It's not surprising that Nikola Jokic finished atop the Fantasy leaderboard again on Tuesday. While the big man didn't post the absurd numbers he usually does, he still did a bit of everything in a well-rounded performance. Want to know what else you missed in Tuesday's five-game slate? We'll go over who's hot, who's not and give out a midweek DFS play for Wednesday here.
Who's hot
Jokic's scored a modest 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting on Tuesday but recorded his second straight triple-double by grabbing 13 rebounds and totaling 13 assists in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. The reigning MVP has now tallied three triple-doubles in his past five games. Jokic is .3 assists shy of averaging a triple-double in December, and he just might get there if Michael Porter Jr. stays on the shelf for a little longer.
The Utah Jazz haven't been the top team in the Western Conference for a while, but Markkanen's play hasn't dropped off all season as he looks to make a serious run for an All-Star spot. He 7-foot swingman missed three games with a non-Covid related illness and has averaged 26.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting better than 53 percent from the field and beyond the arc since returning to the hardwood. He tied his season high with 38 points against the Detroit Pistons and appears like he'll finish out 2022 on a high note.
Ayton managers got a scare when the Phoenix Suns big man missed two games after tweaking his ankle, but he seems to be doing fine now. Ayton has recorded back-to-back double-doubles and tallied 30 points with 13 rebounds against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. Devin Booker's lingering hamstring tweak could force Ayton to take on a larger scoring load in Week 10. We'll have to wait to see whether the star shooting guard suits up after missing two straight games.
Who's not
Stephen Curry will miss an extended period of time with a shoulder injury, and Thompson has failed to step up during his absence so far. The Golden State Warriors wing has averaged just 13.3 points on 34.9 percent shooting over his previous three games. He's actually fallen short of his scoring average in three of the four games he's appeared in without Curry this season. The Dubs have a lot of things to sort out right now as they're 1-5 this season without their franchise player available.
Wednesday DFS play
The Atlanta Hawks still don't have Clint Capela, so Vucevic's Fantasy outlook is good ahead of Wednesday's slate. He was dominant against the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo on Tuesday with 29 points and 12 boards, and Atlanta doesn't have a post defender nearly as good. The Hawks elected to play John Collins out of position as their starting center in his first game back from injury, but he logged just 20 minutes. That means Onyeka Okongwu could have to spend long stretches defending Vucevic. The big man has notched five double-doubles in six career games against the Hawks as a Chicago Bull.
Still deciding who to lock in for your DFS roster? We've identified a player worth locking in and one to avoid ahead of tip-off below, but you can get my full selection of stud and value plays at each position by heading over to SportsLine.
