Fantasy Basketball News, Notes and Takeaways From Opening Week in the NBA

Highlighted by Wednesday night's monster, 12-game slate, the fantasy basketball season is officially underway. While it's important to avoid overreacting to (extremely) small samples, we can still glean some takeaways from the first three days of the 2022-23 campaign. By now, all 30 teams have played at least once, while both the Lakers and 76ers have two games under their belts.

Let's examine some of the major fantasy storylines thus far, as well as a handful of notable developments from the past few nights in the NBA:

The Lakers are not a good basketball team

After getting blown out by the Warriors on ring night, the Lakers followed up with another rough showing Thursday night against the Clippers. While the score was much closer, the Lakers once again struggled shooting the ball and got virtually no production from their bench. Through two games, Los Angeles is a combined 19-of-85 from beyond the arc.

Fantasy-wise, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have both been fantastic – and that won't change as long as they're healthy – but it's already clear that the Lakers' front office failed to put any semblance of a decent supporting cast around the two future hall-of-famers. In Thursday' s103-97 loss, Russell Westbrook went 0-of-11 from the field and finished with just two points (2-2 FT) in 27 minutes. On a more positive note, Lonnie Walker popped for 26 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals, though he contributed to the Lakers' struggles from deep (2-9 3Pt). 

Warriors dominate on ring night

Stephen Curry and the Warriors wasted no time getting started on their title defense Tuesday night, easily dispatching an overmatched Lakers team 123-109. Golden State came out a bit sluggish and only led by seven at the half before an all-too-familiar third-quarter avalanche.

Stephen Curry led the way with 33 points, four three-pointers, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes of action. The four-time champion even added a block to his stellar overall fantasy line. Klay Thompson chipped in 18 points and a pair of three-pointers, while Andrew Wiggins had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Notably quiet was Draymond Green, who played 25 minutes and finished with four points, five assists and five rebounds.

The No. 2 overall pick in 2020, James Wiseman, looked great in 17 minutes off the bench, posting eight points, seven rebounds and a block while hitting 4-of-6 field goal attempts. He did go 0-of-4 at the free throw line, however, which will likely continue to restrict his fantasy value in leagues that value percentages. Wiseman is currently available in more than a quarter of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues.

Tatum and Brown combine for 70 in opener

Despite not having Robert Williams (knee), the Celtics were able to contain Joel Embiid and cruise to a 126-117 victory in their opener Tuesday night. Jayson Tatum was locked in from the jump, finishing with 35 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in 39 minutes. His sidekick, Jaylen Brown, added 35 points of his own to go with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. 

Boston brought offseason addition Malcolm Brogdon off the bench, while Derrick White and Marcus Smart started in the backcourt. Brogdon was still plenty productive in 24 minutes, posting 16 points (7-11 FG), four assists and two steals with only one turnover.

Grant Williams (15 points, three three-pointers off the bench) will be a name to monitor over the next several weeks while Robert Williams remains out. Al Horford got the start at center, but Boston will likely attempt to limit the veteran's minutes as he enters his age-36 season. Williams is widely available (22% rostered) in Yahoo leagues.

Turner, Garland land on injury report

Minutes before the Pacers' opener against Washington on Wednesday, Myles Turner was deemed a late scratch after tweaking his ankle during pregame warmups. Turner apparently stepped on the foot of a ball boy and has since been diagnosed with a sprained ankle that's expected to keep him sidelined for at least a week.

Somewhat surprisingly, coach Rick Carlisle opted to start Terry Taylor at center in place of Turner. This is not the most encouraging development for second-year big man Isaiah Jackson, who was going around pick 100 in Yahoo drafts. Jackson did play 16 minutes off the bench, but he finished with just three points, three rebounds and one block and was a minus-13 in a game Indiana lost by seven points.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, Darius Garland started in the backcourt alongside Donovan Mitchell but was forced out of the game in the second quarter after taking an inadvertent shot to the eye from Gary Trent Jr. Garland's eye was completely swollen shut, and he did not take part in Thursday's practice. The star point guard should be considered day-to-day ahead of the Cavs' Saturday/Sunday back-to-back set against Chicago and Washington.

In other injury news, LaMelo Ball will not play Friday against New Orleans as he continues to nurse a Grade 2 ankle sprain. The Hornets appear to be handling his status on a game-to-game basis to begin the year.

The Bulls' Zach LaVine sat out Opening Night against Miami and is also expected to sit the first half of Chicago's Friday/Saturday back-to-back. As of now, LaVine should make his debut Saturday against Cleveland. While the Bulls are deeming it "injury management" after LaVine underwent knee surgery in May, it has to be a concern that he's clearly not 100 percent to begin the season.

Banchero, Ivey show out in Detroit

The Magic and Pistons may not be title contenders, but they were responsible for perhaps the most entertaining game of the night Wednesday. The matchup featured No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero going up against the No. 5 pick, Jaden Ivey, and the No. 13 pick, Jalen Duren. While Banchero had the best fantasy night – 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks in 35 minutes – it was Ivey and Duren who escaped with a 113-109 victory.

Ivey started alongside Cade Cunningham and finished with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting (2-4 3Pt) to go with four assists, three steals and three boards. Duren saw 22 minutes off the bench and posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double with three blocks. Duren is still widely available in many leagues and will likely be a high-priority pickup ahead of Week 2 of the fantasy season.

Zion dominates Nets in first action since 2020-21

In his first NBA action since May of 2021, Zion Williamson did not look the least bit rusty in the Pelicans' 130-108 decimation of the Brooklyn Nets. Behind a strong start from Williamson, the Pels jumped out to a 32-14 first-quarter advantage and never looked back. Williamson finished with 25 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go with nine rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Most importantly for fantasy managers, Williamson went a respectable 3-of-4 at the free throw line. When healthy, Williamson is a huge asset in terms of points, rebounds and field goal percentage, but his free throw shooting (69.8% FT; 8.7 FTA/G in 2020-21) significantly dragged down his overall value two seasons ago.

Quick hits

• Coach Steve Kerr revealed this week that both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will likely have their minutes limited for the next couple of weeks. 
• James Harden looks like the old James Harden thus far. After going for 35 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five threes on Opening Night, Harden followed up with a 31-9-8-2 line in Thursday's narrow loss to Milwaukee.
• Kawhi Leonard made his long-awaited return to action Thursday and came off the bench as part of the Clippers' plan to gradually ease him back. Leonard played 24 minutes and finished with 11 points (3-3 3Pt), one rebound and one assist. 
• Ivica Zubac posted a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double with five blocks against the Lakers. Most encouragingly, Zubac saw 35 minutes of action.
• Early returns on the Dejounte Murray-Trae Young pairing are encouraging. The pair combined for 43 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds, six steals and two blocks in Wednesday's opener against Houston. Both struggled from three-point range, however. Young went 1-of-9, while Murray finished 1-of-5.
• It's not quite time to sound the alarm, but fantasy managers were not thrilled to see Bruno Fernando starting ahead of Alperen Sengun in Houston's opener against Atlanta.
• Sengun still saw 22 minutes off the bench and finished with 15 points and nine boards, though he did commit six turnovers.
• No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith went 3-of-11 from deep in his NBA debut.
• In Washington, No. 10 overall pick Johnny Davis was a DNP-CD in the Wizards' win over the Pacers.
• Washington brought Will Barton off the bench while Deni Avdija got the start at one forward spot next to Kyle Kuzma
• In his first taste of NBA action, Bennedict Mathurin went for 19 points (7-15 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 2-5 FT), seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench.
• Bam Adebayo rough start
• Herro starting at SG next to Lowry – also bad start for him
• DeMar DeRozan picked up where he left off last season, pouring in 37 points, to go with nine assists and six rebounds, in the Bulls' win over Miami.
• Ayo Dosunmu started at point guard for Chicago and should hold on to that spot for quite some time, as Lonzo Ball's (knee) timetable remains very much up in the air. Dosunmu posted 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 36 minutes.
• Reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Tyler Herro, was in the starting lineup on Opening Night. He was one of only a handful of bright spots for Miami, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds with four three-pointers.
• Max Strus drilled five threes off the bench in 31 minutes, while Duncan Robinson saw only 11 minutes of action.
• In his first game with the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell went off for 31 points, nine assists, two rebounds and two steals.
• All five Raptors starters scored at least 15 points in their 108-105 win over Cleveland, with Pascal Siakam's 23 points leading the way
• Coming off of a disappointing season, Julius Randle got off to a nice start in the Knicks' overtime loss to Memphis. Randle finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 11 boards, six assists and two steals in 35 minutes.
• RJ Barrett had a disastrous night, hitting just 3-of-18 shots en route to 11 points. 
• Cam Reddish poured in 22 points and three three-pointers off the bench for the Knicks
• Ja Morant (34 points, nine assists) stole the show for Memphis, but fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on Santi Aldama, who started over Brandon Clarke at power forward. Aldama played a game-high 39 minutes and finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
• Making his Timberwolves debut, Rudy Gobert led the way with 23 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in Minnesota's win over OKC.
• Karl-Anthony Towns was notably quiet, finishing with just 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting. Towns did add six rebounds and seven assists, however.
• In his return from a torn ACL that kept him out for all of last season, Jamal Murray had 12 points (5-13 FG), two rebounds and two steals.
• Michael Porter Jr. finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes.
• Denver committed 21 turnovers, four of which were charged to Porter Jr.
• Kelly Olynyk got the start at center for Utah, but foul trouble limited him to just 15 minutes of action. Rookie Walker Kessler posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Kessler was a big-time shot-blocker in college and will be a name to closely monitor as the season goes along – particularly if the Jazz make more of an effort to improve their lottery odds, as anticipated.
• Christian Wood scored 25 points – including 16 straight at one point – in his Mavs debut. Wood drained four three-pointers and added eight rebounds.
• Damian Lillard was back on the court for the Trail Blazers on Wednesday against the Kings. He looked fairly rusty but still managed 20 points (1-8 3Pt), eight assists and two steals in a full complement of minutes (37).
• Rookie Shaedon Sharpe hit three three-pointers and finished with 12 points off the bench.
• It was an encouraging debut for De'Aaron Fox, who paced Sacramento with 33 points, five three-pointers, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals Wednesday.
• Offseason addition Kevin Huerter went for 23 points on six three-pointers in 29 minutes.