CJ McCollum

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

C.J. McCollum (left ankle sprain) ruled out for Monday's tilt vs. the Warriors.

McCollum will miss his second game due to the injury. He was spotted without a limp on Saturday so there is reason to hope this is a short term problem. Anfernee Simmons makes for a solid play in standard leagues right now, and the main Blazers for fantasy purposes, Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside, will get boosts in value as well.

Source: Casey Holdahl on Twitter

Hassan Whiteside

C, Portland Trail Blazers

In an article exploring their most recent trade, John Hollinger of The Athletic made note that the Blazers are now capable of combining Hassan Whiteside's contract with one of the minimum contracts on their roster to fully get under the luxury tax threshold.

This matters only because the entire point of yesterday's trade from Portland's side seemed to be an effort to reduce their tax burden and the potential for the dreaded 'repeater tax'. If their new MO is to work towards alleviating that completely, trading Whiteside's giant contract could now accomplish that in one fell swoop. To be clear, there is no official rumor to indicate that he is on the block, but if we are to believe this is the direction that Portland would like to take with this season it's worth keeping a side-eye on.

Source: The Athletic

Damian Lillard

PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard did his best to hard-carry the Blazers on his shoulders on Saturday but was unable to do so, despite dropping 34 points (10-of-23 FGs, 9-of-12 FTs), five 3s, six assists and one steal.

Lillard was missing C.J. McCollum in this one. And despite Gary Trent Jr. exploding for a career-best 30 points, Carmelo Anthony struggled to help out, going 4-for-13 from the field for nine points, four rebounds and one block.

Nassir Little

SF, Portland Trail Blazers

Nassir Little started on Saturday and chipped in acrosss the board with five points on 2-of-7 shooting, adding six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one trey and one block in 20 minutes.

Little was thrust into the starting lineup amid the Bazemore-Ariza trade with the Kings. He should find his way back to the bench soon. Little could have played more minutes but his inexperience showed as he was saddled by foul trouble (five fouls) in this one.

Anfernee Simons

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Anfernee Simons started for C.J. McCollum (left ankle sprain) on Saturday, but was quiet in his 35 minutes on the floor with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting with three rebounds, one 3-pointer and one assist.

Simons' potential breakout performance was stolen from under him by Gary Trent Jr. Both these young guns are promising assets and should take turns surprising us with big nights. Tonight was Trent's. Simons is a hold while McCollum remains sidelined by his ankle injury.

Gary Trent Jr.

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Gary Trent Jr. had the game of his young career on Saturday, dropping a career-best 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting with a full stat line.

Trent Jr. hit 5-of-9 shots from downtown and chipped in five rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block in 36 minutes of action. The Blazers ran an eight-man rotation and without C.J. McCollum (sprained left ankle), Trent Jr. splashed his way to a stellar explosion. He's worth a speculative add for short-term value.

Nassir Little

SF, Portland Trail Blazers

Nassir Little will start for the Blazers on Saturday.

Little has not shown much this season. He may not be too much of an impact-player tonight and can be left on the wire.

Source: Casey Holdahl on Twitter

Anfernee Simons

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Anfernee Simons will start for C.J. McCollum (left ankle sprain) on Saturday.

Simons will get a shot at a big game tonight, making him an intriguing DFS play. He's also a short-term add in season-long while McCollum is on the mend.

Source: Casey Holdahl on Twitter

Kent Bazemore

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have traded Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver and their 2024 and 2025 second-round picks to the Kings in exchange for Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan and Wenyen Gabriel.

Trevor Ariza will fill in for Bazemore as the starting small forward and should have a better role going forward. For tonight's purposes we should see a little more Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent and Mario Hezonja.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter

CJ McCollum

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

C.J. McCollum (left ankle sprain) will not play on Saturday against the Thunder.

McCollum played only 12 minutes on Friday before being ruled out while an update or timetable is yet to be provided. Anfernee Simmons started the second half for him and finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and a three-pointer in 28 minutes. He might be someone to use if you need points and triples as he can catch fire in a hurry but usually doesn't really help much outside of those two categories.

Source: Jamie Hudson on Twitter

Mario Hezonja

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Mario Hezonja (back) returned from a two-game absence on Friday night and had seven points in 19 minutes.

Hezonja has been in and out of the rotation, but could find himself looked to for scoring if CJ McCollum's ankle injury ends up being serious. Not-So-Super Mario is only a deep-league option these days, and not a good one at that.

Damian Lillard

PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard played through an illness on Friday night and kept the Blazers in the game, scoring 34 points on 13-of-25 from the field while adding 10 assists, two steals and three 3-pointers.

Lillard was a game-time decision tonight but this one would've been a blowout had he not been able to suit up. Portland's on the outside looking in on the playoff chase right now, and as long as that deficit is manageable we should see Lillard emptying the tank to get the Blazers back into the postseason.

Hassan Whiteside

C, Portland Trail Blazers

Hassan Whiteside kept on rolling in Friday's loss, notching 21 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks and a 9-for-10 shooting line.

Whiteside is stuck on automatic and figures to remain that way until Jusuf Nurkic returns. He's been a huge steal for fantasy GMs this season and while we'd bet on him slowing down over the last couple of months, you're free to ride this wave to its completion considering his ADP.

Kent Bazemore

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Kent Bazemore battled through early foul trouble on Friday night and finished with 11 points, three rebounds, four assists, a steal and two 3-pointers.

Bazemore didn't start the second half but did manage to play 31 minutes despite racking up four fouls. If CJ McCollum has to miss time with his ankle sprain, Bazemore will be thrust into a more offensive role. A 14-16-team guy over the last couple of weeks, the stars have been aligning to get Bazemore back inside the top-150. He has yet to take advantage, but this could be another coin flip that lands the right way for him.

Anfernee Simons

SG, Portland Trail Blazers

Anfernee Simons started the second half in place of CJ McCollum (sprained ankle) on Friday night and posted seven points, five rebounds, five assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in 28 minutes.

Simons is really the only logical alternative if McCollum has to miss time, which puts him on the map as a low-end addition in standard leagues. He's best viewed as a source of scoring with non-negligible assists, but don't get too crazy chasing him on the wire or anything. That could change depending on McCollum's timetable but there's no need for drastic action just yet.