DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢STAR-TELEGRAM.COM
Back home, healthy Jazz take on short-handed HeatIt hasnāt happened many times this season, but the Utah Jazz donāt have any players listed on the injury report heading into Saturday aftern...
Trey Murphy III - Limited contributions ThursdayMurphy racked up six points (2-8 FG, 2-7 3Pt), one rebound and two assists in 23 minutes during Thursday's 112-105 win over the Jazz.
ImpactCoach Willie Green deployed a 10-man rotation Thursday, notably giving Larry Nance (ribs) 25 minutes in his return from injury. Murphy struggled with his shot and did practically nothing on the boards and defense, making this a bit of an outlier performance. Given what we saw last year, Murphy should be rostered in standard fantasy leagues, but the Pelicans' dense and shockingly healthy rotation may cap his upside in the immediate future.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
Jonas Valanciunas - Role declines in Nance's returnValanciunas contributed six points (2-6 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, one assist and one block over 23 minutes during Thursday's 112-105 win over the Jazz.
ImpactThursday's performance ended an eight-game streak of double-digit scoring for Valanciunas -- a stretch where he had seven double-doubles. Both his minutes and his usage took a hit with Larry Nance (ribs) back in the rotation, the latter playing 25 minutes. Nance has dealt with injury woes for much of his career, but when available, he's a more versatile option at center than Valanciunas and arguably fits better with Zion Williamson. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on Valanciunas' minutes in the near future to see how coach Willie Green decides to operate.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
Brandon Ingram - Fills stat sheet ThursdayIngram closed Thursday's 112-105 victory over Utah with 26 points (9-18 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 7-7 FT), three rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal over 36 minutes.
ImpactIngram was impressive on both ends of the court of this win, and his outing becomes even more impressive when considering he had to deal with Lauri Markkanen throughout the entire contest. Ingram is establishing himself as a strong two-way forward who can deliver more than just scoring, and his length allows him to make a consistent impact on defense as well. Ingram is averaging 22.3 points, 5.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds,1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals per game over his last 10 games.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
Zion Williamson - Sniffs triple-double in winWilliamson contributed 21 points (10-14 FG, 1-3 FT), 10 rebounds, eight assists and one block across 30 minutes during Thursday's 112-105 win over the Jazz.
ImpactWilliamson was extremely efficient near the rim and missed just four of his 14 shots, but he also contributed in other categories and finished just two dimes away from recording a triple-double. Williamson has three double-doubles this month and is averaging 19.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game across 11 December outings.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
CJ McCollum - Solid all-around effortMcCollum provided 22 points (8-16 FG, 4-10 3Pt, 2-3 FT), three rebounds, six assists and two steals over 32 minutes during Thursday's 112-105 win over the Jazz.
ImpactMcCollum has not been the same dominant scoring threat he was during his Portland days, as the Pelicans' offense revolves around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, but he can stand out from time to time. This was McCollum's ninth straight game with double-digit points, and he's having an excellent month of December with 20.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game across his last nine outings. He's also shooting 47.9 percent from deep in that span.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
John Collins - Pulls down 12 boardsCollins provided eight points (3-7 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-2 FT), 12 rebounds and one block over 26 minutes during Thursday's 112-105 loss to New Orleans.
ImpactCollins didn't do much on offense in this game, but he didn't have too many touches to make an impact, although the 12 rebounds were certainly a nice outcome for fantasy managers who have Collins rostered in category-based leagues. Collins is averaging 12.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in December.
DECEMBER 29, 2023ā¢ROTOWIRE
