Last Updated on January 12, 2026 1:45 am by Keston Paul | Published: January 12, 2026

We start off Week 13 with a friendly six-game Monday. This week is interesting since the number of games on any day ranges from nine to six. There is a lot of balance and streaming opportunities as a result.

The Fantasy Basketball Week Ahead will give you broader outlines for the entire week. Click here to read it.

Top Pickups

This is the “general must-add” section regardless of the slate. If these players are being overlooked and remain chilling on the waiver wire, consider adding them to your squad.

Note: Usually the Yahoo roster percentage would be included. I’m unfortunately very exhausted and don’t have the extra energy to include that right now, but I hope the analysis makes up for it!

Jake LaRavia (21%)

This was a blurb I wrote on Sunday evening:

Hachimura is expected to return from a right calf strain on Monday, January 12 vs. the Kings. Hachimura will be coming off the bench due to restrictions, but Redick also said he had not determined whether Hachimura will return to the starting lineup after his restrictions are lifted. LaRavia has started the past six games in a row, averaging 15.0 points (.532 FG%, .818 FT%), 2.5 triples, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.3 blocks in 36.2 MPG for top-35 9-cat value per game in that period. While there may be drop-offs in a couple of areas like the FG%, steal rate and maybe the threes per game, LaRavia would still have enough of a cushion to remain relevant for standard formats. Ensure he is on a roster to see where this goes.

JJ Redick said Rui Hachimura was a full participant in practice today and is trending towards being able to play tomorrow. Rui then confirmed he is planning to play.

Redick also said Rui will probably come off the bench since he will be on a minutes restriction. He has not yet…

— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) January 11, 2026

If you cannot see the last part of the tweet, it says, “He has not yet decided if Hachimura will return to the starting lineup once the minutes restriction is lifted.”

I have been on the record in recent weeks saying I think LaRavia is better than Hachimura and is generally a better complement to the starting lineup as well. Make sure LaRavia is rostered.

Hachimura is available for Monday’s game but I would expect him to sit out on Tuesday.

Cedric Coward

Coward hit two clutch threes late on Sunday, including a go-ahead 3-pointer as the Grizzlies mounted a comeback via a 13-0 run in the final three minutes vs. the Nets. Coward finished with 21 points, five triples, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal, hitting 8-of-15 FG in 27 minutes.

This was my blurb on Sunday evening:

The Nets led 98-90 with around three minutes to go, but the Grizzlies stormed out a 13-0 run, including two 3-pointers by Coward, one being the go-ahead shot. This is the tantalizing upside that makes Coward intriguing for 12-team formats, but injuries and general inconsistencies have derailed him recently. He is worth a look if he is on your wire given the opportunities available to him. We will see if a positive 12-team-level rhythm develops.

Cam Spencer also remains an strong assists specialist for as long as Ja Morant is out with a right calf contusion.

Collin Murray-Boyles

Murray-Boyles was sensational in a start against the Sixers, tallying 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in 42 minutes.

With Jakob Poeltl (back) seemingly not close to a return yet and CMB beginning to show some of the upside that made him a heralded prospect, he is worth a 12-team flier to see where things lead.

Goga Bitadze
If Wendell Carter Jr. misses more time with a right hip strain

Bitadze got a spot start on Sunday, translating 32 minutes into 14 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks.

Carter was questionable before being ruled out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t miss time. At the same time, we don’t know for sure. While “strain” seems like something that should cost a player one than one game, I’ve seen these listings only result in one or two games off many, many times. My advice is to monitor the Magic’s news cycle and take it from there. If Carter is out, Bitadze is a grab.

Moe Wagner made his season debut returning from an ACL tear and only managed to play 10 minutes. Wagner likely won’t be eating into Bitadze’s minutes if Carter misses time, so a 30-minute Bitadze could be a real fantasy beast.

Games

Jazz – Cavaliers @ 7:00 ET
Celtics – Pacers @ 7:30 ET
76ers – Raptors @ 7:30 ET
Nets – Mavericks @ 8:30 ET
Lakers – Kings @ 10:00 ET
Hornets – Clippers @ 10:30 ET

Teams on Second Night of a Back-to-Back

Note: Teams on the second night of a back-to-back must submit their injury report by the release of the 4:00 pm ET Official NBA Injury Report. 

BKN, TOR, PHI, SAC

Michael Porter Jr. and Drake Powell rested on Sunday while Ziaire Williams was out with an illness. Porter and Powell should be back, but Williams’ status is unclear.

Joel Embiid missed Sunday’s game for left injury management and should be cleared for Monday’s game, but with Embiid, you can never be sure so do your due diligence in terms of monitoring injury updates.

Paul George was a late scratch on Sunday with left knee soreness. We don’t know if that was precautionary rest if George felt something in warmups or if he will be out on Monday. Kelly Oubre started, but I expect Oubre to sit on Monday since he recently returned from an LCL (knee) sprain.

RJ Barrett was out on Sunday after being leaving Friday’s game with an injury. His status is unclear for Monday, but he is considered day-to-day.

Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram were questionable on Sunday.
Barnes played on Sunday and Ingram was out, but head coach Darko Rajakovic described Ingram as being “close.”

Ja’Kobe Walter exited on Sunday with a right hip pointer.

Teams on First Night of a Back-to-Back

Only the Lakers!

This is the start of five games in seven nights (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday) for the Lakers, so there may be some injury management and general rest coming up.

Top Stories to Watch

Major Injury Notes
(Check our Live Injury Report & Blurb Feed for more day-to-day news. Links are below).

On Sunday, we were told Jakob Poeltl (back) apparently still has no timeline to return. He is cleared for contact, but that isn’t new, as we got the same update early last week.

Of course, we are still waiting for confirmation on if Anthony Davis needs surgery or not. His official listing on the injury report is a “left finger sprain.” The projection based on reports is that he is out for around six weeks (around the All-Star break) if he doesn’t need surgery, or multiple months if he does need surgery.

Of course, it isn’t an injury but Dennis Schroder will be serving the second game of a three-game suspension on Monday after apparently confronting Luka Doncic in the tunnel on Friday and attempting to strike him. Schroder will also miss Wednesday’s game and should return on Friday.

Rotation Notes 

The Pacers went without a center in the starting lineup on Saturday. The usuals (Nembhard, Siakam, Nesmith) were joined by Quenton Jackson and Johnny Furphy in the starting unit. Jay Huff and Micah Potter still got good minutes off the bench (more Huff than Potter) and we got a Jarace Walker sighting too (I don’t trust that right now). I am not sure if it will stick, but it did result in a comfortable win, so it might. I don’t think Huff is must-roster given all the rotational experimentation that keeps happening in Indiana. Huff is a strong streamer though.

Moussa Diabate remained in the starting lineup and Ryan Kalkbrenner saw 24 minutes off the bench in his return from a 10-game absence for a left elbow sprain. The context: the Hornets won that game by 55 points so minutes don’t really matter. Diabate should be preferred in fantasy if he is starting, but I think Kalkbrenner could remain relevant off the bench via his block rate with decent rebounds and elite FG%.

Cody Williams has started some games recently and while he looks better than he was as a rookie, the bar as a rookie wasn’t very high as Williams was possibly the worst player in the NBA who got any decent minutes last season. He might be worth a look in a 20-team or 18-team league at best and I wouldn’t trust him for much more right now.

Kevin Love has started recent games over Kyle Filipowski when Jusuf Nurkic (toe) was out. Nurkic is expected to play (probable) on Monday, so that isn’t pertinent on Monday but it is worth noting moving forward. I don’t necessarily expect that orientation to stick since developing Filipowski matters.

I have already discussed that Craig Porter Jr. has taken Lonzo Ball’s place in the rotation in a prior version of this, but I am noting it here once again.

Andre Drummond started with Joel Embiid (injury management) out on Sunday, but only played 20 minutes to Adem Bona’s 33 minutes. While Bona seems to be winning the battle of the backups lately, there was a recent game where Bona was a DNP and Drummond got all the backup minutes. Drummond starting doesn’t make me feel confident either. Since both are worthy backups, I think head coach Nick Nurse might just be grooving with whoever is playing better during any span of time with a little bit of matchup-based stuff going on, too.

Ryan Nembhard was the player who moved into the starting lineup with Davis sidelined. Naji Marshall has been starting with PJ Washinton out. At the time of writing, Washington and Brandon Williams are both doubtful for Monday, so starting jobs for R. Nembhard and Marshall feel safe with 12-team stream appeal possible.

Moussa Cisse was the backup center who saw 19 minutes to Daniel Gafford’s 24 minutes. Cisse is questionable for Monday, so Dwight Powell would be the backup if Cisse is out, but it is notable that Cisse was preferred since head coach Jason Kidd as oscillated between Cisse and Powell at times. That is relevant to maybe 16-team leagues or so.

Baylor Scheierman got the bulk of the PF minutes with Sam Hauser (hamstring) and Josh Minott (ankle) out on Saturday, despite Hugo Gonzalez starting (13 minutes). Jordan Walsh also only got 13 minutes. As I said in a blurb, that situation is a fantasy Russian roulette. Don’t give yourself the headache. Hauser has the safest floor when healthy. Hauser is questionable for Monday and Minott is out again.

Oh, also, Luka Garza is still getting good minutes and remains a player to consider in around 14-team formats and beyond.

Danny Wolf seems to have cemented the fill-in starter role for Michael Porter Jr. so remember that for silly season or if MPJ is traded for a more pick-orientated package. I would guess Wolf would likely start if Noah Clowney ever misses a game too.

It took a Dennis Schroder suspension for Malik Monk to finally fully take off…but Precious Achiuwa started, Keon Ellis dropped to the bench and barely played. The Kings are a landmine. I am not going to trust Monk, Ellis or Achiuwa for streaming on Monday. I feel like that could easily become 25 Ellis minutes and 14 Monk minutes to absolutely burn us once again.

Jordan Miller is getting decent minutes lately but I don’t view him as much of a fantasy asset outside of a 20-team desperation gamble given how inconsistent and unreliable his role has been. That is partially injury-induced, but partially him also just being out of favor a lot.

Darko Rajakovic was talking up Alijah Martin recently. Think of him as another player in the Jamal Shead mold (bulldog, harassing defender), minus the passing ability. Martin might do more on the glass or scoring-wise, but overall, I would only view him as a steals specialist for deep leagues. With Ja’Kobe Walter (hip) going down on Sunday, Martin may continue getting minutes.

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Stay up to date on news for this slate with our NBA Blurb Feed! 

Check out our Live Injury Report to see who is probable, questionable, doubtful or sidelined for this slate!

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Streamers

We are not including players who are either most likely on a roster or should be on a roster.

Standard Formats

Jake LaRavia – general stats
(five-game week bonus & should be rostered in general)

Marcus Smart – steals, assists, rebounds & upside for 3s
(five-game week bonus)

Isaiah Collier – assists, upside for points

Brice Sensabaugh – points, 3s & FT% if he can get to the line

Jaylon Tyson – across-the-board stats
(should be rostered)

Sam Merrill – 3s, 3s & also 3s with occasional low-end assists upside
(should be rostered I believe)

De’Andre Hunter – points, 3s, FT%, decent rebounds

Neemias Queta – blocks, rebounds, FG%
(should be rostered)

Aaron Nesmith – points, 3s, steals & potential rebounds

T.J. McConnell –  points, assists, steals

Jay Huff – blocks specialist, upside for 3s & occasional potential for rebounds

Ryan Nembhard – mainly assists with some upside for 3s or points

Naji Marshall – points, rebounds, steals with occasional upside for assists (with good percentages)

Daniel Gafford – blocks specialist with FG% and potential for rebounds
(should be rostered despite his struggles)

Max Christie – hit-or-miss points & 3s with very occasional upside for steals or FT% if he gets to the line

Collin Sexton (questionable, wait for update) – points, assists, FT% & occasional upside for 3s or steals

Moussa Diabate – points, rebounds, FG%, blocks & upside for steals
(should be rostered)

Ryan Kalkbrenner – blocks, FG%, possible rebounds & steals
(should be rostered, but Diabate has the edge for now)

Kris Dunn – steals specialist with upside for assists & 3s

B2B Watch for Standard Formats

Nets, Raptors, Sixers, Kings

Noah Clowney – points, 3s, blocks, potential steals & rebounds (potentially bad FG%)

Egor Demin – 3s & assists with potential for out-of-position rebounds & occasional steals

Sandro Mamukelashvili – 3s & rebounds with upside for across-the-board production

Jamal Shead – assists & steals specialist

Collin Murray-Boyles – rebounds & steals with upside for across-the-board production

Quentin Grimes – points, 3s, upside for steals, assists & more
(probably should still be rostered)

Malik Monk – points, 3s, FT% & upside for assists & maybe a steal
Keon Ellis – steals, 3s, upside for blocks
(high-risk, sort of high-reward options? These are courtesy listings but as I said, I do not trust the Kings!)

Maxime Raynaud – points & rebounds with upside to produce in all areas

Deep Leagues

Kyle Filipowski – points, rebounds, assists with upside for 3s

Kevin Love – boom-or-bust potential for 3s & rebounds 

Walter Clayton Jr. – points, 3s, rebounds, assists, steals, FT% if he gets to the line
(playing time could be cut a bit if Ace Bailey plays)

Cody Williams (20-teamer) – maybe points, maybe 3s, maybe steals
(playing time could be cut a bit if Ace Bailey plays)

Craig Porter Jr. (has 12-team upside) – steals, blocks, rebounds (yes, he is a guard)

Sam Hauser (questionable, wait for update) – 3s, 3s & also 3s

Luka Garza – points & rebounds with low-end upside for threes & a couple of assists

Micah Potter – 3s, rebounds

Klay Thompson – 3s specialist with points if he gets hot

Gabe Vincent – boom-or-bust 3s & points
(I think he might sit on Tuesday)

Jaxson Hayes – low-end big-man stats
(five-game bonus)

Jarred Vanderbilt – rebounds, steals, blocks in that order
(five-game bonus)

B2B Watch for Deep Leagues

Nets, Raptors, Sixers, Kings

Terance Mann – boom-or-bust points & 3s with potential for rebounds, assists, steals

Day’Ron Sharpe – rebounds, FG% and sometimes adds steals or blocks
(12-team upside if he has a chance to start, like if Nic Claxton sits)

Danny Wolf – points & rebounds with potential 3s and assists
(12-team upside if he has a chance to start, like if MPJ remains out or if Clowney sits, which feels unlikely)

Alijah Martin – steals

Dominick Barlow – rebounds, blocks, upside for steals, solid FG%

Moussa Cisse (questionable, wait for update) – rebounds.
Dwight Powell if Cisse is out – rebounds

I cannot suggest Adem Bona or Andre Drummond for deep leagues because it is a guessing game of who gets a DNP-CD if Joel Embiid plays. If both Drummond and Bona get the backup minutes, it usually isn’t enough for real fantasy value either.