Last Updated on February 2, 2026 2:37 am by Keston Paul | Published: February 2, 2026

The most important thing to note is the early tip-off at 3 p.m. ET on Monday because of this:

Pelicans vs. Hornets on Monday moved up to 3 p.m. ET due to inclement weather

per @MarcJSpears on X#FantasyBasketball #NBA

— SportsEthos Fantasy Basketball (@ethosfantasyNBA) February 2, 2026

The trade deadline is on Thursday, February 5. With that in mind, you should be trying to maintain flexibility this week as best as possible. You can stream, but I would say that you should be saving most (or all, if you can) of your adds for Thursday and the end of the week to react to trades that result in rest-of-season fliers. The other note is that absences due to trades will open up some strong streaming options at the end of the week.

For a broader exploration of what is mentioned above, read the Fantasy Basketball Week (16) Ahead here. 

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.

Pelle Larsson (16% rostered on Yahoo)

Larsson delivered 20 points, four rebounds, four assists, three 3-pointers, one steal and one block across 24 minutes on Sunday.

Larsson has been intriguing and we still have no timeline for Tyler Herro’s costochondral rib injury. Larsson has looked like a 12-team option and I am willing to label him as one until Herro is back. Some games will be shaky, but he looks good more often that he does not.

Sandro Mamukelashvili (20%)

Mamukelashvili produced 20 points, four 3-pointers, six rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes on Sunday night. Jakob Poeltl’s lower back strain seems to be an issue that he cannot shake and Mamu’s opportunities should continue to stick. He is must-roster.

Don’t believe me? This is Mamu’s impact, according to a Raptors beat writer:

In just 48 games, Mamu already has more win shares (3.6) than any Raptors free agent signing since Biyombo more than a decade ago. The lowest of bars, but imagine where this team would be without him, especially in light of Poeltl’s injury. Another gem tonight (16 pts in 20 mins)

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) February 2, 2026

Grayson Allen (39%)

Allen was good for 23 points, four triples, eight assists, two steals and one rebound in 36 minutes on Sunday night.

Allen is getting a bit of a boost right now due to injuries around him, but Jalen Green might never get healthy at this point and Allen can coexist with Devin Booker. Allen should just be on a roster and if the Suns do happen to be at 100 percent by the end of February, you can assess his role before the fantasy playoffs.

Cason Wallace (17%)

Wallace recorded career-high marks of 27 points and seven 3-pointers on Sunday night, adding six rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes while returning to the starting lineup.

I cannot say this suddenly makes him must-roster as the shooting is clearly unsustainable. Usually, his value is very one-note (that is, steals and little else), so if you need steals, view him as a flier and let us see if he can build on the offensive performance. Most likely, this was a one-off night with a hot hand so I am not exactly overly convinced by it.

Games

Pelicans – Hornets @ 3:00 ET (originally scheduled for 7:00 ET)
Rockets – Pacers @ 7:00 ET
Timberwolves – Grizzlies @ 7:30 ET
76ers – 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 4:00 pm ET Official NBA Injury Report. 

LAC

James Harden was out on Sunday for personal reasons, so his status for Monday is unclear. That would obviously benefit Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller immensely.

Kawhi Leonard has been dealing with a left knee contusion over the past few weeks, but I would give it around a 70 percent chance of him playing.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was officially available on Sunday after a 17-game absence for left hamstring injury management, but he did not play. That could be a case of him getting an “extra night off,” but it could be that Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller have earned their minutes and Bogdanovic will have a tough time cracking the rotation. For now, Bogdanovic is not a fantasy option until he provides proof of production, which involves getting on the floor in the first place.

Teams on First Night of a Back-to-Back

IND, PHI

In the last back-to-back for the Pacers, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell all got one leg off. They are all available on Monday, but I do not think it is a guarantee that they all sit on Tuesday. They did the same thing once earlier in the season, but it has not become a trend yet.

Joel Embiid is listed as probable for Monday at the time of writing with right ankle injury management, so he is projected to play. That means he would sit out on Tuesday, giving Adem Bona a boost. While Andre Drummond could get a positive bump on Tuesday too, since his name is in trade rumors, I would not suggest streaming him tomorrow.

Top Stories to Watch

Kevin Durant is out on Monday, but it does not seem like it is expected to be a long-term issue based on the initial reporting from the Rockets’ beat writers.

Will Jordan Poole be traded? 

I don’t really know who wants Poole, but he has been out of the Pelicans’ rotation over the past week and they are looking to move him. He has no chance of 12-team value for the rest of this season if he stays in New Orleans.

Will the Wolves make a splash? 

The Wolves are a leading suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but to pull that off they likely need to involve a third team. The Blazers will often come up in that scenario because they have control of three of the Bucks’ first-round picks from 2028 to 2030 (two swaps, one pick outright).

Also, it isn’t just Antetokounmpo. The Wolves could pivot to another offensive player to ease the creation burden on Anthony Edwards. I have seen Coby White mentioned a ton. Obviously, we cannot make fantasy-related assessments until something happens.

Ty Jerome vs. Cam Spencer

Jerome went straight into the starting lineup over Spencer on Saturday. Jerome was limited to 20 minutes and Spencer logged 25 minutes, but it was notable and that minutes split will likely change as Jerome ramps up further. For now, they can definitely both coexist, but I would prioritize Jerome over Spencer if you have to choose.

Scotty Pippen Jr. could also make things tricky, but that is a bridge to cross when it happens and we don’t know what will unfold with Ja Morant’s trade rumors either.

GG Jackson II is improving but that is more relevant to deep leagues

Jackson has been getting consistent minutes and on one of the basketball pods I listen to (can’t remember which right now), it was pointed out that he was embracing the defensive side of the ball more by taking tough assignments. I think he is carving out enough of a role to be considered in leagues with 200-plus players on a roster and he might have low-end 12-team upside if Jaren Jackson Jr. (who is questionable) remains out on Monday alongside Santi Aldama and John Konchar. I am not viewing Jackson as anything above streamer level for standard leagues in that scenario though.

The Sixers will likely make a move on the margins

Andre Drummond and Quentin Grimes are names I’ve seen appearing in trade rumors. Obviously, if Drummond is gone, that secures Adem Bona even more. If Grimes is moved, Jared McCain (who is looking better lately) could become more interesting. Again, there are no moves to be made until something happens.

The Hornets are Good!

This entails Miles Bridges taking more of a backseat as his usage has been down in the past couple of months, but it also involves Brandon Miller being a key offensive piece, LaMelo Ball staying healthy via his managed minutes and Moussa Diabate becoming the starter at center.

In a Cheat Sheet back in December, I noted how Diabate had been outplaying Ryan Kalkbrenner and now that Diabate being the starter has come to fruition, he is clearly a must-roster player.

I happened to blurb the Hornets last Wednesday and covered a few of these players in detail.

Bridges:
Miles Bridges sparked for 20 points (8-of-11 FG) with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and three assists across 28 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies.

Bridges had been on a downward spiral for fantasy lately because of a lack of usage. He has been averaging 10.9 FGA per game across his last eight appearances and 12.5 FGA in the past two months (27 games), compared to 14.7 FGA per game on the season (47 games). Bridges is obviously a hold, but the usage didn’t really change here; he just shot at an unsustainably high level from the field. Hopefully, he can balance things out to remain a top-100 player the rest of the way.

Miller:
Brandon Miller conjured up 26 points (9-of-17 FG, 4-of-4 FT), four 3-pointers, one rebound and three assists across 30 minutes in Wednesday’s 112-97 win over the Grizzlies.

The buy-low window for Miller is likely officially over as he has broken into top-70 value per game for 9-cat on the season and has been a top-45 per-game producer over the past two months. In the timeframe of those 25 games, Miller is averaging 21.4 points, 3.2 triples, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks, a respectable .445 FG% and .870 FT%. Considering his 2.9 turnovers per game, Miller would look even better in 8-cat settings. If you bought low or were patient with Miller, congrats.

Ball:
LaMelo Ball produced 16 points (6-of-14 FG), four 3-pointers, one rebound, four dimes and two steals across 23 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies.

While Ball’s 27.2 MPG this season caps his upside to the higher end of the middle rounds, it isn’t the worst exchange to see him now playing in 22 consecutive games with his last absence coming on December 14. While Ball has typically come off the bench in one leg of back-to-backs recently, it will be intriguing to see if that happens tomorrow since the team was able to limit his minutes in this one.

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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.

Players like that include:

• Saddiq Bey
• Moussa Diabate
• Jabari Smith Jr.
• Donte DiVincenzo
• Ty Jerome (yep, he is on this list already)

Remember, do not stream heavily at the start of this week. I have a lot of names here, but you do not need to use them.

Standard Formats

Quentin Grimes – points, 3s, upside for steals, assists & more

Kelly Oubre Jr. (must-roster after George suspension) – points, 3s, rebounds, steals

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

Collin Sexton – points, assists, FT% & occasional upside for 3s or steals

Ryan Kalkbrenner – blocks, FG%, possible rebounds & steals

Tari Eason (must-roster) – steals, blocks, rebounds & occasional scoring upside

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

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

T.J. McConnell –  points, assists, steals

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

Jarace Walker – general stats with potential for bad percentages

Cedric Coward – points, 3s, rebounds with upside for steals or FT% if he gets to the line
(likely rostered in a lot of competitive leagues)

Cam Spencer (roster-worthy) – points, 3s, assists & FT% if he gets to the line (potentially poor FG%)

Jock Landale – points, rebounds, FG% & occasional 3s

B2B Watch: Standard Formats

Do not add these Clippers players until we get their official back-to-back injury report for Monday. 

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

Deep Leagues

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

Jose Alvarado – 3s, assists, steals & occasional upside for rebounds

Yves Missi – blocks, rebounds, FG%

Mike Conley – assists with upside for 3s & steals (& FT% if he gets to the line)

Bones Hyland – points, 3s, assists
(12-team upside if Anthony Edwards, questionable, gets ruled out)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – 3s, low-end steals, upside for assists

Vince Williams Jr. – points, rebounds, assists with upside for 3s/steals
(started last game when Jaren Jackson Jr, who is questionable, was out)

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

GG Jackson II – boom-or-bust points & 3s, upside for rebounds
(low-end 12-team upside if JJJ, questionable, can’t play)

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

Adem Bona – blocks with upside for rebounds or steals

Jared McCain – points, 3s & upside for a steal or some dimes (FT% if he gets to the line)

B2B Watch: Deep Leagues

Do not add these Clippers players until we get their official back-to-back injury report for Monday. 

Kobe Sanders – points with upside for 3s and general stats
(12-team upside if a non-center starter is out)

Jordan Miller – mainly points, 3s, but occasional upside in other areas
(12-team upside if a non-center starter is out)

Brook Lopez – 3s, blocks