Last Updated on January 7, 2026 2:49 am by Mike Passador | Published: January 7, 2026

Tuesday’s slate brought us a couple of close games with exciting finishes and a couple of key returns.

The Magic fell to the surging Wizards as their starting group was completely outplayed. It led to some big games from unexpected sources like Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, but those who have been watching closely have seen that pair in particular start to cobble together some solid performances on the court, if not the box score. CJ McCollum and Alex Sarr carried the mail for Washington and while McCollum is technically an aging vet on an expiring contract on a rebuilding team, he has been balling over the last little bit.

The Cavs picked up a close win over the Pacers, even as Donovan Mitchell sat out for rest. Cleveland doesn’t feel like they’re in a position to rest guys given how they looks and where they are in the standings but it didn’t bite them tonight. The team’s two most maligned players, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, came through with big performances, while on the Indiana side we got the triumphant return of Jay Huff to the starting lineup. More on him in a bit.

The Grizzlies spoiled Victor Wembanyama’s return with a one-point win, though Wemby still feasted with 30 points and a full line off the bench. It was an off night from De’Aaron Fox as Cam Spencer won the PG battle in this one, making another start after Ja Morant was ruled out with his calf injury. Jaren Jackson Jr. stayed in his groove and Jock Landale can laugh about two missed free throws late after Santi Aldama saved his bacon on the final possession — Landale was strong otherwise with 19 points and nine rebounds in a start at center.

The Heat and Wolves gave us our national TV game of the evening but it wasn’t close. Tyler Herro finally returned from his toe contusion, ending a 10-game absence with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. The Heat actually cleared Herro for their last game but chose to just sit him on the bench, so it was good to see him hit the court for real. That was basically it for this game as Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle dominated Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware up front, leaving only Herro and Norm Powell as Miami’s offense.

The Lakers picked up a win over the Pelicans thanks to a vintage 30-8-8 game out of LeBron James, who looks to be close to full speed after a delayed start to the season. Deandre Ayton racked up 18 & 11 with three defensive stats simply by staying in his lane and it was the kind of game that makes you wonder why he can’t do so more often. Herb Jones returned for the Pelicans in this one but shot 1-for-9 in a tough outing, though he wasn’t the worst Pelican. That honor goes to Jordan Poole, who went scoreless with three turnovers in 18 minutes off the bench. New Orleans wasted a career night out of Trey Murphy, whose 42 points mark a new personal best.

The late game was sloppy to say the least as the Kings ended a winnable contest with a series of suboptimal shots. Zach LaVine returned to the starting lineup but wasn’t the primary scorer down the stretch, and Sacramento ended up losing by a bucket. Anthony Davis shot like junk, Brandon Williams asserted himself as the top PG option in Dallas and Daniel Gafford did Daniel Gafford stuff in another start. The big story of this one was Cooper Flagg getting a knee-on-knee but returning after some time on the stationary bike, posting 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Wednesday has double the action, so let’s recap the top pickups from Tuesday and look 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.

Julian Champagnie (19%)

Champagnie’s record-setting performance in a high-profile matchup vs. the Knicks felt like enough to get him picked up in a lot of spots, but apparently not. He should be an automatic standard-league option for the duration of Devin Vassell’s groin injury, for which there is currently no timetable. Champagnie filled up the stat sheet with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and four 3-pointers in 32 minutes of work. He’s got a starting role to himself and so much versatility to his game that he should always be north of 25 minutes.

Jay Huff (16%)

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