NBA

James is likely to play after finishing off the regular season with a triple-double. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be active in an important game that could drastically affect the Lakers’ playoff outlook.

Davis logged 30 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes in a dominant win over the Pelicans on Sunday. However, the oft-injured big man is a question mark for his team’s huge play-in game on Tuesday. Los Angeles will have to lean on Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes more than usual if the star center sits.

GP2 missed the Dubs’ last three regular-season games and is now set to miss their play-in game against Sacramento. Chris Paul and Brandon Podziemski have a chance to play larger roles during his absence.

After scoring 26 points on 50% shooting in Friday’s win over Portland, Green was limited to 23 minutes on Sunday. The priority was to get less experienced players more run in the second half, and the third-year guard was excellent after the All-Star break. In 28 post-break games, he averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 3.3 3-pointers, shooting 44.1% from the field and 80.9% from the foul line. Green was more productive and more efficient, with his offensive rating (117.1) being nearly six points higher than his pre-break number (111.9). Green benefitted from the changes made by the Rockets, most notably the hiring of Ime Udoka as head coach and the addition of point guard Fred VanVleet. That makes him an intriguing fantasy option for 2024-25.

While Smith was one of six Rockets to score in double figures, this wasn’t the best finish to the season for the second-year forward. He was 2-of-10 from three, which weighed down the overall field-goal percentage, and the 15 points equaled his total from the Rockets’ games against Utah (Thursday) and Portland (Friday). Beginning the season with a Yahoo ADP of 92.1, Smith exceeded that number in 9-cat formats while ranking just outside the top 100 in 8-cat. Alperen Sengun’s absence from mid-March onward did not significantly boost Smith’s fantasy value, which was the expectation of many. Expecting another top-100 season from Smith in 2024-25 would be fair.

Sunday’s performance was an impressive ending to Thompson’s rookie campaign and symbolic of what he brings to the table. The rookie has Yahoo eligibility at point guard, shooting guard, and small forward, and it fits, as Houston can use him anywhere on the perimeter (and even the four in smaller lineups). Thompson was a 12th-round player in 8- and 9-cat formats, which aligns with his Yahoo ADP (140), but there is top-100 potential. He should last on draft boards too far past the 100th pick in redraft leagues next fall.

Due to the absence of multiple veterans, Whitmore made his second career start on Sunday. And he played well, shooting better than 50% from the field and leading the Rockets in scoring. Putting the ball in the basket has long been one of Whitmore’s strengths, but he was productive in other areas in the final three games of his rookie season. While he has been overshadowed by Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason (leg) will be available, Whitmore offers a decent deep-league upside heading into 2024-25. His most significant issue may be Houston’s rotation, as the team is deep on the wings.

With the Clippers locked into their first-round matchup for a week or so, Coffey’s playing time increased. He finished the regular season playing 31 minutes or more in four straight games, hitting double figures in scoring in each. With Norman Powell coming off the bench, Coffey will remain in a difficult spot regarding fantasy value in 2024-25. Brandon Boston Jr. (15/7/3/4 with two 3-pointers in 31 minutes) also had a productive afternoon in the Clippers’ final regular season home game at Crypto.com Arena. Next up are the playoffs, with Dallas visiting Los Angeles for Game 1 on April 21.

Mann and P.J. Tucker were the lone “regular” starters in the rotation for Sunday’s game, and the latter has only started recently due to Kawhi Leonard (knee) being sidelined. Mann had one of his best offensive games of the season, surpassing the 20-point mark for the third time. More valuable to the Clippers than fantasy managers, he finishes this season ranked outside the top 200 in 8- and 9-cat formats. As for Tucker, he only played eight minutes on Sunday, and Leonard’s availability will dictate his minutes during the postseason. The Clippers host Dallas in Game 1 of their series on Sunday.

Zion had a rough shooting night and failed to make much of an impact as a scorer. Fortunately for fantasy managers, he buoyed his poor offense with strong rebounds, assists and defensive contributions. Williamson finished the 2023-24 season with 22.9 points, 5.8 boards, 5.0 dimes, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 57.0% from the floor. The rebounds and FG% are career lows, but the assists are a career high, and most importantly, so are the games played. Williamson appeared in 70 contests after playing fewer than 30 in two of his first three campaigns, so NBA fans and fantasy managers alike are hopeful this is the start of a new trend of availability. He’ll be back in action Tuesday for the first game of the Play-In Tournament in a rematch with the Lakers.