Last Updated on March 16, 2026 1:35 am by Keston Paul | Published: March 15, 2026

Let us get off to a good start this week, shall we?

Looking for fantasy playoff preparation? Click here for the Fantasy Basketball Week Ahead.

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.

Naji Marshall (30%)

Just in case Marshall was dropped due to some recent struggles, I am just highlighting that he had 25 points, five rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one 3-pointer in 32 minutes. Marshall looks like he is finding his feet again across his recent two games, so he can be back in the good graces for 12-team leagues.

Gui Santos (35%)

I have been on the Gui Santos train for about a month now, but if some way or some how your league is still lagging behind, he is still must-roster. Santos had 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two 3-pointers on Sunday.

Cody Williams (12%)

I posted this article early, so I am updating it to share my blurb on Williams after his performance on Sunday night.

Cody Williams posted a career-high 34 points (12-of-20 FG, 7-of-8 FT) and career-high-tying seven assists in 38 minutes on Sunday, adding seven rebounds, three triples, one steal and one block in a 111-116 loss to the Kings.

Williams did all of that work across 38 minutes. In the 2025 Summer League, he showed signs of improvement with a little more confidence, aggression and physicality. All of those aspects seem to have grown throughout his sophomore campaign. This is his fifth consecutive game with double-digit points, while he has flashed playmaking, rebounding and defensive stats with inconsistent 3-point shooting. With Ace Bailey concussed and Isaiah Collier leaving Sunday’s game with a right knee contusion, the Jazz may continue empowering Williams and he might actually land on the 12-team radar with the outlines of a balanced stat profile; although, some inconsistency should be expected. Keep in mind, the Jazz only play three games on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday during the upcoming week (March 16 to March 22), then in the following week (March 23 to March 29), they play four games on the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Bonus Talk

I know Max Strus (1%) had 24 points, six 3-pointers, eight rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes during his season debut on Sunday. He shot 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line; in other words, the percentages are unsustainable. I think Strus can be on the 14-team and 16-team radar, but not much more than that.

Games

Magic – Hawks @ 7:00 ET
Warriors – Wizards @ 7:00 ET
Trail Blazers – Nets @ 7:30 ET
Suns – Celtics @ 7:30 ET
Grizzlies – Bulls @ 8:00 ET
Mavericks – Pelicans @ 8:00 ET
Lakers – Rockets @ 9:30 ET
Spurs – Clippers @ 10:00 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 4:15 pm ET Official NBA Injury Report. 

Mavs, Blazers, Warriors

Mavs: Daniel Gafford and Klay Thompson got the day off on Sunday and should return on Monday. I think PJ Washington may be at risk of sitting out on Monday, but that isn’t a guarantee.
Khris Middleton has been playing back-to-backs so far as a Mav, but maybe he gets a night off because they’d have two consecutive back-to-backs. Again, that isn’t a guarantee; Middleton may just play.

Blazers: Robert Williams III (left knee injury management) was questionable and then cleared to play on Sunday, so he should sit out on Monday.
Deni Avdija may or may not sit out on Monday, depending on how much he is “past” his lower back issues.

Warriors: Kristaps Porzingis, De’Anthony Melton and Draymond Green were out for management purposes on Sunday, so they should return on Monday.

Quinten Post (left ankle sprain) was questionable for Sunday’s game and was then cleared to play, so we will see if he plays the second leg as well. It likely won’t matter if Porzingis and Green play.

Moses Moody (right wrist sprain) hopes to return on the current road trip, but I expect to see him later in the week at the earliest, so I would project him to miss Monday’s contest.

Stephen Curry (right patellofemoral pain syndrome) is expected to be evaluated next weekend.

Al Horford picked up a right soleus (calf) strain in Friday’s game and Seth Curry picked up a left adductor strain. Both players will be re-evaluated in one week.

Teams on First Night of a Back-to-Back

Suns, Wizards, Magic, Spurs

The Suns and Wizards have five-game weeks, so there may be strategic rest across the two back-to-back sets. On Monday, Alex Sarr and Leaky Black are sitting out.

The Magic’s report didn’t have any surprises, as Franz Wagner, Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac are still out as expected and Jett Howard is questionable.

The Spurs’ injury report features Dylan Harper and Luke Kornet, who are both sidelined on Monday.

Top Stories to Watch

Jayson Tatum played a season-high 32 minutes on Saturday: In the grand scheme of things, it is just worth noting for the managers who are relying on Tatum. For the rest of us, not so much.

Is Javon Small just a rest-of-season hold? 
Small is on a two-way contract but he actually only needs to spend one more game in the G League to meet the outlined limitations of his contract. Since he can play every game except one, I am inclined to think that he could at least be interesting. The Grizzlies may choose to highlight Cam Spencer or Walter Clayton Jr. (when healthy) more in some games, however.

Santi Aldama is done for the season: Aldama underwent right knee surgery and is getting injections to address his injury. This doesn’t really change anything besides the fact that we have confirmation that Aldama won’t be coming back.

Kawhi Leonard (left ankle sprain) doubtful for Monday: Leonard is projected to miss the game, but him being doubtful rather than just out in advance after rolling his ankle on Saturday is “hopefully” a positive sign that he returns quickly. I would expect the Clippers to go with a Garland-Dunn-Jones-Collins-Lopez lineup, most likely.

Standout Streaming Schedules for Monday:
This is taken from The Week Ahead (click here to read), which you can peruse for week-long intel to prepare for your matchups.
Monday Streaming: eight games
Suns, Wizards: MON-TUE, THU, SAT-SUN
Spurs, Magic: MON-TUE, THU, SAT
Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers: MON, WED-THU, SAT
Bulls: MON, WED-THU
MON-TUE B2B: Suns, Wizards, Spurs, Magic

So the Suns, Wizards, Magic, Spurs, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers and Bulls (eight teams) stand out as the top teams to stream who start the week with a 3-in-4 set at a minimum with potential 4-in-6 and 5-in-7 incentives as well.

My Injury Notes for Monday:
In case you missed my explanation in prior editions, I have notes to monitor while blurbing throughout the day and these are usually for players out short-term. Noting Shaedon Sharpe as out for the back-to-back team is pretty insignificant considering his timeline isn’t close. I am sharing these with you, so you know what updates to be on the lookout for.
Q = questionable or 50-50 chance of playing
P = probable or likely to play
D = doubtful or likely to be out
I don’t list the already sidelined or available players in my notes.
—
Mon-Tues B2B: Suns, Wizards, Magic, Spurs
—
Monday: eight games
Warriors B2B (Out Sunday: Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton)
Jett Howard – Q
Jonathan Kuminga – Q
Blazers B2B (Out Sunday: — )
Ben Saraf – Q
Mavs B2B (Out Sunday: Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson)
Dejounte Murray – Q
Walter Clayton Jr. – Q
GG Jackson II – D
Ty Jerome – D
Isaac Okoro – D
Collin Sexton – Q
Alperen Sengun – Q
Kawhi Leonard – D
—
Sun-Mon B2B: Mavs, Warriors, Blazers
—
Per Sunday evening’s reports
—

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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

Standard Formats

Best Schedules to start the week (three games in four days):
Suns, Wizards, Magic, Spurs, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, Bulls

Grayson Allen – points, 3s, upside for assists, steals
(might sit out on Tuesday)

Royce O’Neale – 3-and-D stats, rebounds & upside for assists

Oso Ighodaro – low-end points, rebounds, steals, blocks

Bilal Coulibaly – steals, blocks, rebounds, assists & bad percentages

Bub Carrington – points, assists, 3s, out-of-position rebounds & occasional chance of a steal

Tristan Vukcevic – points, rebounds, 3s, blocks & some steals

Will Riley – hit-or-miss points & 3s, rebounds, assists, steals

Tre Johnson – points, 3s, possible steals

Wendell Carter Jr. – solid across-the-board value but mainly points & rebounds

Tristan da Silva – points & 3s with upside for rebounds & steals

Devin Vassell – points, 3s, possible steals, FT% if he gets to the line

Julian Champagnie – 3s, rebounds, steals, scoring upside (& occasional blocks)

Keldon Johnson – points, rebounds, FG% & upside for 3s or a steal

Brook Lopez – 3s, blocks

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

Derrick Jones Jr. – 3-and-D stats plus rebounds

Herb Jones – steals, upside for 3s, rebounds & occasional low-end assists

Derik Queen – across-the-board upside

Marcus Smart – steals, assists, rebounds & upside for 3s

Tre Jones – assists, steals, FT%, points

Jalen Smith – rebounds, 3s, some blocks & general upside

Nick Richards – rebounds, low-end points, FG%, potential for blocks

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

Other Teams: Hawks, Nets, Celtics, Grizzlies, Rockets

Jonathan Kuminga (questionable, wait for update) – points, rebounds, very low-end upside for assists

Danny Wolf – points & rebounds with potential 3s & hope for assists

Ziaire Williams – boom-or-bust points & 3s with potential steals & rebounds

Neemias Queta – blocks, rebounds, FG%

Sam Hauser – 3s, 3s & also 3s

Cedric Coward – points, 3s, rebounds with upside for steals or FT% if he gets to the line

Walter Clayton Jr. (questionable, wait for update) – points, 3s, rebounds, assists, steals, FT% if he gets to the line

Jaylen Wells – hit-or-miss points & 3s with upside for steals

Olivier-Maxence Prosper –  mainly points & rebounds, upside for defensive stats, hit-or-miss 3s

Taylor Hendricks – 3s, steals, blocks & upside for rebounds

Javon Small – assists, steals, points, 3s, possible rebounds

Reed Sheppard – points, 3s, steals, assists & sometimes blocks

Tari Eason – steals, blocks, rebounds & occasional scoring upside

B2B Watch for Standard Formats

Wait for the official injury reports of the Mavs, Blazers and Warriors before streaming their players. 

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

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

Khris Middleton – points, rebounds, assists, & upside for 3s & steals

PJ Washington – points, 3s, rebounds, steals, blocks & occasional assists (poor percentages)

Daniel Gafford – blocks specialist with FG% and potential for rebounds

Marvin Bagley III – points, rebounds, FG% & occasional chance of blocks

Toumani Camara – some points, 3s, rebounds, steals and may get two or three assists

Jerami Grant – points, 3s, possible rebounds, steals

Scoot Henderson – points, assists, FT%, possible 3s, steals

Brandin Podziemski – points, 3s, rebounds, assists, steals

Kristaps Porzingis – points, 3s, rebounds, blocks

Draymond Green – rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, occasional 3s

De’Anthony Melton – steals specialist with upside for 3s & assists

Gui Santos – points, 3s, steals, blocks with a little rebounds & assists

Deep Leagues

Best Schedules to start the week:
Suns, Wizards, Magic, Spurs, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, Bulls

Jordan Goodwin – general stats

Justin Champagnie – rebounds, steals, blocks, points, possible 3s
(sometimes gets random DNPs or low minutes, otherwise he’d be in the standard section)

Jamir Watkins – steals, blocks, upside for rebounds & occasional 3s

Julian Reese – rebounds, steals, blocks
or
Anthony Gill – rebounds, low-end points, 3s
Both players are risky since I don’t know how much they will play, but Alex Sarr is sitting out on Monday (should play on Tuesday). 

Jaden Hardy – boom-or-bust points & 3s with occasional assists upside

Jevon Carter – 3s, possible assists & steals

Harrison Barnes – points & 3s with upside for rebounds, a steal or FT% if he gets to the line

Jordan Miller – mainly points, 3s, but occasional upside in other areas

Isaiah Jackson – rebounds, FG%, blocks

Jeremiah Fears – points with upside for assists, steals, 3s

Yves Missi – blocks, rebounds, FG%

Rui Hachimura – points with upside for 3s and rebounds

Jake LaRavia – general stats but mainly steals

Luke Kennard – might get one or two triples

Jaxson Hayes – might get four or five rebounds, hope for a block

Guerschon Yabusele – across-the-board stats but boom-or-bust

Leonard Miller – rebounds, points, low-end blocks, steals, 3s

Rob Dillingham – points, assists, 3s, likely bad FG%

Patrick Williams – low-end 3-and-D stats, rebounds

Other Teams: Hawks, Nets, Celtics, Grizzlies, Rockets

Zaccharie Risacher – 3s & steals with upside for rebounds

Corey Kispert – 3s

Baylor Scheierman – 3s & rebounds with a chance for points, assists

Jahmai Mashack – steals, possible rebounds
(it is currently unclear whether or not Rayan Rupert will be called up from the G League, but Mashack is listed as available)

Clint Capela (if Sengun is out) – rebounds, FG%, upside for blocks
(Dorian Finney-Smith started with Sengun out on Friday, but Capela was still good off the bench. DFS isn’t as fantasy-friendly right now)

B2B Watch for Deep Leagues

Wait for the official injury reports of the Mavs, Blazers and Warriors before streaming their players. 

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

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

Matisse Thybulle – steals & blocks specialist, low-end occasional upside for 3s

Pat Spencer – points, rebounds, assists, steals

Will Richard – 3s, steals, potential for rebounds

Gary Payton II – steals, rebounds, occasional points upside