opted to go with a two centers lineup in Monday's game against Phoenix, starting Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen alongside one another. That lineup, which also included promising young lottery picks Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro, is one of the more interesting ones we've seen around the NBA in a while, and while it didn't lead to a victory it was good to see Drummond (36 minutes) and Allen (34 minutes) both getting get a lot of time on the court. Drummond outproduced Allen in the numbers department, especially in terms of rebounds (14 to 5), and it's worth watching closely to see if the Cavs stick with this. For now, this is potentially good news for managers with Allen, given the bump in playing time.
Dallas Mavericks: Josh Richardson ranks second on the Mavericks with 32.1 MPG, but his numbers just haven't been at the place they were at his peak in Miami or even last season in Philadelphia. Richardson's 29.9 3FG% is the lowest of his career and, barring major improvement in the coming months, would be the fourth consecutive season in which his efficiency has fallen from long range. Additionally, Richardson's 2.3 APG is on pace to be his lowest output since his rookie season in 2015-16.
Denver Nuggets: Since last Thursday, the Nuggets are in the midst of a schedule that seems them playing 16 games every other day with two back-to-backs in there. That's not completely uncommon in a season with a condensed schedule, but most teams have at least one two- or three-day break in there somewhere. This may seem great for fantasy managers with the Nuggets, but it could also mean some DNP-Rest nights so make sure to stay on top of this.
Detroit Pistons: Delon Wright becomes much more of a fantasy draw with Derrick Rose shipped to the Knicks. Wright, who remains a free agent in 26.3% of ESPN leagues, is a worth pick-up right now after putting up 22.0 PPG and 9.5 APG in his last two games. The closest thing to a backup point guard right now in the Pistons' rotation may be Josh Jackson, which gives you an idea of how much the team needs to lean on Wright going forward.
Golden State Warriors: Juan Toscano-Anderson may be off the radar of a lot of fantasy managers - he is rostered in only 8.6% of ESPN leagues - but he's worth tracking. The journeyman forward has been thrust into extended minutes with the Warriors being so shorthanded in the frontcourt, and his passing, dribbling and rebounding have opened eyes in the Bay Area. Even when the Warriors return to full strength, it seems there's a place in this rotation for Toscano-Anderson.
Houston Rockets: Which Christian Wood (ankle) out of the lineup for a couple weeks, this is DeMarcus Cousins' time to shine for the Rockets and the former fantasy star can still contribute even after the Achilles and ACL injuries in recent years. Cousins isn't nearly the scorer he was in his prime, but he has averaged 9.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.0 BPG and 1.3 3PG in Wood's absence during the past three games. A top 100 fantasy option? Perhaps not. But Cousins isn't far off whenever Wood is unavailable.
Indiana Pacers: How good has Domantas Sabonis been so far this season? The fifth-year big man is currently on pace to post career bests in scoring (21.0 PPG), assists (5.5 APG) and 3-pointers (1.0 3PG) while maintaining terrific rebounding (11.7 RPG) and shooting (60.1 True Shooting Percentage) numbers. While a strong option in points leagues in recent years, Sabonis is now even more of a force in roto and category leagues thanks to the improvements in 3s and assists.
LA Clippers: Paul George isn't getting to the line as frequently as he did for much of the last decade - his 4.2 FTA is his lowest since the 2012-13 season in Indiana - but George is helping make up for it by shooting a career-best 90.5% when at the charity stripe. Boasting a career 84.7 FT%, George enters Wednesday ranked No. 8 in the league in that category.
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James just keeps going, doesn't he? This season, at age 36, in his 18th NBA season, LeBron is making 2.7 3PG and shooting 39.8% from long-range, which puts him on pace to shatter his previous high in 3PG (2.2 set last year) and puts him in range to pass his career high of a 40.6 3FG% (set 2012-13 in Miami). Enjoy it, basketball fans. Enjoy it.
Memphis Grizzlies: Jonas Valanciunas seems to be perpetually overlooked. Is it the name? The small market? What is it? On Monday, he put up 27 points and pulled down 20 rebounds against Toronto. The game before that, he went for 23 and 7 against the Pelicans. Last Wednesday, it was 24 and 16 against the Timberwolves. Valanciunas has 10 double-doubles this season, which ranks No. 16 in the league, and is a force in all fantasy formats.
Miami Heat: Kelly Olynyk knocked down six 3-pointers and played 31 minutes in Tuesday's win over the Knicks, and both numbers are relevant to the big picture this season. Olynyk is on a career-high pace with 26.3 MPG and his 2.4 3PG is also on track to leave his previous best (1.4 3PG, set each of the past three seasons) in the dust.
Milwaukee Bucks: Perspective matters. On one hand, it may seem disappointing to see Brook Lopez's BPG fall from 2.4 last season to 1.4 this season. On the other hand, Lopez still ranks No. 11 in the NBA in that category this season. Lopez's overall fantasy value continues to fall off a bit more each season, but for fantasy teams in need of blocks, there still aren't many options who are better than the quirky Stanford product.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Malik Beasley was never more than a role player in his three-plus seasons in Denver, but things have changed since the shooting guard joined the rebuilding Timberwolves. Not only is Beasley putting up 20.5 PPG, he is also one of the league's better 3-point shooters, making 3.1 3PG on 38.5% shooting. The 24-year-old has averaged 4.8 3PG during the past four games.
New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart has been a sneaky source of rebounds since joining the Pelicans, pulling down 6.5 RPG last season, and after hauling in a career-high 17 rebounds against the Rockets on Tuesday he is now at 7.8 RPG this season. That puts the versatile shooting guard at No. 25 in the league in rebounding. Not bad for someone listed at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds.
New York Knicks: A times this season Austin Rivers has made sense as streamer or an affordable option in daily fantasy leagues. The addition of Derrick Rose changes that, however. Rivers was a DNP-CD in Rose's first game with the Knicks, and appears to be the odd man out in the guard rotation with Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley, Elfrid Payton and Rose all ahead of him.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out Wednesday against the Lakers because of a sprained left knee. With George Hill (thumb) and Theo Maledon (COVID-19 protocols) also sidelined, that leaves Hamidou Diallo and Luguentz Dort in prime position to be on the court for much of the game. Take note and adjust your lineups accordingly.
Orlando Magic: Cole Anthony left Tuesday's game in the first half due to a right shoulder strain and didn't return, giving way to Frank Mason in the second half. The Magic play next on Thursday against Golden State, and Anthony's status is worth keeping an eye on leading up to tipoff. The rookie first-rounder has shown improvement in recent weeks, especially from 3-point range where he has made 41.9% of his shots during the past 10 games.
Philadelphia 76ers: Giannis Antetokounmpo's 61.6 FT% is bad enough as is, but it's made worse by the fact that the Greek Freak gets to the line a whopping 9.7 times per game on average. Why do we bring this up and how does it relate to the 76ers? Only because Joel Embiid works as a sharp contrast. Not only is Embiid shooting an impressive 85.5% from the line, he is also leading the league with 11.4 FTA. In roto and category leagues, any fantasy manager with Embiid should be winning the FT% category.
Phoenix Suns: Here's a number that's pretty surprising: 32.4. That's Chris Paul's MPG this season, his highest average since 2015-16 with the Clippers, and a significant number when you consider that Paul is 35 years old, has a lengthy injury history and is in his 16th NBA season. This probably isn't going to change much on a Suns team that needs Paul playing a lot to win games, and that could make the future Hall of Famer a strong trade candidate while his fantasy value is high.
Portland Trail Blazers: Robert Covington (70.5% rostered in ESPN leagues) is no longer the roto maven he was in previous years, and his 1.7 3PG - while nice - isn't particularly noteworthy at a time in the NBA when it seems everyone is chucking and making 3s. One area where Covington is still a force, however, is steals. His 1.7 SPG ranks No. 9 in the league, and in leagues where streaming for steals is necessary, he's worth a look.
Sacramento Kings: With two more blocks on Tuesday against Philadelphia, Tyrese Haliburton is up to 0.7 BPG through the first 22 games of his NBA career. Even if this number settles around 0.5 BPG over the course of the season, it's still impressive for a point guard who is making positive contributions in virtually every other statistical category - 12.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 2.3 3PG, 49.5 FG%, 45.5 3FG%, 86.7 FT%.
San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray is starting to get that look in San Antonio. By look, we mean the look of a star in the making. Now 24, Murray's confidence is at an all-time high and the rangy combo guard is making an impact on both sides of the ball with 1.6 SPG and a career-best 14.7 PPG. Another encouraging development for Murray is his willingness to step back and take the 3. His 3.2 attempts per game is a career high, as is his 1.0 3PG, and we saw him put the team on his back and take the game-sealing trey to beat the Warriors on Monday. That's provided a nice little boost to his fantasy value in roto and category leagues.
Toronto Raptors: Chris Boucher hasn't been as consistent as fantasy managers may feel comfortable with this season, but his shot-blocking stands out nonetheless. Boucher's 1.9 BPG ranks No. 4 in the league behind only Myles Turner (3.6), Rudy Gobert (2.7) and Clint Capela (2.4), and his 23.90 PER ranks ahead of all of those guys so he has certainly been valuable even while battling consistency.
Utah Jazz: Not only has Donovan Mitchell rebounded from the slow start to the season, he's now putting up the best fantasy numbers of his career. The fourth-year shooting guard is posting career-highs in PPG (24.0) and APG (5.1) and has taken his 3-point game to new heights, taking more attempts (8.6 per game) and shooting more efficiently (41.9%) than ever before. The result? A whopping 3.6 3PG, a significant jump from his previous best of 2.5 3PG set last season. Maybe Shaq gets an assist, here.
Washington Wizards: It's easy to assume that Bradley Beal, being the NBA's leading scorer at 33.3 PPG, is taking and making more 3s than ever before. That isn't the case, though. Beal, in fact, has seen his 3-point attempts fall from 8.4 last season to 7.5 in 2020-21, and he has gone from making 3.0 to 2.6 per game. Beal is actually taking and making more 2-pointers and free throws than ever before in his nine-year career.