Anfernee Simons drops 22 points vs. Maccabi Haifa.

Anfernee Simons
SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Anfernee Simons scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go with four triples, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in Thursday's preseason match against Maccabi Haifa.

Simons has been gassed up all offseason by the Blazers brass and while teams are always going to be optimistic about their young prospects, it looks like Simons is going to get a ton of opportunity. He's not on any fantasy radars yet, but he's someone to keep an eye out for.

Anfernee Simons Portland Trail Blazers
October 11, 2019, 12:17 am

Fantasy News & NBA Updates

Jimmy Butler
SG, Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting along with two rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Heat lost 98-116 to the Lakers on Wednesday.

Butler looked great in the opening minutes and everything was looking swell as the Heat pulled out to an early lead. Then everything around Butler crumbled as both Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo left the game with injuries and didn't return. Seeing Butler's aggression in the first quarter was impressive, but there is only so much he can do alone. There has been a lot of talk about his supportive play style, but that is all thrown out the window when his two co-stars aren't on the court. With Goran Dragic potentially done for the series, Butler will need to take on a lot of ball handling duties if the Heat hope to mount a comeback.
October 1, 2020, 12:28 am
Dwight Howard
C, Los Angeles Lakers

Dwight Howard started for the second consecutive time, but only played 14 minutes as the Lakers quickly opted to go small in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Howard scored just two points while pulling down eight rebounds and producing two assists in his limited minutes. Despite all the talk about Howard's excellent performance in Game 5 vs. the Nuggets, Frank Vogel quickly swapped Anthony Davis to center tonight. It may have been a reaction to the Lakers' rough first quarter, but the move clearly worked well as they went on to blow out the Heat for the rest of the game. Howard should continue to soak up minutes while Davis rests, but it's unlikely he plays a large role in this series going forward.
October 1, 2020, 12:18 am
Alex Caruso
SG, Los Angeles Lakers

Alex Caruso (sore right wrist) played 21 minutes on Wednesday and posted a solid 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Prior to the game it wasn't clear if Caruso would play, but he checked in and played his usual chunk of minutes. He only hit one of his three shots from beyond-the-arc tonight but played smart defense and was a big positive for the Lakers overall.
October 1, 2020, 12:13 am
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SG, Los Angeles Lakers

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope provided the Lakers a much-needed scoring boost in the first half of Wednesday's Game 1, ending with 13 points on 2-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 shots from the line.

Caldwell-Pope had two rebounds, two steals and a block as well. The Lakers were getting blown away in the first quarter, falling to an early double-digit deficit. KCP was the guy who shook the team awake and pulled them back into the game with two consecutive threes. Everyone knows by now that when players like Caldwell-Pope are making multiple threes in a game, the Lakers chances of getting a win increase drastically.
October 1, 2020, 12:08 am
Danny Green
SG, Los Angeles Lakers

Danny Green came up big for the Lakers and stuffed the stat sheet on Wednesday with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting from deep, four rebounds, one assist, two steals and three blocks.

Green has lived up to his 'IcyHot' nickname in these playoffs, but tonight he gave the Lakers exactly the kind of minutes they signed him for. He left the game with the second highest plus-minus on the team with +21. Green is a smart defender but he can only stay on the court if he's able to hit his threes and tonight they were dropping. If he keeps up this kind of performance he'll be on his way to back-to-back NBA championships.
October 1, 2020, 12:03 am